Airports and arrival
The cays are served by a small dedicated airport on Cayo Las Brujas that handles limited flights, while many travellers instead route through larger Cuban airports and continue overland. From central Cuba, Santa Clara is the provincial capital and a common hub before heading north-east toward the coast. However you arrive in the country, the last stretch to the cays funnels through the Remedios and Caibarian area, where the causeway begins. Planning your internal transport, whether taxi, transfer or organised tour, is the key practical step.
Through Remedios and Caibarian
The colonial town of Remedios and the coastal town of Caibarian are the mainland gateways. Nearly everyone bound for the cays passes through this corner of Villa Clara. It is a natural place to pause, whether for a meal, a night in a casa particular, or simply to organise the causeway crossing. Resort guests are often carried straight through on transfers, but independent travellers can base here and travel out to the beaches by day. Treat these towns as the hinge of any cay trip.
Crossing the causeway
From near Caibarian, the pedraplen causeway runs roughly 48 kilometres across the shallow bay to the cays, first reaching Cayo Las Brujas, then Cayo Ensenachos and Cayo Santa Maria. There is a control point on the road, and the crossing is made by resort transfer, taxi or tour vehicle rather than on foot. The drive is long, flat and scenic, over open water and mangrove flats rich in birdlife. This single road is the only land access to the cays, which is exactly why the mainland gateway towns matter so much to any journey here.
A useful thing to fix in your mind is that this access pattern, funnelled through the mainland and out along one causeway, is why the cays function purely as resort destinations. You go there to arrive, stay a while on the beach, and leave the same way. There is no through-traffic, no local commuting community and no property to move into; the journey itself explains the nature of the place. Plan your internal transport in advance and the trip is straightforward.