(Click the red dots to know about this section of the beach of Cayo Santa Maria)
The beaches of Cayo Santa Maria are located north of the island, facing the sea. When you are on the beach, the sun is positioned behind us. There are more than sixteen kilometers of beach (evaluation using Google Earth), but they are not all usable for walking. There are several places of ancient corals, which are now above sea level.
In quality wise of sand for walking, the Melia Las Dunas and the new Barceló are best positioned followed by Meliá Cayo Santa Maria and the Sol Cayo Santa Maria. The sandy beaches of the east are much more dense, easier for walking. As for Cayo Largo, Cayo Santa Maria is known for its long beaches and very popular with walkers. Provide a good supply of water and sunscreen for your walks in the sun. All the beaches of Cayo Santa Maria are public, so access is unrestricted EXCEPT for the area of point # 11 on the map, a government property (see info).
We have identified on the map above few points of interest on the beach of Cayo Santa Maria (from west to east). Of course the landscape has changed since the opening of the first hotel (December 2001). At that time, we could walk kilometers of pristine beach. The beach is the same, but more crowded, and it is no longer possible to walk « Au Natural ».
To access the points # 12 and # 13, you can rent a scooter, car or taxi. To reach Playa Perla Blanca, the road is unpaved, it is almost impossible to reach by bicycle.
The slope to enter the water is soft. There is no need to swim hundreds of meters before to get the water at your shoulder level. The sea can sometimes be agitated (red flag), but usually it is calm with waves. Sometimes there are few days without waves or wind.
To minimize environmental impact and protection of mangroves, all hotels have 
footbridges to access the beach. They can sometimes have a height of over 2 meters. The dunes and mangroves are natural defenses against hurricanes.
Here is a description of the points of attraction of the beach of Cayo Santa Maria ...
Item No. 1 - The extreme west beach (new hotel to come)
|
Getting there by walking the beach, car or scooter. If you go by foot on the beach, you must bring water shoes because there are mounds of ancient corals are now above sea level, and it is impossible to walk barefoot.
|
| In this region, a new luxury hotel is under construction. Apparently, it would be a Paradisus of the Sol Melia hotel chain. The opening date has not yet disclosed, but as work started about a year ago. |
In this section of beach, it is possible to see Playa Megano, one of the beautiful beaches of Cayo Ensenachos.
Point no.2 - Former coral reef, now surface
|
Impracticable without sandals or water shoes. The look is still good because you can see all the hotel development on the island. |
Item No.3 - Small island located in the west and Point # 4 for snorkeling
|
If you love snorkeling, unfortunately there are not many places to do so from the beach. There are beautiful fishes and corals located at the west end of the island. There is a tiny coral island. It is imperative to bring his palms, as it is located about There are also some clusters (point # 4) reefs located west of the Sol (the area near the naturist beach). |
Item No. 5 - Beach front hotel Sol Cayo Santa Maria
|
|
Item No. 6 - Beach front hotel Meliá Cayo Santa Maria
|
|
Item No. 7 - Beach front hotel Meliá Las Dunas
|
|
Item No. 8 - Beach front hotel Barceló Cayo Santa Maria Beach and Colonial
|
|
Item No. 9 - Beach front hotel Barceló Cayo Santa Maria Tropical and Caribe
|
|
Item No.10 - Delineation of the beach hotels (East / coral)
|
It is the area of the beach hotels, it is the Barceló Santa Maria Caribe. In this section, there is a small beach bounded by ancient corals exposed now. Maybe a good place for a naturist section of Barceló? |
Item No.11 - Sector red-roofed house (government property)
|
It is the area of the beach past the hotel zone. If you venture in this sector towards the red roof house, do not be surprised if you get tackled by a guard because he is a government building. |
Item No.12 - Playa Perla Blanca (west sector)
|
Located seven kilometers from the hotel Sol, is Playa Perla Blanca. It is divided into two sections and be accessed by the main road. From West, you must take a |
Item No.13 - Playa Perla Blanca (East sector)
|
There are some |
Click HERE to see a little video of the area west of Playa Perla Blanca.
The west area of Playa Perla Blanca = 1.9 km beach facing the North. The East side of Playa Perla Blanca = 2.5 km almost continuously. When we reach the end of the island, there is a beautiful beach facing east (north-south). The satellite image shows a beautiful beach. There is a project to build a hotel in Playa Perla Blanca.
To be continued ...
OUR MAILING LIST
