Cabo Verde – a colourful island state in the Atlantic Ocean where a wild nature meets an exciting cultural melting pot
- Marion Mueller
- 2 days ago
- 10 min read
Intro
To be honest I have not heard much about the island state of Cabo Verde until my recent trip to there. Since then, Cabo Verde got actually an attention boost and emerged out of the wide Atlantic Ocean with the memorable participation of their national team in the latest World Cup. Cabo Verde is now known to the world and they have played themselves into the hearts of the football watching crowd.
My trip was pre-World Cup and I was mainly looking for a nice beach destination that is not too far away from Europe and where beaching is possible in April. Therefore, we were choosing the island of Sal, which is famous for its long white beaches.
Generally spoken it is quite a pity to come to Cabo Verde just for a beach holiday as it has so much more to do and explore. Cabo Verde is an archipelago that consist of 10 different volcanic islands, which are around 570 km off the West African coast. The islands impress through their great variety of different landscapes – from deserted areas, over bizarre mountain formations to lush green valleys and endless white beaches. Beach lovers will fall in love with the islands of Sal or Boa Vista, whereas Sao Antao or the tiny Ilha Brava are a hiker’s paradise. Music and culture lovers can explore the lively cities of Praia on the island of Santiago or Mindelo on the island of Sao Vicente.
The climate is warm and relatively dry throughout the year so it is a perfect spot for all sun lovers and water sport enthusiasts – however depending on the season you can have strong winds through which it feels much colder than the actual temperature. Beside the breathtaking nature the country offers a fascinating mix of African and Portugues culture – which is reflected in the music, the food and local traditions. The easy-going lifestyle of the locals plus the lively creolian culture are significant for the unique atmosphere of this island state.
The island motto of Sal is: NO STRESS – and once you put your first step on the island, you will immerse into a stress-free island life right away.
Know before you go
Where to book and how to reach
With a little bit of time you can book your trip easily by yourself according to your preferences. Depending if you are looking for an active hiking holiday or rather a relaxed beach vacation you will for sure find the perfect island match for you.
Island hopping is also very common in Cabo Verde and gives you the great opportunity to experience various islands and to combine different experiences. You can get around with domestic flights on Cabo Verde Airline (www.caboverdeairlines.com/en/) that mainly uses propeller planes to connect the various islands. Further you have the possibility to travel by ferry (some islands like San Antao or Ilha Brava are only reachable via ferry) – however be aware that the ferry schedule is not a really fixed one – depending on weather conditions or other circumstances there can be big delays and also cancellation for several days are common. You need to have that in mind when you have an international departure flight afterwards.
This time as it was only a pure beach holiday, I was a bit lazy and just went to a travel agency in my hometown Munich to book my trip. If you travel out of Europe and just want to stay on Sal or Boa Vista TUI can be a good option for you – as they have lots of hotel options there plus their own TUIFly planes are connecting these two islands to Europe. We got a very friendly service from TUI Reisecenter / Mrs. Hartmann (www.tui.com/rb/tui/muenchen6).
If you book through a travel agent like TUI you have the advantage that they will already fill the mandatory tourist registration for you and you can pay the fee through them. However, if you travel individually, it is also not a problem as Sal is connected through various airlines to the world. For the registration and to check if your nationality requires a visa, you can check on www.ease.gov.cv
Our TuiFly flight from Munich did first a stop on Boa Vista and then continued further on to Sal (around 6 hours flight time). Try to book yourself a window seat as the approach to both islands is fantastic. A vast sand landscape in the middle of turquoise waters.
General Information
Cabo Verde is a relatively secure travel destination and especially on the very touristic islands as Sal and Boa Vista you do not have to worry much. The normal touristic guidelines of awareness apply. In some places and streets, you might not walk alone in the middle of the night, especially as female solo traveller – best to ask your accommodation for advise about your actual surroundings.
A bigger problem for tourist might be the food hygiene, especially when it comes to food poisoning. On Sal has been bigger incidents in the past mainly within some of the big All-incl. hotel chains. So, if you have a sensitive stomach watch out what you eat and maybe bring some medicine for prevention from home.
Tap water is not safe to drink and to brush your teeth it is also better to use bottled water. In the bigger hotels they will provide you with free bottled water to your rooms.
Further I figured out that at least on Sal and Boa Vista it is not really necessary to change money into the local currency as all tourism related services do accept Euro`s and very often also credit cards.
The Island of Sal
Sal is one of the most popular islands in Cabo Verde. The island is renowned for its pristine beaches, crystal-clear turquoise waters and year-round sunshine, which attracts visitors from all over Europe and beyond. Whether you're interested in lounging on the sand, exploring local markets, or enjoying water sports such as windsurfing and kite surfing, Sal has something for everyone.
We have visited Sal in early May, which is a bit of transformation time weatherwise. I have already mentioned the strong winds above and in our week they actually were very strong. So on some days the air felt really cold and except of one day there was always the red flag on the beach due to the high waves. So if you wanna come for swimming it is good to have a hotel with a pool. Kite Surfers however will love this kind of weather.
Our hotel - the Hilton Cabo Verde Sal Resort
For your accommodation you will find all sorts of accommodation types there from apartements, to small B&B, smaller Boutique Hotels and the huge All-Incl. Resorts, which are quite dominant on the island.
As we are not All-Incl. lovers and usually avoid big hotel properties, we opted for the smaller Hilton Cabo Verde Sal Resort and we were not disappointed.
The hotel welcomes you with a lofty reception area that is opening into its beautiful tropical garden.
You can find a huge pool area here inclusive of a pool side restaurant and bar. There are sufficient sunbeds in the garden as well as on the beach area – so no towel fights are happening.
The hotel building fits itself nicely into the surroundings and I really liked the lofty concept in the alleys including small gardens in between.
