Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
105,806km²
Area
4,099km
Coastline
measured on a simplified outline
1,974m
Highest point
Pico Turquino
11,149,989
People
30°C
Warmest sea
August
231km
To the mainland
When to go to Cuba
Best for the beach from November to February.
The sea is warmest in August (30 °C) and coolest in February (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 in the Caribbean
Cuba is an island in Cuba. It belongs to Caribbean. It covers 105,806 km², with 4,099 km of coastline. Its highest point, Pico Turquino, rises to 1,974 m. About 11,149,989 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 231 km away.
Getting there
- Abel Santamaria International Airport (SNU)main airport (12 on the island with scheduled flights)
- 231 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From November to Februarybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Cuba.
This island is too large to count beaches and viewpoints in a meaningful way.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Cuba in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Cuba, each with its own numbers.
489beaches and covesCoastya
101lakesLakeyas
4waterfallsCascadyas
Largest lake
64.1km²
Laguna de Leche
according to Lakeyas
Warmest lake
36.1°C
Laguna Abajo
surface water, warmest month · according to Lakeyas
Beach with the warmest sea
30.5°C
Ensenada Guasimal
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
489 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Playa los Coquitos29.9°C
- Playa de Miel29.2°C
- Playa del Chivo29.6°C
- Playa Bacuranao29.6°C
- Playa Varadero29.4°C
- Playa Kawama29.4°C
- Playa Judío29.4°C
- Playa Ancón30.0°C
481 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
101 lakes
on Lakeyas, the lake atlas
- Laguna de Leche64.1km²
- Presa Alacranes59.3km²
- Zaza Reservoir41.3km²
- Embalse Porvenir35.2km²
- Ciénaga Larga de Domínguez29.3km²
- Embalse Carlos Manuel de Céspedes11.3km²
- Embalse de Jimaguayú9.8km²
- Embalse Lebrije9.5km²
93 more on LakeyasLakeyas is coming soonOpen Lakeyas ↗
4 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Guayabo Falls
- Salto Fino
- Soroa Waterfall
- El Nicho Waterfall
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
500 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Havana2,163,824 people
- Santiago de Cuba555,865 people
- Camagüey347,562 people
- Holguín319,102 people
- Guantánamo272,801 people
- Santa Clara250,512 people
- Almendares240,000 people
- Diez de Octubre227,293 people
- Arroyo Naranjo210,053 people
- Mantilla206,918 people
- Las Tunas203,684 people
- Bayamo192,632 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 28 | 30 | 31 | 33 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 30 | 29 | 28 |
| Night low (°C) | 18 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 19 |
| Sea (°C) | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 27 |
| Rain (mm) | 16 | 21 | 36 | 53 | 142 | 154 | 84 | 128 | 137 | 116 | 40 | 19 |
| Wet days | 4 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 6 | 4 |
| Sun h/day | 6.5 | 7.6 | 8.1 | 8.9 | 8.1 | 7.7 | 8.7 | 8.3 | 7.4 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 6.5 |
| Wind (km/h) | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 17 |
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 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +1.3 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.4 | ±0.0 |
| 2021 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.1 | +0.6 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.5 |
| 2022 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.9 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.5 |
| 2023 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +1.4 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.5 |
| 2024 | +0.4 | −0.2 | +0.9 | +0.3 | +1.5 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +0.3 | −0.2 |
| 2025 | −0.2 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.1 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.3 | +0.6 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Cayo Coco
Cuba402 km²4 m76 km away
Ernst Thälmann IslandCuba15 km²4 m247 km away
Cayman Brac
United Kingdom39 km²43 m268 km away
Cayo Largo del SurCuba37 km²5 m260 km away
Little CaymanUnited Kingdom29 km²17 m280 km away
New Providence
Bahamas213 km²6 m374 km away
Isla de la JuventudCuba2,204 km²20 m398 km away
Grand Cayman
Cayman Islands196 km²25 m377 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q586657) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | Natural Earth · public domain |
| 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, Lakeyas, Cascadyas — 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
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit