Isla de la Juventud
Cuba · 10 m
Description
Isla de la Juventud is Cuba's second largest island and its least visited region, a flat expanse of pine forest and marble hills south of the main island. Its name changed from the Isle of Pines when thousands of foreign students came to study here. The Presidio Modelo, a circular panopticon prison where Fidel Castro was held after the attack on the Moncada barracks, stands empty and open to visitors. Caves at Punta del Este hold hundreds of Taíno pictographs, and the marine park off Punta Francés is among the finest dive grounds in the Caribbean. A ferry from Batabanó is the usual way across.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 2 to 5 days (optimal 3 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: December – April
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Presidio Modelo Panopticon Prison Museum
- Punta Francés National Marine Park Diving
- Cueva de Punta del Este Taíno Rock Paintings
- Nueva Gerona and the Marble Sierras
- Playa Bibijagua Black Marble Sand
- Coral Walls and Wrecks of the Costa de los Piratas
- Ciénaga de Lanier Wetlands
- El Abra Farm and the José Martí Exile House
- Cocodrilo Village and its Cayman Islander Community
- Crocodile Breeding Centre (Criadero de Cocodrilos)
- Punta del Este Beach
- Snorkelling on the Canarreos Reefs
- Sierra de Caballos Hike
- Museum of Natural Sciences in Nueva Gerona
- Sea Turtle Nesting on the Southern Beaches (June - September)
Getting there
- Airports:
- GER
- Seaport:
- Reachable by ship or ferry