On your own from Varadero to Cayo Largo. Prices are for group excursions!! Sights of Cayo Largo - pristine nature, azure beaches, underwater tunnels, cliffs and coral reefs
20 km cleanest beaches surrounded by pristine mangrove forests and warm seas, this is a place where you can get a good rest far from civilization. In Cayo Largo, it’s easy to find a deserted beach and join those who are used to merging with nature in nude mode.
Cubans come here only to work in hotels, and after working for 3 weeks, they return home until their next shift. All this time they live in one single local village, Isla del Sol or "Island of the Sun".
Only iguanas and birds can be awarded the title of indigenous people. The pelicans nesting here gave this place its second name, and during the migration period they are joined by giant turtles. There are plenty of similar creatures on Cayo Largo both on land and in the sea. There are more than 30 diving spots on the island to explore the underwater kingdom.
They go to the island day excursions from Havana, but falling under the spell of this place, you want to stay here, if not for life, then at least for a couple more days.
Flights to Cayo Largo
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How to get to Cayo Largo Island
Cayo Largo is located 177 km south of Varadero and Havana. Travelers can reach the island by plane, landing at local airport Vilo Acuña. International terminal receives flights from Frankfurt, Milan, Montreal and Toronto. There is a daily morning flight from Havana from 07:00 to 10:00. It is better to book tickets before your trip. Ticket costs $70. Flight time is about 40 minutes.
Every week there are excursions from the island to Varadero, Trinidad, Pinar del Rio, Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba. You can also reach the shores of Cayo Largo by rented boat.
Hotels on Cayo Largo
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Cayo Largo has a well-developed hotel infrastructure. All hotels on the island are located along south coast just 10 min. drive from the airport. Each hotel except Villa Soledad has seawater swimming pools that are open 24 hours a day.
Sol Club Cayo Largo Hotel - has 296 rooms, each with air conditioning. The hotel has everything you need for activities aquatic species sports.
Hotel Barcelo Cayo Largo - offers accommodation in both standard rooms and one of 184 bungalows. There are several bars and restaurants on site.
Hotel Sol Pelícano - located right next to the beach, and from its observation deck you can see beautiful view on the sea.
Shopping on Cayo Largo
Shopping is not Cayo Largo's strong point; there is practically none here. The main and only chain of shops is called Caracol and it sells all traditional handicrafts and souvenirs. A specialty tobacco shop can be found at the Sol Club Cayo Largo, Isla del Sur, Playa Blanca and Sol Pelicano hotels. There is a large selection of cigars here, and the most popular brands are Cohiba, Montecristo, Partagas, Romeo y Julieta, Hupmann, Hoyo de Monterrey, Sancho Panza Vegueros.
Diving on the island of Cayo Largo
Cayo Largo is considered best place for scuba diving in Cuba and is a mixture of reefs, caves and grottoes. The island's deep sea is inhabited by giant turtles, whale sharks, rays, lobsters, crabs, eels and about 600 species of colorful corals. The water here is so clear and warm that a trip to underwater worlds Easily captivates even beginners.
There are 32 dive spots on the island and many of them are suitable for beginner divers. Training centers are easiest to find at hotels or at the pier where excursion catamarans depart. Diving in Cayo Largo is divided into 2 zones - close to the shore (up to 33 m) and remote spots near the islands of Cayo Rosario and Cayo Sigua, where the depth reaches 200 m. In each area, the relief is different in its own way, but invariably offers mesmerizing paintings.
You can simplify the procedure of getting to know sea creatures with the help of a mask and fins.
Dear friends, it is possible to get to the island of Cayo Largo only on a charter flight from Havana or Varadero, which is provided by the Gaviota company - it is she who decides what time the flights will be, how many flights there will be per day, whether or not there will be a flight from or to Varadero, on which Which tourist's flight will be boarded? Gaviota collects data from all tour operators and based on the collected applications and creates a flight program by the evening before departure - therefore, when buying a flight to Cayo Largo, you must be prepared for the uncertainty of your departure until the evening the day before departure.
