Ernest Hemingway, winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, used to fish in the beautiful water (of all imaginable hues of blue) around this island on board of the Pilar and, and during World War II, kept an eye on the Nazi submarines in this labyrinth of Cays.

The island is a limestone pain rimmed by beaches, cliffs, marshes, lagoons and mangrove thickets. These features plus the fact that nobody lived here, made it an ideal hideaway for corsairs and pirates, who used to bury their treasures in this little islands. Ships loaded with great wealth and bound for Spain were often sunk in its waters.

Cayo Coco has 13.6 miles of creamy-white sandy beaches bathed by green-blue waters. There are 9 beaches in Cayo Coco of which Flamencos, Las Coloradas and La Jaula are the most popular. The section of seabed around Cayo Coco is considered one of the most important of the north coast of Cuba and in the Caribbean. The island is abundant in vegetation, and you can find large colonies of pink Flamingos, as well as other birds, molluscs and reptiles.