Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
2,204km²
Area
344km
Coastline
20m
Highest point
86,420
People
30°C
Warmest sea
August
369km
To the mainland
When to go to Isla de la Juventud
Best for the beach from December to April.
The sea is warmest in August (30 °C) and coolest in January (26 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island beloging to Cuba
Isla de la Juventud is an island in Cuba. It covers 2,204 km², with 344 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 20 m. About 86,420 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 369 km away.
Getting there
- Rafael Cabrera Airport (GER)airport on the island, with scheduled flights
- FerriesSurgidero de Batabanó - Nueva Gerona
- 369 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From December to Aprilbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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On the island
What you find on Isla de la Juventud.
- 17beachesPlaya Roja, Playa El Gallego, Playa Bibijagua and 14 more
- 2viewpointsMirador El Abra, Sierra de Caballos
- 2lighthousesFaro de Carapachibey
- 1ferry terminalsTerminal Viajero
- 1marinasMarina Colony
- 4named peaksLoma la Cañada, Sierra Caballos, Loma Daguilla and 1 more
- 6ruins and archaeological sites
- 3campsitesCampamento de Exploradores, Prisión La 60, Campismo Arenas Negras
- 43hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 42restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Isla de la Juventud in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Isla de la Juventud, each with its own numbers.
37beaches and covesCoastya
22mountainsPeakyas
5lakesLakeyas
Largest lake
10.9km²
Embalse del Medio
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
30.3°C
Laguna Zapatico
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
30.6°C
Playa Gerona
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
37 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Playa Gerona30.6°C
- Playa Colombo30.6°C
- Playa El Gallego30.6°C
- Playa Buenavista30.2°C
- Playa Roja30.0°C
- Playa de Flamencos30.6°C
- Playita Davis30.0°C
- Playazo de la Yagruma30.0°C
29 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
22 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Loma El Soldado
- Loma Siguanea
- Cerros de San Juan
- Cerro de San Pedro
- Cerro de Santa Bárbara
- Cerro San José
- Cerros del Monte
- Loma de Maniadero
14 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
5 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Embalse del Medio10.9km²
- Presa Vietnam Heróico7.5km²
- Presa Cristal1.2km²
- Embalse Antonio Briones Montoto0.96km²
- Laguna Zapatico0.18km²
Lakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 16 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 95 %0–50 m
- 5 %50–200 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
50 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Nueva Gerona20,264 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 27 | 26 |
| Night low (°C) | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 23 |
| Sea (°C) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 27 | 26 |
| Rain (mm) | 32 | 23 | 20 | 30 | 72 | 110 | 86 | 114 | 120 | 90 | 32 | 23 |
| Wet days | 6 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 14 | 7 | 5 |
| Sun h/day | 6.8 | 7.7 | 8.6 | 9.2 | 8.3 | 6.9 | 8.1 | 7.7 | 7.0 | 6.9 | 7.0 | 6.9 |
| Wind (km/h) | 22 | 21 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 21 | 23 | 22 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.3 | +1.7 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +0.6 | −0.2 |
| 2021 | −0.1 | +0.6 | +0.6 | ±0.0 | +0.7 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.4 |
| 2022 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +1.0 | +0.2 | +0.2 | −0.3 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +1.0 | +0.8 |
| 2023 | +0.4 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +1.4 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.4 |
| 2024 | +0.6 | −0.2 | +1.1 | +0.1 | +1.5 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.3 | −0.4 |
| 2025 | −0.2 | +0.8 | +0.7 | −0.1 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +1.2 | +0.5 | +0.7 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Cayo Largo del Sur
Cuba37 km²5 m142 km away
Ernst Thälmann IslandCuba15 km²4 m154 km away
CubaCuba105,806 km²1,974 m398 km away
Key West
United States13 km²14 m330 km away
Grand Cayman
Cayman Islands196 km²25 m317 km away
Little Cayman
United Kingdom29 km²17 m371 km away
Cayman BracUnited Kingdom39 km²43 m389 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q115027) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST; HydroLAKES (Messager et al. 2016) · CC BY 4.0, LakeTEMP (Korver et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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