Cape Verde Holiday Reviews

This is the perfect holiday as long as you want total relaxation. There is nothing outside of the hotel unless you walk for around an hour and half or get a taxi in to the tiny town of Sal Rei, where there still isn't a great deal besides form a few shops and bars. We found going to Sal Rei without a tour guide a little intimidating as there were a lot of local people pestering you to visit their shop or buy their goods. We did go back to Sal Rei a few days later with a tour guide on the 4x4 trip and it was much less stressful as the locals left us to it. There are some lovely sights that will be missed if you don't venture out of the hotel, such as the ship wreck off Santa Maria Beach, The Viana desert and Santa Monica beach. We got to see these on the 4x4 trip we booked through one of the Thomson reps, but it was expensive so getting a taxi may be a better option if there is a few of you or if you don't have much spending money. Our only disappointment of the whole holiday was a "whale watching" trip we booked through out Thomson rep. We paid 60 Euros each for half a day whale watching trip and didn't see any whales. We spoke to one of the reps about possible part refund or some other solution, such as booking us on the next trip with no extra charge, but the rep said there was nothing she could do.

never ventured out of hotel so dont know anythin about the town just a long beach not as white as i hoped the sea very rough only swimable for two days whilst we where there

The resort is still in its infancy, tourism is very new to the islanders and this is clear especially when visiting the local town Sal Rei. The beaches are beautiful with soft sand and clear water, think caribbean without the long flight. There is limited activities (none) to do outside of the complex but that suited us. It will be interesting to return in 10 years to see the effect tourism has had on this island.

Excellent Holiday "The resort was very nice"afew places to walk in the shade would be a good Idea.

You can't compare this island to those which have been open to tourists for years - that's not the case here (though will be in the not too distant future). It is, however, a very close, no jet lag island with great beaches and water sports - unspoilt by commercialisation. You can come here any time of year and get guaranteed sunshine all within 6 hours of the UK - Only Dubai and the Canaries can offer that. Also, the Cape Verde islands are all very different and unique, and it is possible to travel to some of the other islands from Sal like Fogo (volcanic island) or Sao Vicente - the beautiful cultural centre with a wonderful Creole feel. On Sal itself, the one place poeple should visit is Pedra de la Lume - essentially within the crater of an old volcano. It was used as salt flats when salt was of value and exported, but now allows you to float unaided (like in the Dead Sea) right in the centre of the Volcano. As tourism has not yet strangled this island, my family have been to Pedra de la Lume and floated in the crater with no-one else around - absolutely amazing! Yes - there are not any boutiques and the usual touristy tat, but for those who like to travel and see new places, it is definitely worth a visit as are the other islands of Cape verde, especially the mountainous peaks and lush valleys of Santo Antao.

Boa Vista is certainly the original desert island. If you hire a car expect plenty of off-roading as there are only a few roads on the island. Some of the beaches are spectacular - and deserted.

OK. Long Nice Beach Great for surfers and Kiting. long walks if you like that sort of thing. Massive hotel in the middle of sand dunes. great transfer time 5 Minutes.

Expensive, expensive, expensive !! and very little to do, avoid if you can. There is a lot of building work going on but I assume because of the credit crunch it is all on hold so the place is full of unfinished buildings. The beasch is OK but the wind blows all the time.

We stayed all inclusive so cannot comment on prices etc. The island is gradually becoming more popular and tourism will be taking off in a big way. The beaches are completely unspoilt. The only problem is that the Atlantic is pretty choppy so swimming is not really enjoyable.My advice would be to go and experience it sooner rather than later because it will inevitably become more and more commercialised.

very nice around hotel, barren around it, airport only few mins away but very small. Atlantic ocean very strong on hotel beach

Well there is no resort really just the hotel which is fine for a week but you would get bored after that. 4X4 trip great

The whole of the island of Sal is basically a rubbish dump. All of the buildings in Santa Maria are either half built or derelict with people living in them anyway. The roads are falling to pieces in Santa Maria.

DO NOT expect tree-lined promenades, restaurants and shops because there are none. Sal is not a tourist island. We did all of the organised trips, including the tour of the island in which you see basically nothing. The middle of the island is a couple of miles of piled up rubbish. We ventured into Santa Maria on one evening to find there is literally nothing there, it was like being in Deliverance! We got straight back into a taxi to the hotel.

Locals can be quite intimidating trying to force you into buying their 'wares' consisting of fish teeth and shells. If you don't want to buy, don't get involved in a conversation, just walk away.

The boat trips were fun but you have to climb onto a small boat at the jetty either in Santa Maria or Palmeira, climbing over the locals gutting tuna and chopping up fish. Particularly in Palmeira there are fish guts everywhere on the jetty so do not wear your best shoes on the boat trips.

However, the best boat trip was the King Boa which was a much more professional set up. The two guys running the trip, Bob and Mike, are very knowledgable, friendly and approachable. We spent about 3 hours on the power boat and trailed a pod of Pilot whales which were within 20 feet of the boat which was just fabulous, the highlight of the holiday. We also took our fishing rods and did a bit of fishing, both on the boats and over the east side of Santa Maria. If you need bait, go to the proper fishing shop at the start of the pier, don't try to buy it off the locals!

In summary, I would recommend the boat trips but there really is nothing else to do outside of the hotel. Take packs of cards and board games for the evenings!

Sal is only a tiny Island and as such, there isn't much to see or do however, if you like watersports, it is your ideal destination. The locals are very friendly and though most will try to sell you something, they will leave you alone if you say no without any trouble. Sal has few/no natural resources or farming so all food and drink is imported (except for fish, which is caught fresh each day.) The main holiday resort of Santa Maria has died a little with the introduction of an all inclusive hotel right outside of town. Tourists no longer go into town (as advised by bad holiday reps!), so many of the amazing restaurants have closed down or have very limited opening but there is still lots of choice.

great for those not looking to explore, sea rough not suitable for children.small airport 5 min transfer time.

Do not go there! Locals every where after small change all the time. Nice beach, nothing else. Restraunts are expensive & not very clean