Beautiful Gazebo and Pier On Tropical White Sandy Beach. The gazebo offers a beautiful view of the turquoise cristal clear water.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Ciego de Ávila Province

Diminutive Ciego de Ávila's finger-in-the-dyke moment came during the late-19th-century Cuban Wars of Independence: it became the site of an impressive fortified wall, the Trocha, built to keep out rebellious eastern armies from the prosperous west. Today, the province continues to be the cultural divide between Cuba's Oriente and Occidente. Most tourists come here for the ambitious post–Special Period resort development of Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo. The brilliant tropical pearls that once seduced Ernest Hemingway have had their glorious beaches spruced up and daubed with over a dozen exclusive resorts.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Laguna La Redonda
Ciego de Ávila Province
Anglers, listen up: 12km north of Morón, off the Cayo Coco road, this mangrove-rimmed, 4-sq-km lake has the island's best square-kilometer density of bass…
Parque de la Ciudad
Ciego de Ávila Province
The once scrubby wasteland between Hotel Ciego de Ávila and the city center, on the northwestern edge of town, is now a vast park featuring an artificial…
Museo Provincial Simón Reyes
Ciego de Ávila Province
One of Cuba's best-presented municipal museums, this mustard-yellow building with a typical avileño porch is one convertible well spent. Riveting exhibits…
Playa Pilar
Ciego de Ávila Province
This much sought-after strip of sand is regularly touted as Cuba's (and the Caribbean's) best beach, courtesy of its diamond-dust white sand and rugged…
Cayo Paredón Grande
Cayo Coco
East of Cayo Coco, a road crosses over to Cayo Romano (technically Camagüey Province) and turns north to Cayo Paredón Grande and Faro Diego Velázquez, a…
La Presa de Florencia
Ciego de Ávila Province
The Florencia area's focal point is an artificial lake called La Presa de Florencia, formed when a dam was built on the Río Chambas in 1991. The lake and…
Loma de Cunagua
Ciego de Ávila Province
This wild, foliage-covered loma (hill), the province's only real high ground, was turned into a flora-and-fauna reserve in 1985. With its fabulous coastal…
Los Buchillones
Ciego de Ávila Province
Tucked away on Ciego de Ávila Province's northwest coastline, this significant archaeological site was originally excavated during the 1980s after…