Cape Verdi Isles

[The_Burg]

Looks nice, prices reasonable and not too long a flight.

So whats the catch?

WHo's been and how do you rate it?

[anonymous-user]

The 'catch' (if it is a catch) is that there's nothing much there.

From the UK people generally fly into Sal or Boa Vista. Boa Vista has one hotel which is the new and quite pleasant Rui Karumboa. It's all inclusive so the food can get a bit 'samey' after 2 days. The temp is a steady 27C most of the year.

I was in Boa Vista a few weeks ago and I quite liked it. The beaches go on for miles and miles, inland is just sand dunes. As far as I could see Boa Vista's main tourist attraction was a disused pottery factory.

All of the islands are great for kite surfing if you are into that sort of thing. If you just want a cheapish quiet beach/pool holiday then it's great. If it's a lads all night drinking and shagging holiday you're after then it's not the place to go.

Edited by el stovey on Tuesday 9th February 21:50

[The_Burg]

el stovey said:

The 'catch' (if it is a catch) is that there's nothing much there.

From the UK people generally fly into Sal or Boa Vista. Boa Vista has one hotel which is the new and quite pleasant Rui Karumboa. It's all inclusive so the food can get a bit 'samey' after 2 days. The temp is a steady 27C most of the year.

I was in Boa Vista a few weeks ago and I quite liked it. The beaches go on for miles and miles, inland is just sand dunes. As far as I could see Boa Vista's main tourist attraction was a disused pottery factory.

All of the islands are great for kite surfing if you are into that sort of thing. If you just want a cheapish quiet beach/pool holiday then it's great. If it's a lads all night drinking and shagging holiday you're after then it's not the place to go.



Sounds OK, going with the wife so hopefully 'shagging' comes as part of the all inclusive deal of taking her? lol

Edited by el stovey on Tuesday 9th February 21:50

[jesusbuiltmycar]

Top place for kiteboarding (and windsurfing) - unfortunately my wife was not impressed with sitting on a windy beach with no shelter so it is unlikely I will be going back.

If you surf Sal has some of the best waves in the world.

Apart from watersports there is not a lot else to do.

[fatboy b]

The_Burg said:

Looks nice, prices reasonable and not too long a flight.

So whats the catch?

WHo's been and how do you rate it?

Bit of a moonscape.

Edited by fatboy b on Wednesday 10th February 11:51

[R TOY]

Went in Nov for a week on Boa Vista in the Rui hotel and had a great week. Was a bit on the windy side and sea v rough which messed up my Scuba plans but hotel is v good imo. Food was fine and if you book in the speciality restaraunts (all included) you get more variety and a more intimate atmosphere. Need to book as soon as you arrive tho. Drinks are always available both from numerous bars or DIY drink stations with wine, beer, soft drinks and coffee. Local brew not bad either..
Things to do..
Shark fishing comp, Only beach casting but loads of sharks up to 1metre caught. All tackle provided.
(top tip, take a sharp hook)
Quad bike trip, Fantastic drive out to an old ww2 shipwreck on a deserted white sand beach. Time for a swim before the ride back. We shared a quad which was fine, the route was both on and off road..
Boat fishing, st day, 6 fishing and caught 1 wahoo. Nice boat tho but rough sea. Not for weak tums.
Tennis, decent courts not over booked during our stay.
Entertainment was a bit naff but entertaining in a naff sort of way..
Locals v friendly and girls lovely..;)

[Puggit]

Volcanic landscape, sandy beaches, large areas of sand dunes, windy, surfing, kite-surfing.

Are you sure we're not talking about Fuerteventura in the Canaries?

[B17NNS]

Spent two weeks there a few years back.

The problem with the place is that its neither unspoilt or developed and ready for tourists. Very slumlike in parts, locals tend to harass you. Beaches stunning as is the weather if a little windy. Not an awful lot to do to be honest other than stay in your 5* AI complex.

I stayed in the Riu in Sal.

[blindswelledrat]

R TOY said:

Went in Nov for a week on Boa Vista in the Rui hotel and had a great week. Was a bit on the windy side and sea v rough which messed up my Scuba plans but hotel is v good imo. Food was fine and if you book in the speciality restaraunts (all included) you get more variety and a more intimate atmosphere. Need to book as soon as you arrive tho. Drinks are always available both from numerous bars or DIY drink stations with wine, beer, soft drinks and coffee. Local brew not bad either..
Things to do..
Shark fishing comp, Only beach casting but loads of sharks up to 1metre caught. All tackle provided.
(top tip, take a sharp hook)
Quad bike trip, Fantastic drive out to an old ww2 shipwreck on a deserted white sand beach. Time for a swim before the ride back. We shared a quad which was fine, the route was both on and off road..
Boat fishing, st day, 6 fishing and caught 1 wahoo. Nice boat tho but rough sea. Not for weak tums.
Tennis, decent courts not over booked during our stay.
Entertainment was a bit naff but entertaining in a naff sort of way..
Locals v friendly and girls lovely..;)

I heard there were aquite a few Illiterate people on that island?
What did you make of it?