There are no other ways to get to the island! The exception is private yachts.
There is no private aviation in Cuba, so it is not possible to provide a VIP transfer to Cayo Largo!
The flight price includes a group transfer from the hotel to the airport and from the airport to the hotel. You can take a taxi yourself and go to the airport for additional money, but the cost of a group transfer is not refundable, as this is an integral part of the service.
When booking your flight to Cayo Largo – you should consider the following points:
1. The departure time is told to you by representatives of the tour operator in the evening after 17:00 on the eve of the departure day.
2. Early flights are very common and transfers to the airport can start from 03 am
3. There are 1, 2 or 3 flights per day depending on the number booked tickets(early morning, afternoon and evening flights)
4. You will be brought to the airport 2 hours in advance and you will have to wait for your flight in a small waiting room.
5. Baggage for domestic flights is limited to 20 kg per person - excess costs 1 CUC per 1 kg and is paid on site at the airport upon weighing
6. If you have a flight booked to or from Varadero, be prepared for the fact that if the flight is underloaded, the flight may be made from Havana or to Havana, and the transfer from the airport to the Varadero hotel (or vice versa) will be made by land.
7. VERY RARE, but such a case has happened in our practice, when clients’ departure date was postponed to the next day!!
8. A transfer night in Havana (Varadero) before the day of departure or after the flight from the island is MANDATORY! Flight on the day of an international flight is not allowed - if you are late for a flight and lose your ticket for an international flight due to temporary delays associated with domestic flights, Gaviota Airlines, tour operators and travel agencies do not bear any responsibility!
9. Group transfer from the hotel in Havana (Varadero) to the airport and from the airport to the hotel in Cayo Largo (and back) is included in the ticket price and is not separately deducted - if you decide to go to or from the airport by individual transfer.
10. Exact time The arrival of the transfer to your hotel is not announced - only the start time of the collection of tourists is known. The waiting time will depend on how many tourists and from which hotels the transfer will collect to you.
11. Group transfer collects only from hotels; if you are staying in a private house, then you need to book a transfer from the hotel closest to your home and get to this hotel from home (to home) yourself.
12. It is not possible to buy a ticket at the airport! There are no ticket offices and they don't sell tickets! There is no online booking for tickets to the island. You can only book flight tickets through a travel agency!
If you are all looking for a place that is like heaven on earth, then you can't go wrong if you choose to visit Cayo Largo island.
Situated 177 kilometers south of the outskirts of the province of Havana, Cayo Largo is the largest eastern of the many coral reefs that make up the Archipelago de los Cannareos. This island or vision is boomerang-shaped, while its low-lying strips of land boast some of the most... beautiful beaches on .
Sugary white sands stretch along almost 20 kilometers coastline. Moreover, they dissolve in the transparently clear turquoise water of the ocean, by the way, in which snorkeling and diving are simply a pleasure.
Tell me honestly, did you like this little lyrical introduction? I think yes. After all, that's how I got to Cayo Largo in Cuba.
Most of the holidaymakers I met here were here from Europe for about a week. It makes no sense to stay here for any longer, because you will run out of options for your daily routine in 5 days maximum.
Lounging on the beach, diving and drinking dominates all other activities here. Considering the distance from the mainland and the relatively small number of potential things to do there, the most I still had enough imagination for was evening trip to Havana and Varadero.
I’ll say right away that I will not go into details of the trip to other Cuban cities, I will focus all my attention directly on Cayo Largo. So, let's begin.
I'll start right away with the shortcomings. In fact, you won’t see Cubans here; even hotel workers here are stationed so far from the hotels that you won’t actually see the spirit of the country itself.
Most of the social services you would want to find in Cayo Largo are located in the neighboring village of El Pueblo, located five kilometers from the resort. And, by the way, I recommend taking a more detailed approach to choosing a hotel. The fact is that there are only six of them, and they are all noticeably different. There's a pretty boring one here Hotel Club Cayo Largo, the attractive four-star hotel Sol Cayo Largo, the small fisherman's guesthouse Villa Marinera and a couple of other nondescript hotel houses.
