On day one of my trip to Sal in the Cape Verde islands, I thought “Oh, a week on a beach will be plenty. Can’t see myself coming back again”. By the end of the week, I was pretty much prepare to buy the whole island and never leave…

If you are unfamiliar with Cape Verde, don’t beat yourself up. It’s still a pretty undiscovered holiday destination, much less popular for winter sun than, say, the Canary Islands. We only heard about it through a friend who, like us, felt that there were far too many days in a British December, and that teleporting to August for a week was a jolly good idea.

Things are going to change in 2025. There were surprisingly few Brits staying where we were in Santa Maria (the main tourist town), and this seems to be mainly down to a lack of flights. Until this year, TUI has had a stranglehold on the flights (something to do with helping pay for the runway!), but from next Spring, EasyJet is also adding three flights a week, which is going to roughly double the capacity from London, and hopefully drive fares down. These seem to be running at a reasonably significant discount to TUI at the moment, although the Winter schedule is not (at the time of writing) available. And I know, because I am refreshing my search every 10 minutes (Guess who is going to get gouged by the EasyJet pricing algorithm..)

This is what things looked like when we left on a dreary Thursday morning in mid December.

And this was about 7 hours later… About 76°F (or 25°C in new money).

The only issue with Cape Verde is that it is 6 hours from London on a plane that is designed for 2 1/2 hour trips, so book the extra legroom seats. While the staff were very friendly, the catering was appalling. There was a suggestion on the TUI website that a meal was provided, but I reckon that is only when they use Dreamliners on the route. Instead, on a 6 hour flight, it was mainly a selection of toasties, although that is being generous given that they were really just reheated chemistry experiments. Chris Van Tulleken would have a fit…

Anyhow, the plane was on time, and when we arrived we were processed speedily by passport control (but remember if you are not with a package tour, you have to register online and pay airport tax 5 days before you arrive to avoid delay/breaking the law).

Awaiting us was our transport to the Hotel Morabeza, which we had booked on a very good deal via Expedia. The transport was arranged over email, and was a good price (like most things on the island). Don’t be too disturbed if your driver veers wildly from side to side as they take you on the short 15 minute drive to the hotel. It is not an excess of the local grogue, but an attempt to save their suspension and keep you in your seat. Unfortunately even though this is one of the major roads on the island, it is riddled with potholes, which does at least curb over-enthusiastic driving!

The Hotel Morabeza

The Morabeza is one of the older hotels in Santa Maria, and seemingly one of the few large ones that is not all-inclusive. The facilities are spot on, with three pools (one adult only), a relaxed balcony bar, great rooms, a very switched on Guest Services team, and even mini-golf! We both had an excellent massage, which was a great way to relax into the holiday.

We did not eat in the restaurant for dinner. Our friends who had been before had warned us off, and when we looked at the menu, we had to agree. It has a very “International” feel, with dishes from all over the world. Cape Verde has excellent local food, and an amazing abundance of fresh fish, but that did not feature at all.

And what is maddening is that they have the capability to produce what we would have expected. The newly refurbished beach bar is an absolute must for lunch. We had grilled chicken and fish, as well as a wide range of interesting and varied salads, all of which we would have loved to have eaten in the evening. Closing the beach bar for food at 3pm seems like a very short sighted decision.

Breakfast has a wide selection of food, including a lot of fresh fruit. The flies are a bit maddening, but you get used to covering up your food and cups.

The Room

We ordered the Standard Suite, which cost little more than an average double room, but was twice the size. While this was not in the Adults only section, this was not a real bother for us, partly as almost everyone at the hotel was retired (possibly deceased in some cases), so there was not a high squealie factor, but also because it a located near what we felt was the better pool, as well as the bar and reception. The Adults only section is located quite a lot further away.

It was a very big and comfortable room and there are only two complaints:

First, there is a bidet where the toilet should be in the bathroom. The toilet itself is about as far away from the bed and bathroom as is geographically possible: It takes a surprising amount of getting used to.

Second, there is a shelf above the bed. This means you can’t sit up in bed at all, and run the risk of a major injury if you attempt to do so without thinking (the bruise is fading finally…).

