Sal

On Sal you can find sunshine all year-round, world class white sandy beaches, clear blue sea and good facilities for tourists. It is a perfect surf, dive and sunny destination. Young and old can enjoy a relaxing holiday here. Sal is also an ideal island to relax and to use as a starting point to explore other islands of Cape Verde.

Sal is the most flat island of Cape Verde and is 30 kilometers long and about 12 kilometers wide. The landscape consists of brown rock slabs and desert sand coming by wind from the mainland from the Sahara. Because of the international airport, most visitors arrive in Sal.

Sights Sal

Pedra de Lume
Discover how it feels to be able to float and not sink? Pedra de Lume is an old volcano crater that serves as a beautiful lake with salt pans. In the salt pans you can swim and you keep afloat by to the high content of salt. The salt pans are on the nomination list of the UNESCO World Heritage List and it is a special experience to see them and to float in them.

Buracona
In the northwest of the island, you can admire the daily ‘blue eye’. On the coast are black volcanic rocks with a big hole towards the sea. As the sun shines on the correct height, the light reflects on the azure sea. This color is so bright blue, hence the name “blue eye”. If you are in the area you can also have a swim nearby natural pools (shielded by rocks).

Turtles
On Sal Caretta Caretta turtles are nesting. With a guide of the foundation that protect the turtles you can on a tour to see them on a specific beach.

Beaches of Santa Maria
3 – 4 kilometers of perfect wide and sandy white beaches. In combination an azure sea that has a pleasant temperature, this is an ideal place to relax. It is even one of the most beautiful beaches in Cape Verde. Many accommodations, hotel resorts and water sports facilities are located in the immediate vicinity of this beach. Santa Maria beach is an ideal place.

Diving
There are plenty of diving sites where even some nice old shipwrecks are found. At only 11 meters there is a ship wreck complete can be seen where with colorful fish are found. The reefs and caves can be visited via a diving center.

Surfing and kite surfing
Sal is the best island of Cape Verde for surfing. With always a good wind, a pleasant sea temperature and in some bays the right waves, this is the perfect place. For both beginners and advanced. There is a special bay for kite surfers where also World Cup take place. Good spots include: Santa Maria, Ponta Sino and Shark Bay.

Excursions to other islands
With the international airport on Sal, you can easily visit the other islands of Cape Verde. Perfect for a Cape Verde holiday. For day trips you can easily visit another island by boat. At Sal there are several companies that organize a nice day trip and you can book there.

You will get a great impression of Sal when you can explore it from the air. We have two stunning videos made via a drone that is showing Sal from a bird’s perspective. Check out the Sal aerial videos.

How to get to Sal?

Most international flights arrive at the Amilcar Cabral International Airport of Sal. The airport offers foreign currency exchange services and has an ATM. In the more touristic areas it is also possible to pay in euros, but payment with the local escudo is cheaper. A taxi from the airport to the center of the village Santa Maria takes 20 minutes and costs around the 12 -15 euro’s. And to the village Murdeira it is around 7 – 8 euro’s.

Many domestic flights are also departing from Sal. For example, to the Cape Verde islands like Santiago, Boavista and Sao Vicente. For all flight information please check out our page about domestic and international flights to Cape Verde.

When you are arriving by boat you can dock in the port of Palmeira. In this village the terminal of the ferry is located.