Carretera a Guillermo

Updated April 15, 2024

## Carretera a Guillermo, Cuba – The Causeway into Jardines del Rey

Carretera a Guillermo is the scenic road that carries you from mainland Ciego de Ávila out across the sea to Cayo Guillermo, one of the resort islands in Cuba’s Jardines del Rey archipelago. It forms part of the network of artificial causeways (pedraplenes) that link the Cuban mainland to Cayo Coco and then on to Cayo Guillermo.

If you’re planning to self-drive in Cuba or join a transfer into the cayos, this stretch of road is much more than “getting from A to B.” It’s a controlled access corridor through mangroves, shallow lagoons, and open sea – with real implications for how you plan your trip, your budget, and how you travel responsibly.

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## Where Exactly Is Carretera a Guillermo?

– Province: Ciego de Ávila, central Cuba
– Mainland gateway city: Morón (the closest sizable city to Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo)
– Archipelago: Jardines del Rey, which includes Cayo Coco, Cayo Guillermo, Cayo Romano, Cayo Cruz and other cays.
– Coordinates provided: 22.523099, –78.407961 (along the approach route toward Cayo Guillermo)

The road sequence works like this:

1. Mainland → Cayo Coco: A long artificial causeway (pedraplén) crosses the Bay of Dogs (Bahía de Perros) from the mainland near Morón to Cayo Coco.
2. Cayo Coco → Cayo Guillermo: From Cayo Coco, a shorter causeway continues west to Cayo Guillermo.

Travelers often refer to the whole drive from the mainland to Cayo Guillermo simply as la carretera a los cayos or Carretera a Guillermo, even though technically it’s a sequence of connected roads and causeways.

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## What the Drive Actually Feels Like

Trip reports from recent years consistently describe the causeway section as one of the most visually striking drives in Cuba. Drivers leave the last town on the mainland, pass a control booth where an access fee is charged, and then roll onto a man-made road built straight across shallow sea and marshes.

A few key points that are well-documented:

– Long over-water section
– Sources disagree on the exact length of the causeway to Cayo Coco, quoting roughly 17 km to around 27 km across the bay.
– What’s consistent is that it is a long drive fully surrounded by water and low-lying coastal ecosystems, with almost uninterrupted sea views.

– Views of mangroves and shallow lagoons
– The northern coast around Morón and the Jardines del Rey is described as marshy, with extensive wetlands and shallow bays.
– As you drive, you’re crossing exactly this environment, on a raised road engineered over the sea.

– Flamingos and birdlife
– Environmental reports note that wild flamingos still inhabit the shallow waters around the pedraplén, and they can often be spotted from the road, though sightings are said to be less frequent than before the causeway was built.

Because the road is straight and visually dramatic, it’s easy to underestimate how exposed it is. Wind, rain squalls, and strong sun are amplified over open water, so plan your timing and driving breaks accordingly.

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## Access Fee and Checkpoints

Multiple traveler accounts mention:

– A checkpoint / toll booth at the entrance to the causeway network serving the cayos. por el mundo
– A per-vehicle access fee, paid when entering and again when leaving the island area. The exact amount and currency have changed over time and are not reliably consistent across reports, so it’s safest to:
– Assume a mandatory fee per car (including rentals).
– Carry enough local currency (and possibly euros or another accepted hard currency) in cash.
– Verify the current rate with your car-rental agency or accommodation before you set out.

Because Cuba’s economic situation and pricing can change relatively quickly, treat any specific fee amounts you see in older blogs as indicative only, not fixed.

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## The Environmental Story Behind the Road

The Carretera a Guillermo and its connecting pedraplenes are controversial from an environmental perspective, and that context matters if you care about responsible travel:

– The causeway to Cayo Coco is documented as an artificial road built directly over the sea to connect the island to mainland Cuba, and it has been criticized for disrupting water flow and marine ecosystems.
– Environmental observers noted that the structure could interrupt wave and current patterns and affect life cycles in the shallow bay.
– Despite these concerns, monitoring and travel accounts indicate that flamingos and other wildlife still use the shallow lagoons, although reportedly less frequently than before construction.