The Resort of Santa Maria

During the day, Santa Maria is pretty quiet, and doesn’t feel threatening, especially if you are near the seafront. If you are by yourself, rather than with someone else, you are likely to get pestered, often to try to sell you drugs, so it is generally better to go out with one other person at least.

At night, the main street is very buzzy and well lit, and this is where the majority of the restaurants and bars are. We had a reasonable meal at Americos on the first night, but it was somewhat marred when a street dance performance started opposite (it was great, but not conducive to a relaxing dinner). The best restaurants are all on side roads, some further from the main drag than others, and they are not well lit. We did not have any trouble per se, but it does feel a little unfamiliar and threatening (We encountered a pack of wild dogs: You can only be so sanguine about that).

My recommendations for dinner are Marea (Review: Cape Verde Restaurant Review, Marea: No problem to solve here…), Il Faro (Review: Cape Verde Pizza Review, Il Faro: I think we found Franco…) and Baraonda (Review to follow).

For lunch, the Morabeza Beach Bar is a firm favourite, as well as Sol Soce (Review Sal Fish Restaurant Review, Sol Doce: So good we ate there twice… ) and Cape Fruit (Review: Cape Verde Cafe Review, Cape Fruit: Quite a lot to smile about)

The Island

“Sal” means “salt”. This is not a mis-description: The island is basically one big salt flat, with the odd volcanic hill. For many years, salt was the main export.

Even today, people harvest and sell salt. And there is little fresh water, so all of the water is desalinated (sticky hair!). There is only a very short rainy season, so not very much food is grown on the island itself.

All of this made the idea of going on an island tour quite intriguing. What could this barren land offer in terms of entertainment?

The island tour gets 10 out of 10 for effort. We organised a private tour through the hotel and I am very pleased we got the private one, and didn’t join a group. On a group tour, half of the party gets to sit on the back of a flatbed truck, and with the roads being what they are, it is a miracle everyone stays put for the whole journey.

Stop 1 was the salt flats pictured above, which really was worth a visit. Bleak but majestic.

After that, we went to “Kite Beach”, where we literally stood for 15 minutes watching people kite surf (It is a windy place, and apparently Cape Verdeans are the world champions at kite surfing)

We stopped for a photo opportunity with a sea urchin, and then moved on to a gift shop with a mirage attached. In most places a mirage might not make it onto the tour, but they were working hard with what they had!

After that, the “Blue Eye”, which is where the sun shines into a cave which reflects back blue light. Unfortunately as it is winter, the sun was not in the right place, so as you can see, it was more “Blue Wink”.

From there a visit to the main port, and then into the capital, Espargos, where we walked around the radar station for a spectacular view of the island. You can see about 80% of it from this one spot.

But the guide saved the best until last…

First, walking with sharks. On one of the beaches, some very enterprising young people rent out Crocs to tourists, and then lead them into the shallows where there are Lemon Sharks. Said sharks are not harmful to humans, but are harmful to the chum that gets thrown into the water to attract their attention. You do not get to do that every day!

Not sure I saw any shoe disinfectant anywhere, but I am still verruca free: Hopefully all the salt in the water helps.

On the subject of salt and water, we headed off to our final destination, which was in a former quarry in a volcanic crater. It is an enjoyably low-rent version of the Dead Sea, a large, incredibly salty pool, which is warmed from the bottom up by hot rocks (I tried not to think about quite how close to lava that was putting me…)

You wade in a couple of feet, and then sit back. It is a very strange feeling of weightlessness – Some people try to swim, which is highly amusing: Sadly I have been forced to delete that video, so here is a picture of the crater instead.

Conclusion

There is not a lot to do on Sal, except sit by the pool (or on the beach) and read. I usually get very bored on long beach holidays, but at this godawful time of year, when the days are short and cold, spending time in a tropical climate with heat and longer days is just idyllic, and at least 10 days would have been good. Even better, it is pretty much in the same time zone as the UK (so no jet lag like going to the Caribbean).

While the weather is good in the summer as well, there are a lot of places within easier reach that tick the same boxes, so I am definitely going back for a Winter break, and almost certainly to the Morabeza. There are probably many other good hotels, but it is very well placed close to town, and the service is superb.

Pack your bag now! It should be your Xmas present to yourself.