Holiday Properties in Cape Verde Islands

Introduction to Boa Vista

Boa Vista is a beach island. In fact it has Cape Verde’s longest beach at 18 kilometres. Projects started in Boa Vista by major tour operators point to the success of this island as a major tourist destination. A new international airport should be completed in 2006, (construction is already well under way) initially to fly tourists into 2 large Italian resorts, but in time this will expand to other regions of the world. Long deserted white sandy beaches are what Boa Vista is all about.

Boa vista is superb for watersports. Diving, fishing and wind and kite surfing. Or simply stroll down one of the beautiful white sandy beaches, often deserted, and you can completely relax and get away from the rigours of everyday life. Sa Rei is the capital. It has a pretty central square , with small restaurants, shops and bars, and serves some of the best lobster in the world. The town has 3 beaches, Cabral beach where houses and apartments are springing up, Estoril beach to the south with a lovely beach bar and windsurfing centre, and the towns small beach Praia Diante, next to the small harbour.

To the south of the island is the wonderful Santa Monica Beach, with miles of white sand, and to the west of the island is the lovely Chaves beach, with the new luxury Italian hotel development and a few other smaller hotels.

Introduction to Maio

Maio is a small island about 20 miles east of Santiago and will benefit from easy access when the new international airport on Santiago opens. There is a small airport which is just an 8 minute flight or a short ferry trip from Santiago. The flights cost about £40 return.

Maio is a tranquil and almost forgotten island with vast, deserted white beaches and only about 6000 inhabitants, mainly living in the capital, Vila do Maio, which is next to one of the longest beaches on the archipelago. Vila do Maio is on the south-west corner of the island, so is protected from the prevailing north-easterly breeze. There will be new restaurants and bars opening soon, as the island quietly develops. On the deserted beaches sea turtles can be found laying their eggs in the summer. Maio has a desert-like landscape with sugar cane plantations, small oases and a few small towns, such as Morro with its one main street fringed with coconut palms

Introduction to Fogo

Fogo is a volcanic island in the Sotavento group of Cape Verde. It has the highest peaks of the group, rising to 2800 m (10,000 ft) above sea level at Mount Fogo. It is also one of the greener and wetter islands of Cape Verde, and all the Cape Verde wine is made here, aswell as much of the farming. Deep sea fishing is some of the best in the world, along with other islands in Cape Verde.

Fogo has a population of 37,403,of which 27330 are living in Sao Filipe, where the islands airport can be found. First settled in the 1480s, it is largely an agricultural island. The islands also houses schools, a gymnasium, banks, a post office, some hotels and squares. The people of Fogo are very friendly and it is virtually crime free. The volcano has been historically active, last erupting in 1995, forming a new crater called Pico Pequeno. Its largest feature is a 9 km wide crater, which has walls 1 km high. The crater has a breach in its eastern rim, and a large peak rises in the centre. The central cone Pico forms the highest point of the island and its summit is about 100 m higher than the surrounding wall of the crater.

A small village, called Ch? das Caldeiras, exists at the base of the volcano, and the residents are periodically evacuated during eruptions. 5000 people live on the volcano?s slopes, most of them inside the crater. This is the most fertile area for farming.

Introduction to Sal

Sal is the most developed of the Cape Verde Islands for tourism, the town of Santa Maria being the centre of the action and the main tourist resort of Cape Verde. Crystal clear waters lap along stretches of beautiful white sandy beach, and water sports enthusiasts and holidaymakers make the most of the rapidly developing hotels, resorts and tourist infrastructure. Santa Maria is becoming one of the world's top locations for wind and kite surfers as well as being an excellent destination for diving and sun worshipping. Santa Maria has surprisingly good restaurants right on the beach, and in the town you find a lovely square with shops, bars and restaurants with musicians playing Cape Verdean classics in the open air. Santa Maria is still very much in it's infancy as a resort. The palms are still 4 feet high, but growing with the popularity of this charming town.

Introduction to San Antao

Santo Antao is the most beautiful island in Cape Verde, especially if you like mountains and gorges and stunning scenery. It is just an hour ferry from San Vicente, and no visitor can help being overwhelmed by the beautiful scenery where the colours, shapes and vegetation as well as the local wildife (which includes vultures, kestrels, wagtails, blackcaps, sparrows and some reptiles) are all so striking.

Quite naturally, the vegetation varies dramatically between regions. The high zones are covered with trees like the eucalyptus, the cypress, and the pine-tree. The south, in total contrast, is arid with herbaceous vegetation. It is very different from the white sandy beach islands of Sal, Boa Vista and Maio.