I would like to note right away that all the hotels operate here on a permanent basis, have the slogan “all inclusive” and they are concentrated in the Playa Paraiso area, where the wave height is usually ideal for all water sports.
You know, in the week I spent here, I learned to stand on a surfboard here, got tired of eating grilled meat on the beach, and went on almost every excursion available.
I was especially impressed by the dozens of uninhabited reefs scattered like diamonds throughout the sapphire sea, including Cayo Iguana. This reef was named after the huge population of endemic giant lizards, seemingly harmless creepy crawlies, but in fact they are dangerous.
I’ll tell you right away how to get to Cayo Largo. Recently, it is possible without problems, due to the built here international airport. Unfortunately, there are no direct flights here from Moscow, so I first had to fly to Havana, and then transfer to a small plane, which took me to the archipelago.
By the way, in addition to the shuttle bus in the direction of my hotel, I noticed that free shuttle buses run directly from the airport to the most popular beaches in Cayo Largo. An original idea - nothing to say.
At all air tickets to Cuba and to Cayo Largo I ordered through the Internet service for selling air tickets aviasales.ru. At first I tried to find a direct flight, but realizing that it was not cost-effective, I had to sacrifice time for a transfer.
The price of an air ticket to Havana was 100 thousand rubles, while airfare from Havana to Cayo Largo at this stage of time it is about 2 thousand rubles one way.
I also learned that if your hotel does not provide you with a transfer, then you can also use a private taxi service.
In this case, for 5 dollars they will take you to your place of residence, and along the way they will tell you in broken English, Russian or German languages about all the hardships of living in Cuba, excursions available to tourists and much more.
When I was already driving back to the airport, I specifically decided to use a taxi, and a local taxi driver told me that Cayo Largo del Sur, also known simply as Cayo Largo, is the second largest island in Cuba after Los Canarreos .
Cayo Largo Island on the map located slightly south of the island of Cuba itself. It is about 25 kilometers long and 3 kilometers wide. And these are incredibly small sizes - even for Cuba, despite the fact that a fifth of the island is reserved for the airport, and another two-fifths are simply an area with dense vegetation.
So you now understand that people, as a rule, come here to take a break from civilization, drink rum and smoke cigars and nothing else.
Personally, as a tourist who prefers leisure I already walked around all the borders of the island on the second day after my arrival. So in the future we had to be content with various beaches and visiting numerous coral reefs.
By the way, a few words about local beaches. Cayo Largo is located within the borders of Cuba in such isolation that many here, as a rule, are accustomed to sunbathing completely naked. The real official nudist beach here is Playa Los Cocos, although in other deserted areas you can meet lovers of explicit tanning.
I thought it was thin beach line, strewn with white sand, has some kind of hard layer, so it’s quite easy to walk on the sand even barefoot (that’s why I walked the entire island from start to finish in a couple of days).
The most best beaches on the western side are Playa Sirena and Playo Paraiso, which are approximately a kilometer apart, which, given natural features sand is a relatively short distance (10 minutes walk).
What’s most interesting is that during a certain period of time, local authorities, if you can call them such, prohibit going to the beach at all, because the time for laying turtle eggs begins. And since turtles are loved and revered here more than people, it will not be possible to disobey such an “order” even with all the desire - all beaches will be guarded by special law enforcement officers.
Now a few words about the Internet. If you tell your relatives before departure that you want to contact them via the Internet, then, I hasten to assure you, you are unlikely to get through to them.
The Internet speed here is so slow that even opening an email will take about 30 minutes. You might say, well, let’s wait. But no. The Internet here is paid and costs 10 pesos for one hour of use.
Moreover, the keyboards here only have a Spanish layout. Of course, you may be able to write in Latin, but those who have passwords for email or social networks written in Russian will have a hard time.
As for excursions and other entertainment that does not include rum and cigars, I would like to highlight an interesting, almost 10-hour cruise on a catamaran costing 70 pesos.
