How to go from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria

The glorious and relatively unknown islet of Cayo Santa Maria is located to the north of Cuba, off the coast of the Villa Clara Province.  It’s part of the Jardines del Rey Archipelago and is a relatively recent addition to Cuba’s tourism scene.   Cayo Santa Maria is known for all-inclusive resorts, white sand beaches, and the nearby Buenavista Biosphere Reserve.  This guide covers you whether you’re going from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria or Cayo Santa Maria to Havana, as you’ll need to know the best way to travel between these two locations.  There are several options for transport between Havana and Cayo Santa Maria, but what’s the best way to go from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria?  And what are the options for traveling to Cayo Santa Maria from Havana?  Here’s our guide on how to get to Cayo Santa Maria from Havana.

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Where is Cayo Santa Maria?

Cayo Santa Maria is located off Cuba’s northern coast, part of a group of islands called Los Cayos de Villa Clara, along with Cayo Ensenachos and Cayo Las Brujas.  They’re all part of the Jardines del Rey archipelago.  Cayo Santa Maria is connected to the main island of Cuba by a pedraplén – a causeway  – which starts at the town of Caibarien.   (Another favorite Cuban island that’s connected by a causeway is Cayo Jutias – our guide is here)

Cayo Santa Maria is at the end of the 30-mile (48-kilometer) causeway, which also connects Cayo Ensenachos and Cayo Las Brujas too.

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How to Go from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria – Transport Options

In this guide on how to go from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria, we’ll cover the fastest way to travel from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria, the easiest way to go to Cayo Santa Maria from Havana, and the cheapest way to get to Cayo Santa Maria from Havana.  Our guide to Cayo Santa Maria is here.

How to get to Cayo Santa Maria from Havana

For transport from Cayo Santa Maria to Havana, you have several options.  You can take a Viazul bus part of the way from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria, or you can also take a shared private transfer to Cayo Santa Maria from Havana.  You can take a taxi to Cayo Santa Maria from Havana, or you can (sometimes) fly to Cayo Santa Maria from Havana.  The final option on how to go to Cayo Santa Maria from Havana is to rent a car and drive yourself there.

The quickest way to go to Cayo Santa Maria from Havana is to take a pre-arranged transfer. They’ll pick you (and your luggage) up from either your hotel or casa particular and drop you at your hotel in Cayo Santa Maria. You can book a private transfer to Cayo Santa Maria from Havana here.

Private Taxi from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria

Taking a private taxi to Cayo Santa Maria from Havana is one of the fastest ways to go to Cayo Santa Maria.  It is the most comfortable way to travel. It takes about 5 hours to drive to Cayo Santa Maria from Havana, depending on where you are leaving from in Havana.  You can check prices for Havana to Cayo Santa Maria taxis here.

There are three ways of organizing a taxi to Cayo Santa Maria from Havana.

1. You can prebook one here ahead of time, with cancellation up to 24 hours before travel.
2. You can ask your hotel or Casa Particular owner to book one for you.  It will be *about* the same price as what you pay online, but you will need to pay in cash.  US dollars, Euros, Canadian dollars, or Pounds Sterling will likely be accepted.  You should check and also check what the price is in Cuban pesos.  Read my guide to Cuban currency here.
3. Find a taxi on the street near where you are staying and negotiate with them; this might be slightly cheaper than the other options.  Or it might not. It depends on your negotiation skills.

This option, with a private driver from DayTrip is fabulous.  It means that you can make sightseeing stops along the way from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria.   You can select the time for each stop and see how much it costs.  So you’ll always know ahead of time how much you’re paying.  It’s a great idea.  I wrote about private drivers and the Daytrip service here.

Shared Shuttles from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria

You can book a shared shuttle from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria.  The length of time this takes depends on where you are picked up from in Havana, how many other pick-ups there are, and where you’re all going to in Cayo Santa Maria and the bus goes a little slower than a private car, so you can expect the trip to take around 6.5 hours.

You can lock in a price for a shared transfer from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria here.

These shuttles will pick you up from your casa particular or hotel in Havana and drop you at your hotel in Cayo Santa Maria.

