Punta Frances, Isla de la Juventud. Cuba

• Isla de la Juventud. Archipiegalo de los Canarreos. Cuba
• Daily
• Destination: Isla de la Juventud

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The Cuban resort of Punta Frances is on Isla de la Juventud which translates as the island of youth. Isla de la Juventud is the largest of the Cuban islands apart from Cuba itself. The Isla de la Juventud is almost due south of Havana across 60 miles of ocean and has a population of 100,000. At one time an American colony, the island was ceded to Cuba in 1907 following the Spanish-American war in the Culture in Punta Franceslate 1890s. The island is rich in pine forests and lumber is one of its main exports with farming and fishing being two of the island’s staple industries. Isla de la Juventud has a very attractive climate but is in the hurricane belt. A popular destination for tourists, one of the main resorts is Punta Frances which is in the north west of the island where silver sand meets crystal clear waters. Scuba diving is one of the most popular pursuits in the area and El Ranchón is a local beach restaurant that serves superb seafood. The beach is called Latrobe after a French pirate who often plied his trade in the calm waters of Punta Frances. In 1809, Latrobe attacked and captured two Spanish galleons that were laden with gold and jewels. Latrobe buried the massive amount of treasure on the island but was later captured by the United States military and taken to Kingston, Jamaica. The vast amount of treasure has never been found! A remote paradise, Punta Frances is popular with the more adventurous tourists. It is off the beaten track but once there, everyone falls in love with the resort, its people and the beauty of the sea. And, perhaps lying in the sand, there may be a gold doubloon or one of the pieces of eight from the Spanish galleons.

Punta Frances Map

Punta Frances is located in Isla de la Juventud

Also called "the island of a thousand names" because of the many names it has had since Christopher Columbus discovered it and called it La Evangelista. The Indians called it Camargo, Guanaja and Siguanea. Governor Diego Velazquez called it Santiago.

Others have called it Treasure Island (because it was where Robert Louis Stevenson set his famous novel); Cotorras (Parrot) Island, because of the abundance of parrots there; and the Isle of Pines. In the 1970s, because of the many schools in the countryside that were built there, its name was officially changed to Isle of Youth.

It is the second largest island in the Cuban archipelago (2,357 square km. - 910 square miles). Its many attractions include the Punta Frances National Marine Park, Bibijagua Beach, the Los Indios-San Felipe Natural Preserve, the pictographs in Punta del Este caves, the Colony International Scuba-Diving Center, El Abra Farm and the "Model" Prison.