Sal Island (Aug 31 - Sep 7, 2023):
History of Sal Island in a few lines:
Origins:
Discovered by Portuguese explorers, such as Diogo Gomes and António da Noli, around 1460, the island was uninhabited before their arrival. Originally called "Lhana" (flat), its name changed to "Sal" (salt) due to its large natural salt deposits.
18th and 19th centuries:
The island's significant development began in the 18th century with the large-scale commercial exploitation of the Pedra de Lume salt flats. This led to the growth of settlements as salt became the foundation of the local economy, with exports primarily to Brazil and mainland Africa.
20th Century:
Under Portuguese rule, the island remained focused on salt production until the mid-20th century. Following Cape Verde's independence in 1975, the salt industry declined, and the economy slowly began to shift towards fishing and, later, tourism. The island's international airport became a key hub for tourism development.
Present:
Today, Sal Island is Cape Verde's premier tourist destination, renowned for its white-sand beaches, turquoise waters, and status as a world-class hub for water sports like kitesurfing and windsurfing. The town of Santa Maria is the island's vibrant tourist heart, blending its salt-making heritage with modern hotel infrastructure and a relaxed atmosphere.
What can I say?... it's great for beaches and diving.
But for hotels and tourist attractions on the island, it's not worth it. It's expensive for what it offers.
We stayed on Sal Island and were given a very cute bungalow at the very end of the resort, so we enjoyed peace and quiet. The hotel is very close to the town and the pier, which is the most iconic spot and appears in all the photos (and is packed with locals), easily accessible on foot. We loved the beaches; they are clean, with white sand, crystal-clear Caribbean-like water, no jellyfish, and lots of schools of fish, plus it's warm.
The hotel itself was fine, but at night cockroaches came out everywhere (which makes sense since it's an island, even though they fumigated). One night, I started feeling something crawling quickly up my legs. I went to swat it, and a cockroach flew out. It was disgusting and horrible. We caught it with a glass, and the next morning, we reported it to reception, and they immediately came to fumigate the area. The rest of the nights, we slept with a light on. The buffet had a variety of food, and they covered the plates with mosquito nets to keep flies and other insects away.
For excursions, both on the beach (where you're bombarded with offers) and at the hotel, prices were higher, so we booked with a Spanish travel company that's based there: capeverdeadventure.com. We booked the excursions we liked through WhatsApp; they assist you in Spanish, and you pay at the site where you do the activity.
We took the zip line tour in Zipline (It's huge). It's really cool, not just because of the activity itself but because of how they set it up and the path to the top; you'll laugh. When you get to the bottom, they're waiting for you with music to celebrate.
Another excursion we took was walking with sharks. We really enjoyed it. They're "small" sharks, about 50 centimeters long, but knowing what they are, even as babies, they command a lot of respect. To attract them and get them to swim around your legs, the instructors give them food.
And finally, we took a full-day excursion where you tour the entire island (Full Day 4x4 Pick-Up Excursion) whose main activities are: going to Little church, the salt flats Salinas de Santa Maria, with the possibility of bathing in fresh water for an additional cost on site, I don't remember if it was €10 per person, but it's worth going into the salt water (advice: don't wash off the mud with the salt water), , Kite Beach, Palmeira, Espargos, Blue Eye and Mirage and Shar-bay and Salt Mine.
Important: Bring a hat, sunglasses, swimsuit, flip-flops and water shoes (important for the shark excursion), towel, sunscreen, and plenty of water.
We also recommend bringing notebooks, pens, paints, anything you'd like, or food from the buffet, as one of the stops is at a village where they have children living in poverty without electricity, and they are incredibly grateful for anything you give them. There are people who collect these donations and distribute them right in front of you, so it's a really lovely experience. We didn't know this, but we had two pieces of fruit for the walk and didn't hesitate for a second to give them to them.
The excursion that No What we chose was to see the newborn turtles, since that depends on luck or the day; you might not see any and have to pay for them. However, on the Pick-Up excursion, we were lucky enough to see them when they took us for a swim in one of the coves, and on top of that, we not only held them in our hands, but we also helped them by taking them to the water so they could continue on their way.
In summary:
The beaches are amazing.
The town is very small and excessively expensive. They are not producers; everything is exported.
Cape Verdeans aren't particularly friendly, at least those at the hotel weren't; they don't like Spaniards much or being spoken to in Spanish.
Scuba diving must be amazing, but we ruled it out because the price was over €100 for the trip plus equipment rental. We settled for snorkeling since we brought our own lightweight gear.
If you don't do those 4 excursions, there's nothing else to do on the island; it's practically deserted and there are no bars/restaurants unless you go to the center.
Flight and hotel: €699/person (all-inclusive bungalow + round-trip flights departing from Madrid + taxes included + checked baggage + transfers). We fly with Albastar.
Hotel: Belorizonte Oasis
We got it through the app: Buscounchollo.com
Information obtained from the web https://www.exteriores.gob.es
Passport: Mandatory with more than 6 months of validity.
Visa: It's not necessary.
Travel insurance: Travel insurance is recommended. The best-known and most comprehensive options are: Iati y Heymondo, If we don't need very comprehensive insurance, we'll get it with Globalfine which is much cheaper.
Vaccines: There are no mandatory vaccinations for entry.
International driving permit: It is requested through the DGT website.
It costs €10.51. The good thing is you can order it online and pick it up without an appointment. It took a couple of days for ours, then you go to pick it up and it's a cardboard card like the ones they had 20 years ago.
There's no guide because what we did was take excursions; in the end there are 4 in which you see the whole island.
Consejos prácticos para viajar a Isla de Sal
Si viajas a Isla de Sal desde Praia, una de las opciones más habituales es hacerlo en avión en aproximadamente 1 hora, algo que muchas veces no se tiene en cuenta frente a organizar el viaje solo en una isla. Además, el transporte entre islas es limitado, por lo que conviene planificarlo con antelación. Isla de Sal es uno de los destinos más populares de Cabo Verde, ideal para combinar playas, relax y escapadas bien organizadas en pocos días.
