Playa Pilar is something else. Named after Ernest Hemingway’s fishing boat (he fished these waters extensively), it regularly appears on lists of Cuba’s finest beaches and is competitive for best in the Caribbean. The sand is a specific shade of pale ivory powder that photographs poorly because the reality exceeds what a camera captures. Shallow, warm, utterly clear water over white sand for 200 metres offshore before the depth changes.

It’s less developed than Cayo Coco’s main beaches — fewer resort structures visible from the waterline. The protected dunes behind the beach add a natural barrier. On a quiet morning in early December, Playa Pilar is legitimately extraordinary.

The underwater world around Cayo Guillermo is part of the same Jardines del Rey reef system and is genuinely excellent — nurse sharks, eagle rays, sea turtles, and coral formations that haven’t been hammered by decades of mass tourism. But operator options are more limited, excursions are typically run through resort activity desks, and the overall infrastructure for independent dive travellers is thinner. The quality is there; the access layer is less developed.

Cayo Guillermo is where Hemingway fished. This is not just branding — the waters around Guillermo and the deeper channel to the north are genuinely exceptional fishing grounds, historically and currently. The Jardines del Rey is one of Cuba’s most renowned fly-fishing destinations for bonefish and permit in the shallows. Deep-sea game fishing for marlin and sailfish is excellent from here. Serious anglers, particularly fly fishermen, often make Guillermo their specific reason for visiting Cuba.

Six to seven resorts with a narrower price range — primarily mid-market to upper-mid. Iberostar has the dominant presence on Guillermo, with two of its better-regarded properties. The limited number of resorts means the island never feels as crowded as peak Cayo Coco, but it also means availability tightens significantly during December–February and travellers who want specific resort categories have fewer alternatives if first choices are sold out.

Quieter in a way that goes beyond just having fewer resorts. The smaller total capacity on Guillermo means that even when resorts are full, the beach doesn’t feel saturated. Playa Pilar in particular retains a sense of space and calm that the larger, busier beaches across the causeway struggle to maintain during high season. The pace of the island is slower — not as a cliché, but as a practical reality of having fewer people competing for the same space.

Cayo Guillermo shares the same ecosystem and similar wildlife. Flamingos are present and visible from the beach at certain times — a slightly more intimate encounter than the causeway sighting from a car on Cayo Coco. The smaller island means the relationship between human activity and wildlife is closer; the natural areas haven’t been pushed as far to the edges. Sea turtle nesting, iguana sightings, and the general Caribbean bird population are all in evidence.

You land at Jardines del Rey (Cayo Coco’s airport) and transfer through Cayo Coco to reach Guillermo. The drive takes 30–45 minutes depending on resort location. This is perfectly manageable and the causeway drive between the two islands is genuinely scenic — flamingos, mangroves, open water — but it adds a logistics layer that Cayo Coco doesn’t require. For travellers flying in and out of Havana or other Cuban cities, both cays are equally inconvenient — they both require domestic transfers.

The combination of smaller scale, quieter atmosphere, and Playa Pilar makes Guillermo Cuba’s most compelling honeymoon beach destination. Iberostar’s higher-tier resorts on Guillermo specifically cater to couples with adults-only sections, butler service, and private beach areas. The island’s overall mood is calmer and more intimate — morning walks on Playa Pilar with nobody around, sunset dinners with sea views, the sense of being somewhere that hasn’t been fully optimised for maximum visitor throughput. That matters on a honeymoon.

Guillermo’s resorts accommodate families but weren’t optimised for them. The family facilities are adequate rather than exceptional. The quieter atmosphere is actually a negative for children who want animation and activity — there’s less of both here. Playa Pilar is genuinely wonderful for families with the water quality and safety, but the overall package is less complete for a multi-child family holiday than what the larger Cayo Coco properties offer.

Fewer properties means less price competition. Guillermo’s resorts price more confidently because they can — there are simply fewer alternatives on the island. At the top end, the premium paid for Guillermo over equivalent Cayo Coco properties is justifiable given Playa Pilar access and the quieter atmosphere. At the mid-market, the same money buys marginally less in resort facilities than it does across the causeway, because the operators know they have the better beach.