Cayo Coco

Holiday Destinations / North America and Caribbean / Cuba / Travel Guide / Cayo Coco

The extraordinary, powdery beaches of Coco are the primary attraction of the Jardines del Rey archipelago. It is Cuba’s answer to the rest of the Caribbean’s offering in idyllic sun, sand, and sea holidays. Unsurprisingly, Cayo Coco quickly became the main tourist destination in Cuba outside Havana and Varadero.

Cayo Coco offers the same appeal as Varadero: pristine sand beaches and some of the best all-inclusive resorts in Cuba. However, due to its remoteness, it has a more natural feel and benefits from far fewer resorts lining up along the beach.

Like Cayo Santa Maria and Cayo Guillermo, Cayo Coco is connected to mainland Cuba by a man-made causeway that constitutes an attraction in itself. The 17-mile natural stone road traversing the sea towards the Cayo offers magnificent views of the strait of Florida and the Cuban coastline.

Cayo Coco, like its cousins Cayo Santa Maria and Cayo Guillermo, where only known to local fishermen and adventurers like Hemingway until the early 1990s. Only then constructions started to turn the isolated cays into beach resort gateways. Therefore, the area retains that natural, unspoiled feel that places it ahead of Varadero as the perfect destination for fly and sand holidays.

With 22km of creamy-white sands and cerulean waters, Cayo Coco has some of the best beaches in Cuba, hands down, and effortlessly draws holidaymakers to its shores. Cayo Coco’s big three beaches, home to the all-inclusives and packed with boisterous activities, hog the narrow easternmost peninsula jutting out of the cay’s north coast. For a pocket of tranquillity, escape the main beaches and head to Playa Los Flamencos. The beach offers 3km of fine sands and transparent waters where tangerine-coloured starfish float through the shallows. There’s also good snorkelling out to sea.

Best hotels in Cayo Coco

Search and compare hundreds of hotels in Cayo Coco, Cuba