### Practical ways to travel responsibly on Carretera a Guillermo

To reduce your impact on this sensitive area:

– Respect any “no stopping” or restricted-access zones along the causeway. These are intended partly to protect wildlife and prevent off-road damage to wetlands.
– Avoid littering completely. Waste thrown from cars in such a narrow corridor ends up directly in the sea or mangroves.
– Keep speeds reasonable even if the road is straight and empty; wildlife can be close to the road’s edges, and conditions can change quickly with wind or rain.

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## Getting to Cayo Guillermo via the Carretera

Cayo Guillermo itself is a small cay off Cuba’s northern coast, in the municipality of Morón, with a cluster of beach hotels and one of Cuba’s most famous beaches, Playa Pilar, at its western tip.

### Main access routes

1. By air + road
– Fly to Jardines del Rey International Airport (CCC) on Cayo Coco. The island has had its own airport since 2005, and tourists can fly directly there rather than via the mainland.
– From the airport, transfers and taxis use the causeway and connecting road network to continue west to Cayo Guillermo.

2. By road from the Cuban mainland
– Drivers approach from Ciego de Ávila and Morón, then take the state highway and local road that lead to the causeway.
– After clearing the access control point, you cross the main pedraplén and then take the short causeway onward to Cayo Guillermo.

Because official guidance on self-drive vs. transfers is periodically updated, especially in response to fuel availability and infrastructure, it’s wise to confirm current rental-car policy, fuel stations, and transfer schedules locally before committing to driving yourself.

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## When to Drive Carretera a Guillermo

Cayo Guillermo and Cayo Coco share the climate of Cuba’s north-central coast:

– Dry season: roughly November to April – typically the most reliable weather and calmer seas, which can make the causeway drive more pleasant.
– Wet season and hurricane season: roughly May to October, with the main Atlantic hurricane risk from June to November. Tropical storms can affect sea conditions and, in severe cases, road safety and accessibility.

For a causeway like this, storms are not a theoretical concern. Checking local forecasts and any official advisories before you set out is essential, especially in peak hurricane months.

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## How Carretera a Guillermo Fits into a Wider Itinerary

Because this road is a gateway, not just an attraction, it naturally anchors a wider Ciego de Ávila / Jardines del Rey itinerary. A few well-documented building blocks:

– Morón: a historic municipality with a long-standing role as a railway and agricultural hub, and the primary mainland city connected to the cayos.
– Cayo Coco: a larger resort island linked by the main pedraplén, known for its all-inclusive hotels and beaches, and connected onwards to Cayo Guillermo.
– Cayo Guillermo / Playa Pilar: a more compact island whose flagship beach has clear water, fine sand and a literary link to Ernest Hemingway’s yacht Pilar and his novel Islands in the Stream.

If your site already covers any of these, Carretera a Guillermo is a natural “how to get there” pillar that can internally link across your Ciego de Ávila and Jardines del Rey content.

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## Important Notes on Data Currency

Cuba’s tourism infrastructure, pricing, and logistics have been through significant changes in recent years, including:

– Shifts in tour-operator presence (for example, major European operators withdrawing or changing schedules).
– Economic reform, multiple currency changes, and fuel-availability fluctuations which can directly affect car hire, transfers, and tolls.

Because of that, treat older blog posts and even some guidebooks about this area as historical context rather than up-to-the-minute logistics. The structural facts about the causeway and geography are stable; exact prices, vehicle rules, and even hotel line-ups can change.

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## Internal Link Opportunities (for your editor)

To respect the “factual only” constraint, here are linking suggestions rather than hard-coded URLs:

– Link mentions of “Jardines del Rey archipelago” to your broader guide on Cayo Coco and Cayo Guillermo if you have one.
– Link the phrase “Playa Pilar” or “best beaches in Cayo Guillermo” to any detailed beach or resort-selection guide you host for the island.

You or your editor can map these anchor phrases to actual URLs within RealJourneyTravels.com’s Cuba or Caribbean section, keeping the article both accurate and internally well-connected.

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