Cayo Santa María (Cay or "Key" of Santa Maria) is an island off Cuba's north central coast in the Jardines del Rey archipelago. The island is linked by road and bridge to the town of Caibarién on the main island. Cayo Santa María is well known for its white sand beaches and luxury all inclusive resorts.
Cayo Santa María | |
|---|---|
Resort island and village | |
 A beach in Cayo Santa Maria | |
| Country |  Cuba |
| Province | Villa Clara |
| Municipality | Caibarién |
| Elevation | 4 m (13 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| Area code | +53-43 |
| |
 | |
| Location | Cayo Santa María Sancti Spíritus Province Cuba |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 24°41′06.0″N 78°53′01.2″W / 24.685000°N 78.883667°W |
| Constructed | 1909 (first) |
| Foundation | concrete basement |
| Construction | cast iron tower |
| Height | 32 metres (105 ft) |
| Shape | tapered cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern |
| Markings | white and red horizontal band tower, silver metalli lantern |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1955 (current) |
| Focal height | 48 metres (157 ft) |
| Lens | first-order Fresnel lens |
| Range | 28 nautical miles (52 km; 32 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fl W 5s. |
| Cuba no. | CU-0325[1][2] |
Geography
The island is linked to the mainland near Caibarién by a 48 km causeway constructed between 1989 and 1999 by Campaña de Las Villas. The island is administered as part of Caibarién, a municipality of Villa Clara Province.[3]
Tourism
The first hotel to open its door was the Sol Cayo Santa Maria in Dec. 2001. All hotels in Cayo Santa María, currently 12 for a total of 8,739 rooms, are owned by the Cuban group Gaviota. The « Cayos de Villa Clara » project is the construction of 10,000 rooms on the islands of Cayo Santa Maria, Cayo Ensenachos and Cayo Las Brujas.[citation needed]
The hotels of the island are the "Melia Buenavista" (105 rooms), "Sol Cayo Santa María" (300 rooms), "Melia Cayo Santa María" 358 rooms), "Melia Las Dunas" (925 rooms), "Playa Cayo Santa María" (769 rooms), "Starfish Cayo Santa Maria" (1,308 rooms), "Royalton Cayo Santa María" (122 rooms), "Memories Paraiso Beach Resort" (666 rooms), "Grand Memories Santa Maria" (732 rooms), "Hotel Cayo Santa María" (846 rooms), "Warwick Cayo Santa Maria" (800 rooms), "Ocean Casa del Mar by H10" (800 rooms) and the "Valentin Perla Blanca" (1,020 rooms). There is also one hotel in the neighbor island Cayo Ensenachos, the "Iberostars Ensenachos" (506 rooms).[citation needed]
There is one more hotel to be built in the eastern area of Cayo Santa Maria, near the Valentin Perla Blanca, the « Lagunas del Este V » that will probably be a Paradisus.[citation needed] The development in the Cayos de Villa Clara continues on the third island called Cayo Las Brujas. The next hotels to open its door will be the Sercotel Cayo Santa Maria followed by the Dhawa Cayo Santa Maria (banyan Tree Resorts). NOTE that these hotels have the name « Cayo Santa Maria » BUT there are not located on the island of Cayo Santa Maria, but about 10 km west of the hotels in Cayo Santa Maria.[citation needed]
References
- ^ Cuba The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 21 January 2017
- ^ List of Lights, Pub. 110: Greenland, The East Coasts of North and South America (Excluding Continental U.S.A. Except the East Coast of Florida) and the West Indies (PDF). List of Lights. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2016.
- ^ Template:Es icon Cayo Santa María on EcuRed
External links
- Cayo Santa Maria, Cuba Template:En icon Template:Fr icon
- Canadians Answer Cuba's Call by Joseph Kula, Canwest, September 14, 2009
- Hotels, Weather, Map and more about Cayo Santa Maria.
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