Cayo Santa María

Cayo Santa María (Saint Mary Cay or "Key") 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.

Cayo Santa María
Resort island and village
A beach in Cayo Santa Maria
Location of Cayo Santa Maria in Cuba
Coordinates: 22°39′27.72″N 79°0′0″W
Country Cuba
ProvinceVilla Clara
MunicipalityCaibarién
Elevation
4 m (13 ft)
Time zoneUTC-5 (EST)
Area code(s)+53-43

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.[1]

Transportation

Pedraplén a Cayo Santa Maria is the causeway/roadway that connects the island to mainland. Abel Santamaría Airport located 99.82 kilometres (62.03 mi) 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" (105 rooms), "Sol Cayo Santa María" (300 rooms), "Melia Cayo Santa María" 358 rooms), "Melia Las Dunas" (925 rooms), "Playa Cayo Santa María" (769 rooms), "Starfish Cayo Santa Maria" (1,308 rooms), "Royalton Cayo Santa María" (122 rooms), "Memories Paraiso Beach Resort" (666 rooms), "Grand Memories Santa Maria" (732 rooms), "Golden Tulip Cayo Santa María" (846 rooms), "Warwick Cayo Santa Maria" (800 rooms), (800 rooms) and the "Valentin Perla Blanca" (1,020 rooms). 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" (506 rooms).

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 (10 km west).

Cayo Santa Maria Beach, Cuba

See also

References
  1. (in Spanish) Cayo Santa María on EcuRed
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