Cayo Santa María


Cayo Santa María is an island off Cuba's north central coast in the Jardines del Rey archipelago. The island is linked by road and bridge to the town of Caibarién on the main island. Cayo Santa María is well known for its white sand beaches and luxury all-inclusive resorts.
The name "Cayo Santa María" is also used to refer to the whole resort area, comprising a chain of three islands connected by the causeway

Geography

The island is linked to the mainland near Caibarién by a 48 km causeway constructed between 1989 and 1999 by Campaña de Las Villas. The island is administered as part of Caibarién, a municipality of Villa Clara Province.

Transportation

Pedraplén a Cayo Santa Maria is the causeway/roadway that connects the island to mainland. Abel Santamaría Airport located west of the island serves tourists traveling to the island's resorts.

Tourism

The first hotel to open its door was the Sol Cayo Santa Maria in Dec. 2001. All hotels in Cayo Santa María, currently 17 for a total of 9,857 rooms, are owned by the Cuban group Gaviota. The « Cayos de Villa Clara » project is the construction of 10,000 rooms on the islands of Cayo Santa Maria, Cayo Ensenachos and Cayo Las Brujas.
The hotels of the island are the "Melia Buenavista", "Sol Cayo Santa María", "Melia Las Dunas", "Playa Cayo Santa María", "Starfish Cayo Santa Maria", "Royalton Cayo Santa María", "Memories Paraiso Beach Resort", "Grand Memories Santa Maria", "Golden Tulip Cayo Santa María", "Warwick Cayo Santa Maria", and the "Valentin Perla Blanca". There is one more hotel to be built in the eastern area of Cayo Santa Maria, near the Valentin Perla Blanca, the construction name is « Lagunas del Este V » that will be the Paradisus Cayo Santa Maria.
There is also one hotel in the neighbor island Cayo Ensenachos, the "Iberostars Ensenachos".
The development in the Cayos de Villa Clara continues on the third island called Cayo Las Brujas. There is a small boutique hotel Villa Las Brujas and recently the Dhawa opened its door that will be followed by the Sercotel Cayo Santa Maria. NOTE that these hotels have the name « Cayo Santa Maria », but they are not located on the island of Cayo Santa Maria.