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Sal Island Tourist Information

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Location Map of Sal Island

Sal Island

Sal is the most popular island and is home to most of the international hotels as well as the main airport. It is a relatively flat island which has become popular due to its superb white sand beaches. The main town is Santa Maria, where there are restaurants and bars, frequent music and impromptu dancing. There are some pretty pastel-shaded houses and a few shops. It is a haven for sun lovers and beachcombers with a good selection of professionally run watersports, the availability of which can depend upon ocean conditions. There are at least two PADI dive schools. There is a beachside promenade from the main hotel area to the town. Sal (Portuguese for Salt - from the mines at Pedra de Lume) is an island in the archipelago of Cape Verde and the municipality of the same name. The island is around 30 km long by 12 km wide. It belongs to the northern group of islands, called Barlavento and is one of the three sandy, plane eastern islands (Sal, Boa Vista and Maio) of the archipelago, with beautiful white sandy beaches and hardly any elevation. Sal's highest elevation is Monte Grande, at 406m. Another mountain is Serra Negra with an elevation no higher than 92 m. The island was discovered on the 3rd December 1460 and was named Llana until salt deposits were found. Sal is the oldest island in Cape Verde, formed 50 million years ago during the eruption of a volcano which is now inactive. Sal's main town, Vil dos Espargos, is home to one of the nation's international airports and has around 8,000 inhabitants. Its population grew around salt collection and later shifted to fishing, but is now based on tourism (amounting to 50% of the archipelago's tourism) at the beach resort of Santa Maria. 

The extensive white sanded beaches characterise the island of Sal. This rapidly developing island offers a varied range of hotels. 18 km south of the airport, the town and tourist resort of Santa Maria offers 8 km of white sanded beach and crystal clear waters. Excellent conditions for many water sports. Windsurfing, fishing and diving are available. An abundance of bars and restaurants playing live Cape Verdian music. The town of Espargos is located adjacent to the international airport and is the administrative centre of the island, offering shops, bars and restaurants. The island of Sal, the flattest island of the archipelago, takes it's name from the now inactive salt mines. Worth a visit is the half natural, half man made salt pond of Pedro Lume. Palmeira, located on the west coast of Sal is the island's main port, used for fishing activity and for unloading imported products. Tourism on the island is continuing to expand. Development projects are taking place in an attempt to open up tourism on the other beaches of the island of Sal. Sal is not the place for the mountain walker or those who enjoy verdant scenery.

Climate

Sal Island enjoys 350 days of sunshine. Winds mainly blow from the northwest.

Things to do

Island Tour

Sal is the most barren of the islands. Whilst offering superb beach and water based activities, it is also worth hiring a jeep or an aluguer for an occasional day. Places of interest on the island include the volcano crater and the salt lake with it’s workings at Pedra de Lume, the working town of Espargos, the port of Palmeira and the natural pool of Buracona (where caution is recommended).

Island Tour by Sea

A half day cruise sailing along the coastline of Sal and lasting around 3 hours. Stops are usually made in the ports of Pedra de Lume and Palmeira.

Day trip to Boavista by Sea.

Sail to the island of Boavista “The Sand Dunes Isle” on board the motorised Ilhan Voyager. The catamaran can carry 8 passengers and sails comfortably at a high speed of up to 25 knots. The trip departs Sal daily (subject to a minimum of 4 passengers) at 0900 hrs and returns at 1800 hrs. Lunch is included.

Transportation

The major roads on the island are:

• Santa Maria - Espargos Road (paved)

• Palmeira - Espargos Road (narrowly paved)

• Pedra de Lume - Espargos Road (paved)

• Espargos - Reguinho Fiúra Road (unpaved)

Towns

There are six towns:

Pedra de Lume, on the eastern coast, is the most ancient, and the home of the first salt workers. Today it is only a small village with very few inhabitants.

Palmeira is a fishing village, built around a port situated on the opposite coast of the island. It is also a small village but it is currently growing.

Espargos (5,758 for the town, 8,000 including Hortelão and Preguiça) is the main urban centre and is situated between Pedra de Lume and Palmeira. It was formed around the international airport located in the heart of the island.

Terra Boa is the only place on the island where you can find agriculture on a large scale, as the island, and the others mentioned above, are very dry, mainly because they have no mountains to induce rainfall. This place is situated north of Espargos.

Murdeira is a tourist resort, which has recently experienced great growth, with many people buying houses there.

Finally, there's Santa Maria with a population of 1,367, which was a former salt working village but is now the tourism centre of the island and one of the most important (if not the most important) tourist points in the country.

Other inhabited settlements throughout the island are:

Feijoal situated 1 km west of Pedra de Lume.

Fontona located south of Palmeira.

Reguinho Fiúra a remote village located near its lighthouse and overlooking Ponta Norte, the island's northern most point.

Cape Verde Photo Galleries

Sal Island Photo Gallery            Santiago Island Photo Gallery            Fogo Island Photo Gallery

Boa Vista Island Photo Gallery            Sao Vicente Island Photo Gallery            Maio Island Photo Gallery

Santo Antao Island Photo Gallery            Sao Nicalau Island Photo Gallery            Brava Photo Gallery