Our room was also very nice and spacious with a balcony facing the landside, but with a partial sea view as well. Two big bottles of still water were provided every day, regardless if you have used the previous ones or not – so we ended up with a real water depot. Many hotels charge for this service, here the bottled water is free.
F&B was also very good. You can book yourself a meal plan, so we have opted for the half-board version.
Breakfast and dinner are taking place in their main restaurant, where you can sit either indoor or outdoor on the terrace. Breakfast was nice with a lot of cold and hot options – all in buffet style. The only annoying thing were all the little birds that had discovered all the delicacies on the buffet for themselves. The hotel staff is trying hard to keep them away with various inventions, but non of them is really successful. They are little birds, but of course it is a question of hygiene as they also poo on the tables and chairs. Obviously the other hotels around are facing the same problem as I have read in various reviews.
Dinner was also very nice with different theme nights and according dishes and decoration.
Further dining options you will find at the poolside bar plus their really nice beachside restaurant. Enjoy tasty lunches here or book yourself into a dinner while you can watch the sunset over the sea.
The beach in general is also very nice with free hotel sunbeds and a life guide on duty. Unfortunately during our vacation, the sea was too rough to swim, so I only had a quick dip in the relatively cold water. The beach is also nice for long walks or different kind of water sport activities. A water sport centre is just beside the hotel.
Further facilities at the hotel are a gym with a class schedule like for example yoga sessions, a Spa centre where we enjoyed a real good massage and a bar with live music and dance performances at night. Also a Casino belongs to the hotel, but it has a separate entrance.
Santa Maria
From the hotel it is just a 10 minutes’ walk over the beach promenade into the town center of Santa Maria.
Especially on weekends you can observe a very lively beach when locals come to the beach themselves for a swim, to play football, meet friends and family or have some sportive workout.
During the week you will also find a real nice fish market here and depending on the day and the success of the fishermen some spectacular catches can be found. Before the market took place on the famous wooden pier of Santa Maria, but unfortunately that has been destroyed in a thunderstorm in October 2024. At the time of our visit (May 2026) reconstruction works were still ongoing.
Further you can find some nice beach bars and restaurants in Santa Maria, where you can dine with your feet in the sand. They all have very relaxed beach and surf vibes.
If you like to stay in a smaller Boutique Style hotel the Hotel Ojo d´Agua (www.odjodagua-hotel.com) might be something for you, which sits right at this beach promenade.
If you walk further into town you will reach a very nice pedestrian street with lots of small shops, most of them are very touristic – but some have local artisan work and products plus for the girls you also have some nice clothing stores.
What I also really liked in that street were the colourful wall paintings.
Excursion
Sal is a beach island and not an island of very spectacular sites – nevertheless it is worth to leave the beach at least for one day and take a tour around the island. Best is to book yourself into a tour of a local operator – it is not really worth to rent a car for that.
We have booked our half-day tour through TUI and were met by a real nice and funny tourguide. Together with other guests we set of in their blue 4x4 vehicles to explore the island.
First stop was the small coastal town of Murdeira, where we enjoyed some nice coastal views.
Another stop was in Palmeira with its photogenic painted houses, a small fishing harbour and some local shops.
Further on we went to one of the main sights of Sal – Buracona, known as the Blue Eye. “It is a basalt sea cave and tide pool, where sunlight pierces the seawater and refracts into a deep blue glow at the bottom of the cave, one of Cape Verdes most surreal natural wonders”. This is how it is described on their website (www.buracona.com/en/). In reality you need to have some luck to visit exactly at the time when the sunlight perfectly reflects these colours. In our case we were just looking down into a black hole.
Around the Blue Eye cave some further touristic infrastructure has been built – so you can have also a swim in the tide pool, visit a small museum, have a drink at the bar or buy yourself a souvenir at the shop.
Our program was a bit rushed so we had not much time there and went quickly on to the next stop in the middle of the island, Terra Boa. Amidst the vast sand landscape you are lured into some fata morgana like optical illusions. Intense heat warms the ground, bending light to create a fake mirror-like lake or floating pool at the horizon. Let´s say with some imagination I saw it, but couldn´t catch it with my camera 😊
We then approached the island capital of Espargos, which is quite unspectacular and touristically not much of interest. As the coastal land is getting more and more expansive due to the touristic development, hotel projects and foreign investors – more and more locals are pushed back to live in Espargos as other areas are not affordable for them anymore. We also passed some slum like areas at the edge of town. The poor people living there are mainly coming from the other islands of Cabo Verde, where they can´t find a source of income. On the touristic island of Sal they are hoping for better possibilities. The government is trying to shift them from their wooden shacks into proper build governmental houses, but this process is very slow.
Last came the main attraction on Sal – the Salinas de Pedra de Lume, the old salt mines. The historic salt pans set inside the crater of an extinct volcano. You can enter the crater through a small tunnel and will find yourself then in a surreal looking scenery. Even if you don´t plan to swim in the salt lake it is worth to come here just for the view and some fantastic pictures.
Our guide has strongly suggested us to take a swim into the lake, because according to him the mineral-rich water makes you at least 10 years younger. Beside that wellness factor it is also great fun to float around without any efforts, because same as in the dead sea in Jordan you just float on the surface and can´t drown. Commercial salt mining started in the 18th century over here and gave the island its name. Nowadays the mines are only serving a touristic purpose and a very small micro production for local use.
Afterwards we returned back to the hotel. Other attractions what we have not done in that tour, but which are quite popular as well are boat/catamaran cruises and a visit to shark bay, where you can swim with lemon sharks.
All in all we had a real nice and relaxing week on Sal and I will for sure come back to explore more of this very unique island empire.
And don´t forget: No Stress – that is the main thing I have taken back with me.
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