About Cayo Santa Maria

Geographic location

Cayo Santa Maria is a small island located off the north coast of Cuba, in the province of Villa Clara. Along with its two neighbors, Cayo Las Brujas and Cayo Ensenachos, they together form a mini-archipelago called 'Los Cayos de Villa Clara' (aka Cayeria del Norte); and this little group of island is part of a larger archipelago called Jardines del Rey (King's Gardens). For further information on where Cayo Santa Maria is located and to view maps of the region, please visit our Location and Maps webpage.

Environment and Beaches

The northern coastline of Cayo Santa Maria is where are located its pristine beaches that extend for miles and miles of white fine sand and crystal-clear waters. For more information please visit our Beaches section. Cayo Santa Maria has no permanent residents (no villages, no cities, no farms). Hotels employees come to work by bus from the surrounding cities, such as Caibarién, Remedios, Camajuani and Santa Clara.

These cayos are part of the Buenavista Biosphere Reserve recognized by UNESCO. The Cuban government is recognized to be environmentally conscious so during the construction of the 48-km causeway Pedraplen, they built a bridge-opening every kilometer to minimize the impact of the construction on the local marine life. This connection to the mainland allows an easy access for supplies, and also an easy way for tourists to get off the cayo and explore the region, for further information please visit our To Do/To See section.

How to get there

There’s a small domestic airport on Cayo las Brujas (only a few kilometers from Cayo Santa Maria) but the Abel SantaMaria Airport (aka Santa Clara Airport, code: SNU) is the closest international airport to Cayo Santa Maria. For more details please visit our Airport webpage. The transfer from the Santa Clara airport to Cayo Santa Maria takes approximately 90 minutes. Transfers by air-conditioned bus are usually included when buying an all-inclusive vacation package. Taxis are also available, or you can rent a car. The first hour or so is through the Cuban countryside and small towns and villages, the last half-hour is on the 48-km causeway with the ocean on both side. At the end of the causeway you'll first reach Cayo Las Brujas, then the delfinario (dolphinarium), followed by Cayo Ensenachos, and finally Cayo Santa Maria.

The bus line VIAZUL usually serves Cayo Santa Maria from downtown Santa Clara, but not from the airport. For further information on how to get to Cayo Santa Maria by air, by car or by bus, please visit the Getting There section of our website.

Getting Around

The easiest and cheapest way to stroll around the three cayos is with the open-top double-decker tourist buses called Panoramic Bus Tour. They stop at every hotel, the Plazas (commercial centers) and the Delfinario, the cost is 5 USD per day (payable with credit card only). The schedule is usually posted in every hotel lobby. Taxis are also available, or you can rent a bicycle, scooter, car or jeep. For further information visit our Getting Around section.

Where to stay and Play

All hotels in the three Cayos of Villa Clara are resort-style and All-Inclusive, except for the small Villa Las Brujas 3* which can be booked with or without meals included. The size of the all-inclusive resorts vary from about 100 to 1000 rooms (see here a Chart of the number of rooms per hotel), and their rating ranges from 4* to 5*. Many hotel chains are present: Melia International (Spanish), Blue Diamond (Canadian), Iberostar Hotels (Spanish), Gaviota Hotels (Cuban), MGM Muthu Hotels (India), Valentin Hotels (Spain), Roc Hotels (Spanish), Banyan Tree Hotels (Asia), Sirenis Hotels (Spain). Visit our Hotels section for a detailed description of each resort.

Cayo Santa Maria is also home to three "Plazas" (alia Puebos), they are commercial & entertainment centers offering a wide range of extra services (off-resorts) such as: restaurants, bars, discotheques, bowling, shopping, shows and special event, etc. They are Plaza La Estrella, Plaza Las Dunas and Plaza Las Terrazas. Another one is located on the neighbor island of Cayo las Brujas, it is called Gaviota Las Salinas, Plaza & Spa.