The closest airport to Cayo Santa Maria is the Santa Clara International Airport (SNU). The transfer from the airport to the hotels takes approximately 90 minutes because the shuttle buses must pass through small villages and farmlands. It's a very scenic road but could seem a little long for some people.
The causeway (pedraplen) was built with minimal impact on the environment by making several bridges. It connects the islands of Cayo Las Brujas (35 km), Cayo Ensenachos (42 km) and Cayo Santa Maria (45 km) to the village of Caibarien (on the main island of Cuba). Drinking water in the hotels comes from the main land while the electricity is produced on the island of Cayo Santa Maria (diesel power plant).
The 3 islands are uninhabited so the staff from every hotel has to take the pedraplen every day, most of them live in the small towns of Caibarien and Remedios, or in Santa Clara. The Cuban government has recently built new appartment buildings in Caibarien to accommodate the increasing number of employees needed in Cayo Santa Maria with the building of new hotels.With the new reforms of Raul Castro, Cubans now have the choice to own these new homes, if they live there for twenty years.
All about Cuba (well almost!) To better prepare for your next visit on the main island of the Caribbean, visit our website www.cubainfos.net online since June 2009 and bilingual since October 2010. It contains a lot of information (50 points) on Cuba and its people, language, capital, currency, electricity in the hotels, tourist visa card, departure tax, cooking, shopping, etc.. and a section of « things to know » before leaving.
The site is divided into six sections, the homepage, the currencies in Cuba, the page « About » which deals with Cuba in general, the page « Things to know » based on our experience, the page « Top 5 » beaches of Cuba (according to us) and a miscellaneous section. This site is designed specifically for tourists who have never visited Cuba and want to know more ... and also to those wishing to improve their general knowledge and learn new things about the Cuba.
To discover Cayo Santa Maria and the other small islands, the ideal is to rent a Jeep or a scooter for one day. Visit our section transport to know more about the services offered on the island.
Roads
The Pedraplen is paved as all the roads leading to the hotels. All other roads are sandy trails. Driving a scooter (or Jeep) is possible, but with caution, especially on the road to get to the eastern beaches (Playa Perla Blanca).
Please note that there are fees of 2 CUC per car to cross the pedraplen. A gate is installed at the entrance of pedraplen (Caibarien) and officers will ask you to show a proof that you are staying at one of the hotels in Cayo Ensenachos or Cayo Santa Maria.
