Boa Vista, the largest island in Cape Verde , offers the right opportunities to enjoy your holiday. For a long time, the island stood in contrast to the many islands of the Atlantic, which was only described as a lonely desert island. With numerous projects that modernized the island for decades largely unnoticed, traveling to this island suddenly became a modern adventure. The international airport, for example, was not completed until 2007. The island is now also open for flights and international airlines.
The landscape of the island is characterized by sand dunes and stony deserts, low mountain ranges and long sandy beaches, many exotic fruits, sun, sea and water sports. The capital of the island of Boa Vista, Sal Rei, seemed almost late during the first trips through the city, even though more than half of the island’s 12,000 inhabitants live in Sal Rei.
The many colorful flowers and pavilions of the Plaza de Santa Isabel are set up every week for the largest market of African traders on the island. Next to the sea, along Avenida dos Pescadores, you will see the old port and just a few minutes later you will reach the only shipyard on the island. Directly in front of the harbour is the small island of Ilheu de Sal Rei in the open sea and close to the coast.
The island is home to an ancient and almost hidden fortress. There, in the south of the small and isolated island, the centuries-old Portuguese fortress of the Duke of Bragança rises against the stormy waves of the Indian Ocean. The fortress has only been mentioned once in the history of Portuguese history. The fortress was captured and captured by a pirate ship in 1818. In the following years, the fortress was thus dominated only by chaotic conditions, as can often be read.
The island’s 92.6 hectares are now a nature reserve. The Ponta de Escuma, an old lighthouse built in 1888 that is 5 meters high and can only be reached by a large concrete staircase flooded with light, stands high above the rocky cliffs. Further north is Avenida dos Pescadores, lined with trees and palm trees.
The streets are lined with colorful houses in typical regional architecture. To the northeast and outskirts of the city are the huge salt mines where the royal salt was once extracted. The salt mines are a strange and mysterious place in red colors. After France succeeded in acquiring the salt mines, the extraction of salt ended in 1975 with the independence of Cape Verde. Since then, salt has only been extracted slowly for the inhabitants of the island.
Small oases on Boa Vista
There is a small building on the island near Rabil. The building still stands today for one of the oldest professions on the island – pottery. If we continue on the island, we will experience the many small palm oases of the island under the dark blue night sky in the direction of the Estancia de Baixo. It is also home to the oldest settlement of Boa Vista. The Povoação Velha was founded about 500 years ago by the inhabitants of the island. The municipality currently has about 1,500 inhabitants.
In the direction of Rocha Estância, I can see Maio and São Nicolau even without binoculars. The east of the island is often lonely, almost deserted. I don’t see a single person on the island for long kilometers when I move between the mountains from one oasis to the next.
When the first turtle in front of them stands on the beach in the morning and they do one of the long hikes on the beach of Chaves and the sand dunes next to the Atlantic Ocean, then everything seems to be going well at first. The beaches are still an insider tip if you want to experience wonderful surfing sessions and long walks with binoculars and a notebook on the Atlantic. With its lean sea tongues and soft sand, this remote island is a sunbather’s paradise.
Do you love seafood?
The island’s many fishermen can still be hired directly to catch certain fish. Within a few hours, they have their favorite animals on their plates as fresh seafood.
Hotels in Boa Vista
The Hotel Riu Touareg
The Hotel Riu Touareg Praia de Lacacão is a large hotel located in a quiet area, right on a fine sandy beach in the south of the island of Boa Vista. The gardens have been designed to offer you the best of tropical garden culture. A buffet restaurant with tropical cuisine and a restaurant with special theme weeks offer you the best menus of the Cape Verde Islands. The massive hotel complex offers tennis courts, artsy pool areas, and numerous gyms. Rooms have flat-screen TVs, mini-fridges, and winding outdoor areas for colorful nights.
Meliá Tortuga Beach
The Meliá Tortuga Beach beach hotel offers excellent suites and beautiful views of the open sea. The architecture and elegant furnishings make the hotel an exceptional island beauty. Here you will find the right place for the mysterious exploration of the island of Sal. The azure sea and the colorful city of Santa Maria offer the best opportunities for magical days in one of the great cities of the Indian Ocean. The first-class suites and villas offer large gardens and modern pools. The hotel is a magical island, not only for windsurfers and divers. The hotel offers free Wi-Fi, cold water showers, aroma showers, a sauna and numerous outdoor pools.
Hotel de Charme
They want to enjoy the beach and the warm days on the island, this time fantastic. The crystal clear waters of the coast near the Hotel de Charme will fascinate you. In the lighthouse, just a few meters from the hotel, you have a peaceful view of the sea. The hotel’s long balconies are the island’s most popular venues during the loud music of African festivals, when the finger food on your plate tastes great and the iPod in your pocket plays the right music. The hotel offers exclusive room service that will make your stay at the hotel an exotic week on the island.
Hotel Riu Karamboa
Located on the island of Boa Vista, the Hotel Riu Karamboa offers traditional products and exclusive services from the Atlantic Ocean. The hotel is built with white sandstone and is located on Praia das Dunas beach. There are only a few meters of bars and restaurants, parks and winding sandy beaches where it gets hot and you still experience a pleasant day. The hotel rooms are top-notch, especially with wooden furniture and the gold-colored fabrics in the rooms. The rooms have a fridge, a mini safe and satellite TV. In the most exclusive rooms, you’ll even find hot tubs and spas. In addition to a spa and an outdoor pool, guests can enjoy the private beach, play tennis or work out in the gym.
Spinguera Ecolodge
Spinguera, an exclusive hotel surrounded by dunes, was built for travelers who don’t just want to have the tropical desert on their doorstep. So you will spend many beautiful days in a fishing village on Cape Verde. The tradition and the variety of colors are on the other side from the beginning, which was lost with the excellent atmosphere and unfortunately too quickly, as the ancient symbols of the area report. The fascination for the simplicity of a place alternates with the sounds of the ocean. Spinguera isn’t just a hotel where conversations at tables are interrupted only by the sounds of rare desert birds. However, you will not experience quiet nights in these tropical latitudes.
