Kitesurfing in Cape Verde: Sal or Boa Vista, When to Go and Where to Stay

Compare

Cape Verde's kite islands compared

Sal and Boa Vista are the two islands most kite trips go to: both have direct flights from the UK, kite schools and big beach resorts. They share the same trade wind but not the same water, so pick by the riding you want and the holiday around it. São Vicente is a third, wilder option for wave riders, with fewer facilities.

Choose

Sal or Boa Vista?

Do not choose on wind: both islands sit in the same north-east trade wind, and schools on each quote about 20 knots on average in season (Kite Verde on Sal, the Duotone Pro Center on Boa Vista). What differs is the water, the walk from your room and the holiday around the riding. Planet Kitesurf Holidays points most first-timers to Sal for its choice of centres and conditions within a short drive, and keeps Boa Vista for riders who have been before or want a big empty beach. Cape Verde Experience adds that Sal is easier to explore on your own, while Boa Vista suits a resort-based holiday with wildlife and desert trips.

Season

Is Cape Verde windy? Wind and water month by month

Yes, from late autumn to early summer. The north-east trade wind sets in around October or November and blows until May or June, with the most reliable wind from January to March. From July to September the wind drops and the air turns humid, and most of the year's rain falls between mid-August and mid-October.

Beginners and families

Is Cape Verde good for beginners and families?

Yes for beginners with a school, but there is no standing-depth lagoon: Planet Kitesurf Holidays sends riders who want flat, standing-depth water to Dakhla instead. On Sal you learn either in the side-onshore chop of Kite Beach, where the wind pushes you back towards the beach, or on the flat but side-offshore water of the south with a boat, as Kite & Tonic does with one or two students per instructor. On Boa Vista, some centres in Sal Rei bay have a shallow, flatter area, and Boavista Kite teaches from a boat at Praia de Chaves. Boavista Kite and the Duotone Pro Center Boa Vista say their instructors are IKO certified; Kite & Tonic speaks of certified European instructors without naming a body, so ask if you need an IKO card.

For families, both our stays are large resorts with children's facilities: Splash Water World and the RIU Land kids club for ages 4 to 12 at the RIU Palace Santa Maria, and a children's pool and clubs for ages 7 to 13 and 14 to 17 at the VOI Praia de Chaves Resort. The sea needs care: GOV.UK warns that tides and currents around the islands are very strong and that waves can have a strong undertow, so swim at beaches with a lifeguard, respect the flags and use the pools on windy days. Off the water, Sal has Santa Maria's restaurants and the Pedra de Lume salt crater; Boa Vista has the Viana desert, nesting loggerhead turtles and seasonal whale watching.

Travel

Getting there, time zone and entry rules

Sal (SID) and Boa Vista (BVC) both have international airports with direct flights from Europe. FlightsFrom lists about 6 h 05 to 6 h 15 from London Gatwick or Manchester to Sal (TUI and easyJet) and 6 h 10 to 6 h 15 from Gatwick to Boa Vista (TUI), about 4 h 10 to 4 h 20 from Lisbon to Sal (TAP, Cabo Verde Airlines and easyJet), 6 h 40 to 7 h from Amsterdam and about 6 h 15 from Paris; schedules change by season. Flights between Sal and Boa Vista take about 30 minutes, and São Vicente has direct flights from Lisbon of about 4 h 20. Cape Verde keeps UTC-1 all year, with no clock changes: one hour behind London in winter and two in summer, and two hours behind Paris and Berlin in winter.

UK citizens can visit for up to 30 days without a visa, with a passport valid for at least 6 months after the day they arrive (GOV.UK). German and French tourists need no visa for up to 30 days either: Germany's Foreign Office says German ID cards are not accepted and passports must be valid for at least 3 months on entry, and France asks for 3 months' validity after the end of the stay. Every visitor must pre-register on Cape Verde's official EASE platform at least 5 days before arriving and pay the airport security fee (TSA) of 3,400 escudos (€30.83); a tour operator can do it for you. Keep the proof: from 1 July 2026, GOV.UK says travellers who cannot show it pay double the fee at the border. Children under two are exempt from the fee.

On the islands, authorised taxis on Sal and Boa Vista are blue and yellow (GOV.UK). The escudo is pegged to the euro, and euros are widely accepted in larger hotels, shops and taxis, with change given in escudos (German Foreign Office).

Our take

Our verdict