Marinas · south coast
Marina Trinidad (Casilda)
Cruising base at Casilda serving colonial Trinidad and the Ancón peninsula.
The small harbour at Casilda, a few kilometres south of the UNESCO-listed colonial town of Trinidad, is the cruising base for the Ancón peninsula and the reefs of the central south coast. It is the closest anchorage to one of Cuba's most visited historic towns — a perfectly preserved eighteenth-century sugar-boom settlement of cobbled streets and pastel houses.
Cruising grounds
Off Casilda lie the reefs and cays of the Jardines de la Reina approaches and the sheltered water behind the Ancón peninsula, with the beach of Playa Ancón close by. Cienfuegos lies within a day's sail to the west, making Trinidad a convenient middle stop on a central south-coast cruise.
Getting there & what’s nearby
Trinidad and the nearby Valle de los Ingenios — the historic sugar-mill valley, also a World Heritage site — are a short ride from the harbour. The town has the fullest range of casas particulares, restaurants and provisioning of any stop on this coast.
Sailing season & conditions
The central south coast around Casilda is one of the more forgiving stretches to sail, with lighter seas than the north and good protection behind the Ancón peninsula. Steady trade winds serve most of the year, and the dry winter months bring the clearest water over the reefs offshore. As everywhere on the Cuban coast the June-to-November hurricane season brings tropical exposure, and Casilda is a modest harbour, so crews plan the longer coastal passages for genuinely settled weather windows.
Where it is
On Cuba’s south coast at Trinidad.
See Marina Trinidad (Casilda) on the map →