[blindswelledrat]

FYI, if you can be bothered it is worth making the extra effort to go to one of the less developed islands.
I went last year and stopped overnight in Sal and it was beginning to feel a bit like any other European resort (but with nicer beaches).
We went on to Sao Vicente, hardly saw another white person and it has some of the best Marlin fishing in the world.
Still not a pretty landscape but very traditional colonial buildings and a quaint charm to it, with none of the rows and rows of shops full of tat found in the more touristy islands.

[anonymous-user]

blindswelledrat said:

FYI, if you can be bothered it is worth making the extra effort to go to one of the less developed islands.

Boa Vista has one hotel on it. I'm not sure you can get much less developed than that.

[Lois]

I went to the Riu All Inclusive complex on Sal. Loved it!

As posted on another thread...

The Funana and Garopa are one massive complex. There are several restaurants, shops, a spa and 4 pools as well as tennis courts etc. The massive beach has equally massive waves (by my standard!) as has volley ball, daily aerobics/dancing and a bar as well as watersports (kayaks, windsurfing, snorkelling, scuba diving. You can organise trips of the island by landrover or boat trips. We did the south of the island by quad bike. There are large stretches of empty beach but if you head north you can walk into the town. There you have local shops and market. We went to the pier to see the fishermen land their catch. It was fascinating to see the real local culture, but be prepared for people to hassle you to buy their goods. We ended up chatting to a guy from Sal who was lovely. He recommended places to go and just wanted to talk to us to improve his language.

In short, you can do as much or as little as you want.

[blindswelledrat]

el stovey said:

blindswelledrat said:

FYI, if you can be bothered it is worth making the extra effort to go to one of the less developed islands.

Boa Vista has one hotel on it. I'm not sure you can get much less developed than that.

Odd. For some reason in the eighteen months since I was there they must have knocked down loads of hotels and tourist tat then!
Im pretty suprised they did that because thier entire economy is tourism

[anonymous-user]

blindswelledrat said:

el stovey said:

blindswelledrat said:

FYI, if you can be bothered it is worth making the extra effort to go to one of the less developed islands.

Boa Vista has one hotel on it. I'm not sure you can get much less developed than that.

Odd. For some reason in the eighteen months since I was there they must have knocked down loads of hotels and tourist tat then!
Im pretty suprised they did that because thier entire economy is tourism

Are you thinking of Sal?

[blindswelledrat]

Nope- Sal and Boa Vista ar the two developed tourist islands.
I think your information is a little off.

[anonymous-user]

blindswelledrat said:

Nope- Sal and Boa Vista ar the two developed tourist islands.
I think your information is a little off.

You've been to Boa Vista?

[R TOY]

blindswelledrat said:

R TOY said:

Went in Nov for a week on Boa Vista in the Rui hotel and had a great week. Was a bit on the windy side and sea v rough which messed up my Scuba plans but hotel is v good imo. Food was fine and if you book in the speciality restaraunts (all included) you get more variety and a more intimate atmosphere. Need to book as soon as you arrive tho. Drinks are always available both from numerous bars or DIY drink stations with wine, beer, soft drinks and coffee. Local brew not bad either..
Things to do..
Shark fishing comp, Only beach casting but loads of sharks up to 1metre caught. All tackle provided.
(top tip, take a sharp hook)
Quad bike trip, Fantastic drive out to an old ww2 shipwreck on a deserted white sand beach. Time for a swim before the ride back. We shared a quad which was fine, the route was both on and off road..
Boat fishing, st day, 6 fishing and caught 1 wahoo. Nice boat tho but rough sea. Not for weak tums.
Tennis, decent courts not over booked during our stay.
Entertainment was a bit naff but entertaining in a naff sort of way..
Locals v friendly and girls lovely..;)

I heard there were aquite a few Illiterate people on that island?
What did you make of it?

Didnt ask any of the locals for their GCSE results or enter any spelling comps so couldnt say.

[blindswelledrat]

el stovey said:

blindswelledrat said:

Nope- Sal and Boa Vista ar the two developed tourist islands.
I think your information is a little off.

You've been to Boa Vista?

No, but its right next to Sal and you did (might still do) have to land on Boa Vista to get to Sal because the same plane dropped toursits off at both places. I seem to remember it being a little more sparse than Sal but still pretty much the same

[anonymous-user]

blindswelledrat said:

el stovey said:

blindswelledrat said:

Nope- Sal and Boa Vista ar the two developed tourist islands.
I think your information is a little off.

You've been to Boa Vista?

No, but its right next to Sal and you did (might still do) have to land on Boa Vista to get to Sal because the same plane dropped toursits off at both places. I seem to remember it being a little more sparse than Sal but still pretty much the same

From landing and taking off a few minutes later you were able to see "loads of hotels and tourist tat"?

[The_Burg]

So worth a visit or not?
I'm looking for somewhere nice for me and the wife. I like snorkelling and exploring, preferably by scooter / motorbike /quad. wifey just wants sun and we both like to chill with a few drinks watching the sun go down.