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| Cathedral - Camaguey city |
Santa Lucia is located around 110 kilometers from Camagüey, this city was born as a capital in Punta de Guincho, facing the Bay of Nuevitas and dates back to February 2nd, 1514 and was one of the first seven villas founded by the Spanish colonizers in the Island. It was not until January 6th , 1528 that the capital of Camaguey was moved to its current location, between the Tínima and Hatibonico rivers and well away from the coasts, to avoid the frequent attacks of pirates. The Historic Center of the City of Camagüey, second largest in the country is a must-see place as well as the Tinajones, large recipients of water made of cooked clay. Its narrow streets that always end in squares and plazas where buildings of outstanding historical, social and architectural value can be seen.
Santa Lucia beach is just 110 kilometers north of the city with twenty kilometers of sandy beaches and the warm and transparent waters protected by the second largest Coral Reef of the Planet that stretches to the west for 400 kilometers up to Varadero.
It is in front of Santa Lucía that the Coral Reef is closer to the Cuban coast, as close as 200 meters from the shore and it is possible to dive into the fascinating world of 50 species of Coral, 200 species of sponges, near 500 species of tropical fish and the remains of at least 27 sunken ships. The diving area of Santa Lucia covers five kilometers and Black Coral, purple, orange and yellow sponges can be found as well as the remains of the Mortera and Nuevo Mortera ships, the only two built for Cuba in the British shipyards.
Cayo Sabinal with a surface of 335 square kilometers and more than 30 kilometers of virgin beaches can also be visited from Santa Lucia by road through a causeway two kilometers long. This key is ideal place for photo hunting and tours with fresh water lagoons and different species of meet including a large colony of pink flamingos.
Cuba Travel Expert Recommendations' in Santa Lucia, Camaguey, Cuba
Coral Tour
This is a unique way to see the wonders that the second largest coral barrier of the world has to offer with a diversity of colorful fish and corals. You can ride on a Catamaran to snorkel for one hour in the coral barriers.
Deep Sea Fishing
For those who like to try their luck in fishing this is a great best opportunity, there are around 900 species of fish around this area such as barracudas, tuna, snappers, groupers, marlins, and sharks depending on the season.
Cuba Travel Expert last site inspection of Santa Lucia, Camaguey, Cuba
The Santa Lucia beach is great for snorkeling and if you want to be away from everything, there is not a lot in Santa Lucia but I have to say I had a great time on the Camaguey tour. It was a unique experience to see cuban life & culture (not just the glitzy resort lifestyle). I enjoyed it. The tour guide gave us interesting facts and we had different stops including a rum factory, old cane sugar factory, artisan shops. Lunch was good with some delicious beans! We had about 1 hr to roam around (which was more than enough because there isn't much shopping or things to do there). It was very interesting to see this type of lifestyle and we felt we had went back in time a bit. The tour guide showed us central Camaguey with some key spots, then we relaxed at a cafe with mojitos. I enjoyed the tour because I like experience and seeing culture.
