Cuba - Lonely Planet [150]
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CAYO LARGO DEL SUR
45
If you came to Cuba to witness historic colonial cities, exotic dancers, straw-hatted guajiros (country folk), asthmatic Plymouths and peeling images of Che Guevara, then Cayo Largo del Sur will be a huge disappointment. If, instead, you booked up dreaming of glittering white beaches, teeming coral reefs, fabulous all-inclusive resorts, and lots of fleshy Canadians and Italians wandering around with no clothes on, then this small mangrove-covered tropical paradise is undeniably the place for you.
Cayo Largo del Sur is the second-largest (38 sq km) and easternmost island of the Archipiélago de los Canarreos. It lies between the Golfo de Batabanó and the Caribbean Sea, 114km east of Isla de la Juventud, 80km south of the Península de Zapata and 300km due north of Grand Cayman Island.
No permanent Cuban settlement has ever existed on the Cayo. Instead, the island was developed purely as a tourist enterprise starting in the early 1980s. At least two of its resorts cater exclusively for Italians who book in Europe; the rest are perennially popular with French-speaking Canadians from Québec. The heavenly beaches (26km of ’em) are famous for their size and desolation; during summer turtles come here to nest. There’s also a profusion of iguanas and bird life, including cranes, zunzuncitos (bee hummingbirds) and flamingos.
Cayo Largo can be done as an expensive day trip from Havana, but most people come here on prebooked packages for one to two weeks at a time. It’s a paradisiacal hideaway, even though it neither looks nor feels like Cuba.
Information
There’s a good Cubatur ( 24-82-58) office in the Hotel Sol Pelícano; also in Hotel Sol Cayo Largo and Barceló Cayo Largo Beach Resort. Outside of the hotels the main Bandec ( 9am-noon & 2-3:30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-noon Sat & Sun) is in Combinado. Adjacent is a Casa del Tabaco ( 24-82-11) cigar shop and a Clínica Internacional ( 24-82-38; 24hr). Euros are accepted at all the tourist installations here.
Due to dangerous currents, swimming is occasionally forbidden. This will be indicated by red flags on the beach. Mosquitoes can be a nuisance, too; bring repellent!
Sights & Activities
Cayo Largo del Sur’s (and, perhaps, Cuba’s) finest beach is the broad westward-facing Playa Sirena, where 2km of powdery white sand is wide enough to accommodate a couple of football pitches. Tourists on day trips from Havana and Varadero are often brought here. Various nautical activities are available, including kayaks and small catamarans. Set back from the beach there’s a ranchón-style bar and restaurant along with a small shop, showers and toilets. Playa Paraíso is a narrower, less shady strip serviced by a small bar.
The island’s other big day-trip destinations are Cayo del Rosario and Cayo Rico between Cayo Largo del Sur and Isla de la Juventud. Boat excursions to these beaches from the hotels cost around CUC$59 per person. Cayo Iguana, off the northwest tip of Cayo Largo del Sur, is home to hundreds of friendly iguanas. A yacht trip there will cost you CUC$73 with lunch.
You can procure a bicycle if you’re staying in one of the resorts and head east to Playa Los Cocos, where there’s good snorkeling, or continue further northeast to Playa Tortuga, where sea turtles lay their eggs in the sand (the paved road gives out after Playa Blanca. The Granja de las Tortugas (CUC$1; 9am-6pm) is a small turtle farm in Combinado, on the northwest end of the island beyond the airstrip. From May to September guides here can organize nighttime turtle-watching on the Cayo’s beaches. Nearby is the tiny Casa Museo (admission CUC$1; 9am-6pm), which catalogs the damage done to the island by Hurricane Michelle in November 2001 along with further information on turtles and archaeological finds.
Marina Internacional Cayo Largo ( 24-82-14) is the disembarkation point for deep-sea fishing trips (CUC$325 for four hours and four people) and diving (CUC$45 for one immersion). Note that prices