Sal or Boa Vista: which Cape Verde island is best?
The Cape Verde islands are all dazzling in their own ways, each possessing a distinctive personality of their own. Sal and Boa Vista are the most popular, but which to choose?
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Beaches & resorts
Both islands have fantastic beaches, delightfully long with white sands and enticing turquoise waters. However, there's a lot more going on in Sal, and its main tourist resort, Santa Maria, is lined with several kilometres of hotels, restaurants, beach bars and craft stalls. If you want that bustling holiday atmosphere, head for Sal*.
However, if you crave a lack of tourist infrastructure, far fewer hotels and almost empty, unspoilt beaches, which are quite a rarity these days, Boa Vista* is for you.
The island boasts shifting dunes and its southern beaches are important loggerhead turtle nesting sites from June to September. The waters around Boa Vista also have humpback whales between February and May (both turtles and whales also visit Sal to a lesser extent). A bonus is the dramatic sight of a rusting shipwreck just off Atalanta Beach.
So in this respect both islands are winners, depending on whether you want tranquillity or partying.
Towns, cities & nightlife
Boa Vista's biggest municipality is Sal Rei, which has a few good restaurants and bars, some shops and the Mercado Municipal, or central market. The island's oldest settlement, Povoação Velha, at the foot of the Rocha Estância mountain makes a pleasant excursion.
You have rather more of a choice on Sal. Easy-going Espargos, the main city, doesn't have resorts or activities particularly geared to tourists, but just wandering the quiet streets, with their colourful houses, gives an insight into day-to-day Cape Verde life. Its main street, Rua 5 de Julho, has street vendors selling local crafts and food.
Sleepy port town Palmeira is nearby, but for the liveliest time head for Santa Maria, with a good choice of bars and clubs, playing everything from Afro beats to Latino music.
Landscapes
Boa Vista, 620 sq km in size, has an enviable 55 km of secluded sandy shoreline, while much of the interior has a luna-like landscape created by desert sand dunes, peppered with rocks, date palms, occasional ruins and a few colourful villages. Overall rather flat, at 390 metres the Pico d'Estancia is its highest point.
At 216 sq km, Sal is considerably smaller but still packs in a variety of panoramas away from the gorgeous beaches. It has a more rugged and dramatic coastline, with cliffs and coves amongst the sands.
Mostly flat, it has mountains and hills in its centre. At the small village of Pedra de Lume, situated in the crater of an extinct volcano, you can visit, and bathe in, striking bright white salt pans, where saltwater evaporates to produce sea salt that gives the island its name.
Activities & adventure
On both islands, quad biking is popular for exploring, whether going off-road into the desert (heed local safety advice if you do so) or traversing the winding coastal roads. Or you might like to try horse riding as an alternative, gentler form of transport.
With the great waves on hand, both islands are fab for surfing. Deep sea fishing from both Boa Vista and Sal is popular also, where you can catch tuna and marlin.
The clear waters surrounding Boa Vista are especially good for snorkelling to spot colourful tropical fish and coral, although it's important to exercise caution as the ocean currents can be strong.
There's more to experience on Sal, such as the Terra Boa mirage in the northern part of the island. When viewed from the correct angle and distance it looks like an ocean in the desert.
You can watch the expert kite surfers seemingly defying gravity, or have a go yourself, on Kite Beach, while at Baia da Parda, or Shark Bay, you can join an excursion walking out into the water wearing suitable shoes that can be hired, to stand amongst wild baby lemon sharks.
On Sal, you can also visit Buracona, or The Blue Eye, a beautiful natural formation amongst the coastal lava pools and underwater caves.
Cape Verdean culture
Because Boa Vista has had far less infiltration from tourism and Western influence, coupled with its considerably lower population density, it retains stronger, more authentic traditional and historical roots.
On Sal, the traditional culture has been somewhat diluted and more channelled into being turned into a show for tourists. Sal also provides many opportunities to sample the music, festivals and performances of Cape Verde*, and hand-crafted souvenirs, largely from West Africa, are widely available on both islands.
Both also have plenty of restaurants and street vendors allowing you to experience the cuisine of the islands, which is a delicious mixture of African and Portuguese influences.
Best for families
Both are excellent choices for families. However, Boa Vista's choice of powder sands, Blue Flag beaches and crystal clear waters, coupled with boat trips and exploring easygoing Sal Rei, are perhaps better for younger children, while older ones will probably want the extra activities and amenities on offer on Sal.
Best for couples
If you just want to chill, lounge on the beach and have a few low-key experiences, opt for Boa Vista. But on Sal, you can pack your days with a visit to the salt lakes, a wider choice of restaurants and bars, and some great nightlife.
Sal and Boa Vista share a number of similarities such as white-sand beaches with plenty of water sports. However, Sal is much more developed and geared to tourists and has more to do.
If you want a lively holiday with all the tourism offerings, head for Sal, and if you're looking for easy-going tranquillity, but are happy to forsake such a choice of experiences, opt for Boa Vista.
Compare weather
Use the graphs below to compare the weather in both destinations. Find out more about the climate in Boa Vista and the climate in Sal as well as conditions across the archipelago in our complete guide to the climate in Cape Verde.
Sal Rei, Boa Vista vs Santa Maria, Sal
- Maximum daytime temperature
- Hours of sunshine
- Days with some rainfall
- Monthly rainfall
- Sea temperature
Maximum daytime temperature (°C)
Hours of sunshine per day
Days with some rainfall
Monthly rainfall (mm)
Sea temperature (°C)
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