Economically, the island is very rich in agriculture, the main produce being sugar cane, sweet potatoes or yams, manioc, bananas, coconuts, mango, papaya and almonds. Fishing is the main occupation of most of the inhabitants of the ports of TARRAFAL, PORTO NOVO and JANELA.

Pony trekking, walking and cycling along the streams are favourite pastimes, along with dancing in the evenings after a superb dinner at one of the fine local restaurants.

Infrastructure is basic in many areas, but investment into the island is growing, and the new airport should be opening soon to increase access from the other islands in Cape Verde.

Introduction to San Vicente

San Vicente has the second largest population in Cape Verde, with most of the inhabitants living in Mindelo, the center of Cape Verdean culture, and a lovely city with a great nightlife, and music everywhere. The port of Mindelo is being redeveloped into a superb marina and promenade area, and the British and colonial influences on the islands include a very basic golf course, which has plans to be redeveloped, and a lovely town square, where locals promenade around the trees and cafes.

Mindelo has been called one of the most pleasing towns in west Africa. Carnival is the most important cultural event, and there is also a large music festival on the beach at Baia das Gatas, a beach area a short drive from Mindelo.

San Vicente is very dry, with some good beaches at San Pedro, which is one of the best places in the world for wind surfing. Salamansa, Baia das Gatas and Calhau are also good beach areas. Body boarding, cycling and horseback riding along the beach are growing in popularity as more tourism comes to the island. There are mountainous areas overlooking the beautiful bay in Mindelo, and the stunning scenery of Santo Antao is just a 1 hour ferry away.

A new international airport opening in 2007 will give improved access to the new luxury developments and will turn San Vicente into an exclusive holiday island, with massive investment potential.

San Pedro Village is a new top quality development launching spring 2006, on San Pedro Beach, close to the new airport. It will have a massive pool area, and a variety of apartments and houses overlooking the sea and pool. Horse ride down the beach, windsurf, bodyboard, buggy ride, or just relax at the pool or beach bars, or pop into Mindelo, just a 10 minute drive away.

Introduction to Santiago

Santiago is the most African of all the islands and is also the largest in the archipelago. It was the first to be populated after after its discovery by the Portuguese in 1462 and is the most densely populated today, with most of its inhabitants living in Praia, the capital of Cape Verde. The island has a spectacular mountainous interior with two large mountain chains, the highest point being Pico d?Antonia at 1392m. The coastline has numerous sandy beaches, the best being at Sao Francisco, where the Sambala Village development is being built and Tarrafal, 80 kilometers to the north. The island is a mixture of beautiful landscapes, rural villages, lively markets and palm fringed beaches, along with lively nightlife in Praia. The capital city of Praia is a small but rather sophisticated community just coming into its own. This seat of government boasts 15 foreign embassies and consulates and is an oasis of entertainment, fine dining, upscale hotels, and shopping. The developments of Miramar and Ondas do Mar support Praia?s continuing evolution into a destination city and Santiago Golf Resort, to the west of the city, and Sambala Village are both major developments in Santiago which will increase the tourist activity on the island significantly. The new international airport has opened and this will have a major impact on the island.

Located 15 km from Praia, Cidade Velha was the old port where many slaves were traded. The old town with its narrow cobbled streets is overlooked by the old Portuguese S. Filipe Fortress, built at the end of the 15th century where the views over the town and coastline are exceptional.

Introduction to Sao Nicolau

Sao Nicolau is one of the Barlavento islands of Cape Verde. It is located between the major islands of San Vicente and Sal. Its population is 13,536 and the land area is 388 km/sq. The mountainous island is mostly agricultural but has been subject to droughts in the past. The flat areas and hills dominate most of the coastline and the central part. A peninsula covers the eastern part of the island. The highest point on the island is Monte Gordo rising to 1312 m.

First inhabited in the sixteenth century, it is known for its mountains and for its main town, Ribeira Brava, long the seat of the Cape Verde diocese. It's other town is the ferry and the fishing port of Tarrafal. Its main economy is agriculture as well as fishing and tourism mainly on its beaches, and major businesses are rare to find but new investment is slowly increasing and the future for the island in on the up. Many Cape Verdeans use Sao Nicolau as a weekend retreat. Much of the population live in rural areas. The island also has an airport to the south between Vila da Ribeira Brava and Campo with flights from Sal and San Vicente.

There was a famine on the 1940s and 50s which lead to many of the population leaving the island, but a new urbanisation plan has recently been launched and the municipality is selling land to developers which is attracting investorment into the island.

Sao Nicolau is renowned for its Blue Marlin fishing, some of the best in the world and obviously the great weather.

Please select the apartment, flat, house or cottage which would interest you most our selection here:

        Vila Maris Maio
        Vila Cabral

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