Boa Vista is the emptier, wilder alternative to Sal, and the third largest island in Cape Verde. It is mostly sand: an interior desert of dunes blown across from the Sahara, ringed by fifty-five kilometres of beach that see almost nobody. Sal Rei, the only town of any size, sits on the northwest coast and holds nearly all of the island's accommodation, split between a handful of large all-inclusive resorts and a small grid of guesthouses around the square. Between June and October Boa Vista hosts one of the largest loggerhead turtle nesting populations in the world, which is the single best reason to time a visit. The trade-off against Sal is real: fewer restaurants, fewer flights, less to do after dark.
Things to Do in Boa Vista
Deserto de Viana
Natural LandmarkA field of pale dunes in the island's interior, built from Saharan sand carried across the Atlantic on the harmattan. It is small by desert standards and you can cross it in an hour, but the sight of white dunes against black volcanic peaks is the defining image of Boa Vista. Most people arrive by quad or on a jeep tour.
Duration: ~2 hours
Santa Monica Beach
BeachAround twenty kilometres of unbroken sand on the south coast, routinely described as one of the finest beaches in the Atlantic and almost always empty. There is no shade, no facilities and no lifeguard, and the surf is powerful, so it is a beach for walking and photographs more than for swimming.
Duration: ~3 hours
Loggerhead turtle nesting
WildlifeBoa Vista hosts one of the world's largest loggerhead nesting populations. Females come ashore to lay from June, and hatchlings emerge from August into October. Licensed guides run evening walks under strict rules: no white light, no flash, no touching. Book through a conservation operator rather than a beach tout.
Duration: ~3 hours
Cabo Santa Maria shipwreck
LandmarkThe rusted hull of a Spanish cargo ship that ran aground on the north coast in 1968, now half buried in sand and slowly collapsing. It sits on an exposed beach reached by track, and works best combined with the dunes on the same trip.
Duration: ~1 hours
Ilheu de Sal Rei
IslandThe uninhabited islet just off Sal Rei, with a ruined fort, a sheltered beach and good snorkelling. Boats run across in ten minutes from the town beach. It is the easiest half day on the island and the calmest swimming anywhere near Sal Rei.
Duration: ~3 hours
Beaches near Boa Vista
The best beaches within easy reach of Boa Vista, from the city's own shoreline to nearby stretches of coast.
Boa Vista Neighborhoods
Where to stay and explore
Sal Rei
Safe, with usual care on unlit streets lateSmall, Creole, unhurried
The island's only town, a low grid of pastel buildings around a square with a church, a few restaurants and the boats out to Ilheu de Sal Rei. It is small enough to cross on foot in fifteen minutes and is where you go for anything that is not inside a resort.
Price level: $$
Praia de Chaves
Safe; the sea is the hazard, not peopleResort-bound, spacious, exposed
A long resort strip southeast of Sal Rei backed by dunes and the ruins of an old brickworks. The beach is enormous and often deserted; the swimming is better at the sheltered northern end, since the open stretches take the full Atlantic swell.
Price level: $$$
Rabil
SafeQuiet, rural, working
The old capital, inland beside the airport, with a pottery workshop, a hilltop church and almost no tourism at all. Most visitors pass through it on the way somewhere else, which is a reasonable description of Rabil's role on the island.
Price level: $
Food & Restaurants
Eating out on Boa Vista means Sal Rei or your resort, and the gap between them is wide. The town has perhaps a dozen restaurants doing grilled fish, lobster in season and cachupa, mostly around the square and the seafront. Outside Sal Rei there is essentially nothing, so plan lunch around where you will be.
Must-Try Dishes
Grilled lobster
Boa Vista's calling card, cheapest and best between roughly November and April.
Caldo de peixe
Fish broth with cassava, sweet potato and green banana, usually the lunchtime prato do dia.
Cuscuz
Steamed corn cake eaten warm at breakfast with molasses and fresh cheese.
Top Restaurants
Sal Rei square restaurants
$$Cape Verdean and seafood • Sal Rei
Grilled fish and lobster a short walk from the boats
Seafront cafes
$Cafe • Sal Rei
Pastel com diabo dentro and strong coffee in the morning
Boa Vista Nightlife
There is very little, and that is the point of Boa Vista. A few bars in Sal Rei have live music at weekends, resorts run their own entertainment, and beyond that the island is dark and quiet by ten. Anyone who wants a night out is on the wrong island.
Best areas: Sal Rei square, Sal Rei seafront
Sal Rei music bars
Live musicSal Rei
Two or three small bars with weekend live morna, funana and coladeira.
Shopping in Boa Vista
Craft and little else. Rabil's pottery workshop sells pieces made on the island, and Sal Rei has a scatter of shops selling cloth, carvings and grogue. There is no supermarket of any size outside Sal Rei, which matters if you are self-catering.
Malls
Markets
- Sal Rei market - Produce
- Rabil pottery workshop - Craft
What to Buy
Safety in Boa Vista
Boa Vista has very little crime and the main dangers are environmental. The Atlantic here is rough and the beaches are unpatrolled, with strong undertow on the exposed south and east coasts. The interior is trackless enough that people do get lost or stuck driving quads without a guide, and there is no shade and no water once you leave town.
Safe Areas
- ✓ Sal Rei
- ✓ Resort beaches
- ✓ Ilheu de Sal Rei
Avoid
- ✗ Swimming off Santa Monica and other open south coast beaches
- ✗ Driving the interior alone without a guide or GPS
Safety Tips
- • Treat the open beaches as places to walk, not to swim; the undertow is serious
- • Carry more water than you think you need on any trip into the interior
- • Book turtle walks through a conservation operator, never a beach tout
- • Never use white light or flash near nesting turtles or hatchlings
- • Fuel and cash machines are limited outside Sal Rei, so fill up and draw cash there
Getting Around Boa Vista
Taxi
RecommendedAvailable in Sal Rei and at the airport; agree the fare before setting off.
$5 to $30
Organised tour
Jeep or quad tours covering the dunes, the shipwreck and Santa Monica in a day.
$50 to $90
Four-wheel drive hire
The only self-drive option that reaches the interior. Ordinary cars will get stuck.
$70 to $110 a day
Boa Vista Weather
Hot, arid and windy, with Saharan haze in winter and brief rain in late summer
| Month | High | Low | Rain | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| january | 25°C | 18°C | 2mm | Dry and breezy, harmattan haze possible |
| february | 25°C | 18°C | 1mm | Driest and windiest |
| march | 25°C | 18°C | 0mm | Dry, strong trade winds |
| april | 26°C | 19°C | 0mm | Dry and clear |
| may | 26°C | 20°C | 0mm | Warm and dry |
| june | 27°C | 21°C | 0mm | Warm, turtle season begins |
| july | 28°C | 22°C | 1mm | Hot, first humidity |
| august | 29°C | 23°C | 10mm | Hottest, occasional heavy showers |
| september | 30°C | 24°C | 22mm | Warm and humid, wettest month, hatchlings emerge |
| october | 29°C | 23°C | 12mm | Warm, showers easing, turtle season ends |
| november | 28°C | 22°C | 4mm | Warm, wind returning |
| december | 26°C | 19°C | 2mm | Dry and breezy |
How Many Days in Boa Vista?
4
Minimum
6
Recommended
8
Ideal