Viazul Bus from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria

If you want to take the Viazul Bus (and I do NOT recommend it for this route), then you’ll have to take the bus from Havana to Santa Clara and then transfer to a taxi.  The timings of the Viazul Bus do NOT make this an easy journey.

The Viazul Bus service doesn’t go as far as Cayo Santa Maria.  The closest stop is the city of Santa Clara (which I wrote about here and which is well worth a day or two).  From Santa Clara, you can either get a shared colectivo or a private taxi to Cayo Santa Maria.

However.  The Viazul Bus leaves either the airport or the bus station in Havana, which is near the Plaza de Revolucion, so you will have to consider getting to the bus station/airport.

You must also check in 1 hour in advance of your bus departure time to confirm your seat.  And you must have also bought your ticket before this time.  You can buy Viazul tickets online here, on their website.  And I recommend that you read our guide to the Viazul bus service here.  (and get a copy of the Viazul Timetable that shows you the bus options)

The Viazul Bus Station in Cayo Santa Maria is located at Calle 36 y Autopista de Cayo Santa Maria.

There are three Viazul Buses a day that go from Havana to Santa Clara. 

They leave Havana at 01:00, 16:10, and 16:25.

These buses arrive in Santa Clara at 04:50, 20:45, and 23:25

It’s extremely unlikely that you’ll find a taxi to take you to Cayo Santa Maria at that time.

Train from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria

There is no realistic train option to go from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria at this time.  While there is a train station in Havana, the closest train station to Cayo Santa Maria is at Santa Clara, which is still 113 kilometers (70 miles) away from Cayo Santa Maria.   So, of course, if you can get a ticket for the train, then you can take it, and then take a taxi from Santa Clara to Cayo Santa Maria.

However, the distance from Santa Clara to Cayo Santa Maria isn’t the main issue with taking a train in Cuba; it’s bigger than that.

You, as a visitor to Cuba, cannot book trains online in Cuba.  Citizens and residents can, but not you.  Trains are seriously cheap in Cuba, which means that the tickets sell out in mere minutes.  So if you want to buy a ticket for a train, you need to be IN Cuba, personally.  And about 30 days ahead of when you want to travel.  You can read my guide to trains in Cuba here.

Fly from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria

There is a small airport on Cayo Las Brujas that occasionally gets flights from Havana.  The airport code is BWW.    I can’t, at the time of writing, see any flight options, but you should check ECASA.  This is the government-owned company that operates airports in Ciba. https://www.aeropuertoscuba.com.cu/ .

However, the best place for flight schedules is their telegram account – https://t.me/EcasaCuba.

Rent a Car and Drive from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria

There are four rental car companies in Cuba (and a bunch of online sites promoting them and selling the rental car services.  All four rental car companies are owned either wholly or in part by the Cuban Government or the Cuban military. 

There is a limited supply of rental cars, and it is unlikely that you’ll be able to rent a car online for your visit to Cuba, but if you want the freedom of traveling when and where you want, then this is the most independent option.  I recommend you read my guide to Cuban Car rental here.

The quickest way to get from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria

The time it will take you to get to Cayo Santa Maria from Havana is to take a direct transfer or taxi, it takes about 5 hours to drive to Cayo Santa Maria from Havana, depending on what sightseeing stopovers you plan.  You can book a private transfer from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria here.

The easiest way to go to Cayo Santa Maria from Havana

The easiest way to get from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria is to get a door-to-door transfer (you can check the rates here), but it also depends on what stopovers you’d like to include.

The cheapest way to go from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria

The cheapest way to get to Cayo Santa Maria from Havana is to take the shared shuttle – reserve your seats here.

The best way to go from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria

For this trip, I’d opt for the private taxi and make a stopover (or two along the way.  The most popular stopover is Cienfuegos (my guide is here), and two hours there is a great introduction to this UNESCO World Heritage site.  You can also make stops at Santa Clara, Finca Vigia, Matanzas, or even Sancti Spiritus.  Check your options here.

Final Words on How to Go from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria

It’s only if you try to include a train or the Viazul Bus that this route from Havana to Cayo Santa Maria is difficult.  There are shared bus shuttle services available that are easy to book (and prepay), and if you fancy a little sightseeing along the way, then there are great options available too. 

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