Sal Rei
Cape Verde · Boa Vista · 5 m
Description
Sal Rei is the only town on Boa Vista, the island of dunes, and the base for beaches that run for tens of kilometres without a building on them. Praia de Santa Mónica alone is eighteen kilometres of empty sand. Sand blown from the Sahara has built a desert interior of shifting dunes that four-wheel-drive tours cross to reach the Cabo Santa Maria shipwreck rusting on the north shore. The island holds the largest loggerhead turtle nesting population in the North Atlantic, and humpback whales pass offshore in spring. Almost everything on the island lies beyond the reach of ordinary cars.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 4 to 14 days (optimal 7 days)
Travel season
Best time to visit: November – June
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Praia de Santa Mónica
- Loggerhead turtle nesting (June - October)
- Cabo Santa Maria shipwreck
- Viana desert dunes
- Humpback whale watching in spring (March - May)
- Four-wheel-drive island crossing
- Ilhéu de Sal Rei and its fort ruins
- Praia de Chaves and the old kiln
- Kitesurfing off the western bays (November - July)
- Rabil pottery workshop
- Sal Rei town square and its music bars
Getting there
- Airports:
- BVC
- Seaport:
- Reachable by ship or ferry