In 10 hours you can go diving, swim with dolphins, walk along coral reefs and finally drink Cuban rum. In general, prices for excursions to Cayo Largo are incredibly affordable, even though quite wealthy tourists come here. Cubans don't use this and I like it. We would have already charged triple the price on some Americans.
If you want to visit Havana, I recommend preparing a travel route around the Cuban capital in advance. The fact is that a real excursion with a guide will cost about 300 pesos, while you can spend 200 pesos on your own, and even get more impressions.
A ticket from the airport to Cayo Largo to Havana costs 140 pesos round trip, and on the spot every second resident of the city will agree to see all the sights of the city for 20 pesos. The main thing is to beware of scammers, but they are usually visible from afar.
In addition, do not be lazy to buy cigars in Havana, especially since there is a whole factory there for their production. And, of course, try the local coffee. It will be difficult for it to compete with the Argentine taste, but it can be given the well-deserved second place.
To sum up my trip, I would like to say that, first of all, I expected something more from my trip to Cayo Largo, but this is due to the fact that I am not used to sitting still.
If you want to take a break from the outside world, you don’t like excursions, you are ready to lie on the beach for a whole week without having any connection with the rest of the world, then a holiday on Cayo Largo will be the best option for you for such a pastime. As they say, everyone has their own idea of heaven.
Excursions on the island of Cayo Largo aimed mainly at vacationers on the island. While in Cayo Largo, you can visit, for example, a small farm for breeding and protecting turtles “La Granja de las Tortugas”. The turtle farm is located next to the La Marina harbor and will leave a pleasant impression: you can usually see many young turtles here, which are kept in special tanks. You can also see wild beach, where giant sea turtles lay their eggs at night. Night tours are offered from April to September during the laying season to watch the turtles lay their eggs. Kauama tortoise, brown tortoise and green tortoise are raised here.Entrance fee - 1 CUC per person. The farm is open to the public from 9 am to 6 pm every day.
From Cayo hotels Largo organizes excursions to neighboring islands, each of which has its own unique attractions:
- excursion to the island of Juventud (Isla de la Juventud), also called in different translations the Island of Youth or the Island of Youth - the most large island Los Canarreos archipelago. In the past, the island served as a haven for pirates, and is now positioned as one of the best centers diving in the Caribbean: local diving centers are considered the best in Cuba. Of great interest International Center underwater sports "El Colony". This is where international meetings on underwater photography are held.
- excursion to the island of Cayo Iguanas, where a large population of rare endemic lizards has been preserved. This tiny rocky island, known as Iguana Island, is one of several small nearby islands where these unique, harmless lizards live, reminiscent of a small Jurassic Park. Iguanas live naturally on this island - this is not a zoo. From La Marina harbor to the island it takes about 20 minutes by boat, the total sailing lasts 45 minutes and costs 12 CUC.
- excursion to the island of Cayo Pajaros, where a variety of birds flock. The island of bizarre rocks is interesting for ornithologists: in fact, it is a huge nest in the rocks, where many birds breed their offspring.
- excursion to the island of Cayo Cantiles, inhabited by monkeys, for which it received the name “Monkey Island”. Cayo Cantiles is home to a significant number of monkeys in the wild. The island is part of the Science and Technology Experiment Station of the Ministry of Environment (CITMA).
- excursion to the island of Cayo Rico - a magnificent island, captivating with its natural beauty and surrounded by very green water and very fine white sand. In its vicinity lives a colony of lobsters and shellfish. On the island you can use the services of a restaurant specializing in seafood. The excursion lasts half a day: departure at 8:30, return at 13:30.
- excursion to the island of Cayo Rosario, where it lives a large number of fish. The excursion is of interest to divers. This is a fantastic dive: dark gorges and tunnels, Glass Fishes, surrounded by dolphins. They seem to play with you, sometimes they swim so close that they almost touch you.
