The beaches of Sal, around Santa Maria
Sal, with white sand beaches and over 350 days of sunshine a year, owes its name to its salt ponds. Santa Maria, founded in 1830 in the south of the island, is its tourist town.

Key facts
Before you go.
- Starting point
- Santa Maria, about a 20-minute drive from the airportSal (Wikivoyage)
- GPS coordinates
- 16.73722, -22.93611Sal (Wikivoyage)
- Best season
- Loggerhead turtles hatch from July to September; kiteboarding all year roundSal, Cape Verde (Wikipedia)
Good to know
Three things to remember.
West of Santa Maria, Ponta Preta is known for its dunes and beach.
Sal (Wikivoyage)The east end of town is the focus of surfing and windsurfing.
Sal (Wikivoyage)For bigger shopping, Espargos, the capital, has larger food shops.
Sal (Wikivoyage)
Plan the trip
Our recommended partners
One link per need, chosen for reliability. Prices and availability are the partner’s, in a new tab.
Keep exploring
Cape Verde

Hiking on Santo Antão
Cape Verde’s second island at 785 km², Santo Antão is volcanic and very mountainous, with two high plateaus and steep valleys.

The Fogo volcano
An active stratovolcano, Pico do Fogo rises to 2,829 m; its latest eruptions were in 1951, 1995 and 2014.

Cidade Velha, Cape Verde’s first town
Founded in 1462 by Portuguese traders, Cidade Velha is the oldest settlement in Cape Verde and its former capital, the first European colonial settlement in the tropics.
Sources · 2 pages consulted, with the exact sentence used
- Sal, Cape Verde (Wikipedia)
Sal is a tourist destination with white sand beaches and over 350 days of sunshine a year. Cabo Verde is known for year-round kiteboarding, for the large reserve of Caretta turtles which hatch from July to September […] This name was changed into the current "Sal" when the two large salt ponds (Pedra de Lume and Santa Maria) were discovered. […] Santa Maria was founded in the south of the island in 1830 […]
- Sal (Wikivoyage)
The main town for tourists visiting Sal is Santa Maria which is at the southern end of the island, approximately 20 minutes drive from the airport and the capital, Espargos. […] the new residential district is at the eastern end of town which also has a small beach and is the focus of a lot of surfing and windsurfing activity. The larger hotels are at the western end, where you will also find the famous dunes and beach of Ponta Preta. One or two hotels can be found in Espargos which also has larger food shops than Santa Maria. (coordinates 16.73722, -22.93611)
Opening hours, prices and access conditions change: check them with the official source before you go. Viafro publishes no price without a source and a date.