Sal
Cape Verde
A flat, dry island built around one long beach and a trade wind that hardly stops
Photo by Krisztian Tabori on Unsplash
Photos by Radek Pestka and Krisztian Tabori on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Cape Verde
November to June (the dry season, with the kite wind strongest in its first half)
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 45mm in Sep
Where it is
16.60°N, 22.90°W Open in Google Maps
Things to do
Several days- Learn to kite in the winter season, when the trade wind is steadiest, at a school on Kite Beach rather than on the crowded town beach
- Watch the experts at Ponta Preta, where the waves and the wind are for people who already know what they are doing
- Float in the brine of the salt pans inside the Pedra de Lume crater
- Go to Buracona around midday, when the sun lights the blue eye in the rock pool
- Wade with the lemon sharks at Shark Bay in calm water, with a guide and without touching them
- Join a guided night watch for nesting loggerhead turtles in the summer and autumn, and do not go on the beach with a torch alone
- Get to the pier in Santa Maria in the morning when the boats come in
Sal travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Cape Verde
Mid-rangeThe escudo is pegged to the euro at a fixed 110.27, and Santa Maria takes euros almost everywhere — but change comes back in escudos, and escudos cannot be changed back once you leave. Pay in escudos where you can, since a shop’s own euro rate is rarely as good as the bank’s.
ATMs & cards
Machines in Santa Maria and Espargos take foreign cards; the ones on the Vinti4 network are the local standard. They run low at weekends, so draw on a weekday. Most all-inclusive guests never need one; anyone eating out in town will.
Avoid these
- changing back at the end — escudos cannot leave
- paying in euros at a shop’s own rate
Use these instead
- Banco Comercial do Atlântico
- Caixa Económica
- Banco Interatlântico — in Santa Maria or Espargos
Machines run low at weekends. Draw only what you will spend, because escudos cannot be changed back.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of Cape Verde
SafeSal is calm, but the UK FCDO notes pickpocketing, bag snatching and muggings on Sal as well as in Praia: keep valuables in the hotel safe, do not leave things on the beach, and avoid unlit, empty stretches after dark. The sea is the larger risk — currents around the islands are strong, so swim where there is a lifeguard and respect the flags. The wind that the kiters come for also makes the water choppy and the sun easy to underestimate.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (6 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
- Santa Maria, Sal — the town and the beach front
- Espargos
Worth more attention
- Santa Maria beach — theft from unattended bags, and the strong currents beyond the lifeguarded stretch
- Unlit, empty beaches and streets after dark, which the UK FCDO advises avoiding
- Unauthorised taxis — the UK FCDO says the blue and yellow ones are licensed
- Kite Beach — gusty wind and a strong current; ride with a school or a rescue boat until you know it
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa Cape Verde visa rules
No visa neededup to 30 days
No visa, but every visitor must register on the EASE portal and pay the airport security tax before travelling — about 3,400 escudos. Children under two are exempt.
Other passports
e-Visa requiredup to 30 daysEUR 36
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of Cape Verde
LimitedRequired to enter
- Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Hepatitis A
- Typhoid
- Tetanus up to date
- Rabies for a long or rural stay
Getting treated
Thin outside the two main islands. Praia and Mindelo have hospitals; Sal and Boa Vista have private clinics used to resort visitors and to charging them accordingly. Anything serious is flown to Praia or to Portugal, so evacuation cover is the clause that matters. There is no recompression chamber on the islands.
Dengue has flared in the past and mosquitoes are present on the wetter islands. Tap water is desalinated and better avoided for drinking. The Atlantic swell is the real hazard: beaches with no flags, no lifeguards and a serious undertow.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodFish from the pier in Santa Maria — wahoo, tuna and dorado are landed there in the morning and grilled in town that evening. Cachupa, the corn and bean stew, is the national dish and is best fried with an egg at breakfast. Grogue, the cane spirit, is made on the mountain islands, not here, and drunk everywhere.
Travel tipsNightlife
A resort town’s evening, modest and easy: beach bars at sunset, live funaná and morna in a few restaurants, and a handful of late bars.
- Santa Maria, Sal — the streets behind the beach and around the square
- Santa Maria pier — sundowners by the water
Closing: Around midnight for most bars; a couple of late ones go to the small hours at the weekend.
Getting around
Limited- UberNot here
- BoltNot here
- From the airport
- Sal airport to Santa Maria €12–18 by taxi
No ride-hailing. Taxis are cheap and mostly honest, and the aluguer shared minibuses are cheaper still.
Time zone and your working day
Atlantic/Cape Verde — 3 hours ahead of you
5 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–14:00 your time, 12:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 06:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 06:00–14:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
eSIM
A data eSIM for Cape Verde, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:
Works here
Not hereRevolut No local plan
Must-see
Travel tipsNearby day trips
Travel tipsSay a few words
Cape Verdean Kriolu
- HelloOi / Bon diaoy / bon DEE-a
- PleasePur favorpoor fa-VOR
- Thank youObrigadu / Obrigadao-bri-GA-du
- Yes / NoSin / Nauseeng / now
5 more phrases
- Excuse meDiskulpadish-KOOL-pa
- How much is it?Kantu ki e?KAN-too kee eh
- The bill, pleaseKonta, pur favorKON-ta
- No stressNu stressnoo stress
- GoodbyeTe loguteh LO-goo
Portuguese is the official language and what you will see written; Kriolu is what is spoken, and it changes noticeably from island to island. Portuguese is understood everywhere.
Travel tipsReligion
Roman Catholic, with a Protestant minority
Church is a social anchor as much as a religious one, and the island saints’ days are the biggest events of the year. Music is not separate from it — the same voices sing in both places.
Travel tipsDo's and don'ts
Do
- Greet with bom dia and a handshake; Cape Verdeans are formal on first meeting
- Learn that "no stress" is not a slogan but a schedule — buses and boats leave when they leave
- Ask before photographing people, especially in the smaller villages
- Dress modestly away from the resort beaches on Sal and Boa Vista
Don't
- Do not assume Portuguese will be answered in Portuguese — Kriolu is what is spoken at home
- Do not swim where locals do not; the Atlantic here has undertow that has drowned strong swimmers
- Do not take the last aluguer of the day for granted; there may not be one
- Do not photograph inside churches during a service
Where to stay in Sal
No Holistay rentals in Sal yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Sal on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Amílcar Cabral, Sal SID
20 minfrom the airport· 17 km as the crow flies
20 min to Santa Maria.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