A popular activity on Cayo Largo is full-day or half-day excursions on catamarans or fishing boats. There is a small tourist office who organizes fishing trips. The beginning of the fishing season from November to January is a very good time to catch especially large bonefish in the shallows and near mangroves, tarpon and other species of fish. To plan your trip to Cayo Largo this good time, since the weather in Cuba is much warmer than in Europe or North America.
The peak fishing season runs from February to June, when tarpon, bonefish, permit and trevally are especially good. Here, the migration of large tarpon up to 100 - 360 kg is often noticed at this time, with an average weight of 10-15 kg and permit.
The resort of Cayo Largo is today the best place in Caribbean for spinning fishing. Here you can catch a variety of fish on the reef, in canals and in deep water with a spinning rod: huge sea bass, three types of minnows up to 100 kg, caravel, barracuda and other large fish.
Getting to the island of Cayo Largo is both difficult and simple.
It is difficult for independent tourists to get there - air tickets to Cayo Largo are not sold just like that (online through well-known booking systems).
Just for package travelers who bought a tour to Cayo Largo from the state travel agency of Cuba or agencies associated with the state travel agency of Cuba.
I bought air tickets to Cayo Largo (Havana - Cayo Largo) and booked a hotel in Cayo Largo - in different places and I can say that this is not the best option.
I recommend doing this as a package (tickets + hotel) in one place.
I’ll tell you, using my own example, how all tourists (both packaged and independent) get to Cayo Largo from Havana.
Step by step.
Departure time is unknown
Having ordered and paid for air tickets on the Spanish website xxx (it no longer works), I received a voucher (not air tickets, but a voucher) in which it was written that the flight from Havana to Cayo Largo was on April 18, and the flight back was on April 21.
Departure time and place were not specified.
The voucher says that the day before departure you need to call the Cuban state tour operator Cubatur and confirm by saying the reference number indicated in the voucher and the passenger details.
And then they should tell you the place where they will pick you up and the time of the meeting.
Highly not recommended, and this is clearly stated in the voucher, plan international flights on the day of departure to Cayo Largo there and back.
That is, you need to have accommodation in Havana on the way there and back.
As I indicated, the departure time is unknown: it could be either early in the morning or in the evening - depending on the Cubans’ cards.
Transfer to Playa Baracoa airport
You cannot go to the airport by taxi yourself.
You need to take a bus transfer that collects tourists from hotels in Havana.
If you are staying in a casa particular in Havana, then you will have to go to one of the hotels in Havana from where tourists are picked up.
You will also have to find out about this by calling Kubatur the day before.
During the first call we were assigned the Florida Hotel at 2:00 p.m.
On the second call (an hour later) we were assigned the Melia Havana hotel at 15:00
Just in case, having called Kubatur on the morning of the departure, we learned that the meeting point had now been moved to the Havana Libra hotel at 14:00.
This was the starting point for a bus that went around the hotels in Havana, so we had the dubious pleasure of traveling around Havana for 2 hours.
I understand that all tourists have a very approximate departure time - just like us at 14:00.
They sit and wait for the transfer in the hotel lobby.
If you are not there, the bus will not wait and the tickets will be lost since tourists are not accepted by taxi at the airport.
Check-in for your flight to Cayo Largo
The bus brings tourists to a building that resembles a cafe in an open field.
Everyone is lined up at the door.
Queuing is a favorite pastime of Cubans, and they apparently believe that other people also enjoy standing in lines.
2-3 people are allowed into the room where they check in for the flight.
If you have nothing better to do, try to walk around the area - 20 meters from the “airport” the police will stop you and send you back under the canopy.
At check-in, you check in your luggage and receive a boarding pass without a seat.
Next you need to move on to the next step, to pass the scanner and the metal detector frame.
The scanner detects lighters in hand luggage and take them away.
Inside the waiting room there is a smoking room and a cafe where you can buy beer and chips.
After everyone goes through the procedures and accumulates in the waiting room, the door opens and, in the order of the queue, you are allowed onto the field along which you walk to the plane.
ATR turboprop aircraft, landing in the cabin 2-2.
Travel time to Cayo Largo is 35 minutes.
Arrival to Cayo Largo and transfer to hotels
Having arrived at Cayo Largo, whose airport looks more presentable than Havana, and having received your luggage, you need to get to your hotel.
A guide arrives with a list and notes who is going to which hotel.
Then you have to wait for the bus.
In our case, about 50 people were waiting for the bus, sitting on the steps of the arrivals hall.
At the same time, empty buses were passing by.
After a long wait, a bus arrived where tourists with reservations at two hotels were boarded: Sol and Pelican.
Check in hotel
After our bus pulled into the lobby of the Sol Cayo Largo Hotel, tourists poured out and lined up at the reception.
The man who was there before saw us and ran away somewhere.
I don’t know - maybe take a shit or have dinner: the clock hands were approaching 19:00 (our journey began at 14:00).
About 20 minutes later he appeared and began to leisurely serve tourists.
One man.
30 tourists.
Someone who, apparently, was not here for the first time, calmly went to the bar for cocktails and by the time he checked in was already pretty drunk.
I booked a room in the luxury category at this hotel - ocean view, superior.
After submitting our passports, we found out our room number, but then the man went out somewhere (probably to take a piss), and upon returning announced that the hotel was full and they would give us a standard room for one night.
I booked the hotel 2 months before.
None of the options like “call the elder”, “we will complain” had any effect.
The dude, with a calm expression, began to serve those who were standing in line behind us.
Feeling like complete schmucks, we agreed to the proposed option - we really wanted to take a shower and eat.
Flight back to Havana
You will find out the flight time to Havana the day before, in the evening.
Two flights to Havana.
One morning at 8:20 (transfer from hotel at 6:45)
Second evening at 17 with kopecks.
As the guy at the reception said, the choice when you fly is completely random, a lottery.
Of course, we didn’t believe him: bribery is rampant in Cuba, so someone slipped 20 cookies at the reception and asked for a late flight.
Or as in our case: I put in 20 cookies and got a room upgrade from standard to superior, and the one who booked and paid for superior, but on principle does not give bribes (for example, me) - stomps to standard.
We were extremely glad that we had an early flight.
By this time, we decided to leave Cuba as quickly as possible and we did not need the extra few hours on the island of Cayo Largo, although the reservation indicated “late check-out at 15:00 for our room category.
When checking in for a flight, everyone asked what airport the plane was arriving at.
The staff replied that we were arriving at Playa Baracoa airport.
Nevertheless, the plane arrived at Havana’s Jose Marti airport - which we were very happy about, since we were going to immediately buy tickets to Costa Rica and leave the “island of freedom”.
It’s interesting that along the way the plane made an intermediate stop on the Island of Youth (Isla de la Juventud) and everyone, not knowing about it, rushed to the exit.
And only the intervention of the pilot, who said over the speakerphone in Spanish - this is not Havana! stopped the mass exodus from the plane into the rain.
At Havana's José Marti International Airport, Aerogaviota stopped the airplane in the middle of a field next to Cubana's IL-96 and picked up a bus to take it to the Domestique terminal.
On the side of the bus it was written Taxi-Bus 1$
And although they did not take money upon delivery from the airfield to the terminal, I would not be surprised if they opened the front door and checked in all the passengers.
While all the tourists were scratching their heads and wondering what was going on with their “free transfer” to the hotel in Havana.
We took a taxi for 5 CUC (VAZ-2105 with doors falling off), 15 minutes later we were in the departure hall of Havana International Airport and having bought tickets to Costa Rica via Mexico for $1,150 in cash (there were simply no other options for flying), we now said goodbye to Cuba for sure forever – we’ve had enough of the “charms” of the island of “freedom”.
Tickets that were purchased a month ago for today are, of course, gone.
We paid a thousand bucks so that in the evening, upon arriving at the San Jose airport, without any tip, we could book a room at the Holiday Inn near the airport, have a normal dinner in the restaurant across the street, sleep, have a normal breakfast and rent a car one day earlier: it’s possible here, no bribes or tips.