Kitesurfing vacation at Boa Vista, Cape Verde

Since last time I updated the blog I have been on a kitesurfing vacation that I wanted to tell you about. As you know I am crazy for summer and warm climate, so Cape Verde was a option that both Jonathan and I liked, cause the main criteria was of course that it was windy. So here’s my story about the two week long trip – with a lot of photos!

Cape verde is one of the most windy places in the winter, and doesn’t have too long flight time from Europe, which makes it to a favorite destination for a lot of kitesurfers and windsurfers in the winter.

We stayed at Sal Rei, Boa Vista in Cape Verde, which is the island south of Sal. Sal is the place that most of kitesurfers visit, but we wanted to check out the flat waters in Boa Vista. When we arrived we fell in love with the beautiful beaches right away. The water in Boa Vista is turquoise, and the beaches are fine, white sand like taken from a travel brochure.

And of course we were happy to see kitesurfers in the water the same day we arrived. The wind probability is close to 100 %  in the winter, so we had a lot of windy days, but also a few days without wind.

The main kitesurfing spot with the kite centers, close to the little city Sal Rei, has offshore winds and flat waters. Due to this offshore wind we realised that the wind quantity often was better than the quality. The wind was strong and really gusty sometimes, so it was difficult to practise new tricks because of this. But the water surface was super nice, so when you found a good windy spot it was still really good kitesurfing!

But one great thing about the spot in Sal Rei was the waves just in front of the kitecenter. The waves were perfect for kitesurfing in waves with the offshore wind, and I also enjoyed the waves with a Stand Up Paddleboard a few days. Depending on the days the swell varied from small tiny ones to bigger waves that broke further out from the beach.

But the best thing with Boa Vista is actually that you can choose between different spots, and there are kitesurfing spots on almost every side of the island. One beach we visited two times was Pont Antonio, on the north side of the island, were the wind was consistent onshore, but still flat between the waves for freestyle tricks. I loved that place and would have loved to go there every day, but the trip there was quite expensive, because the driver was with you the whole day. But it was really good wind there!

Read Jonathans blog post about the different kitesurfing spots at Boa Vista if you want to know more!

But there was actually one more spot that was even better than Pont Antonio. It was at the southest tip of the main beach, still far away from Sal Rei. The wind was stronger here and also more consistent. We were here one day when it was light wind, and I loved it so much! Unfortunately I was the only one who could ride in the light wind, and the rest of the group decided to go back so my session was not so long on the water. That was the opposite to Sal Rei – quality, but not quantity!

As a summery I would say that Boa Vista is a great place for kitesurfers, but you have to be ready to pay for the taxi to the better spots if you don’t want to stay at gusty Sal Rei.  The optimal solution is to travel in a group of 4-5 people, cause then the taxi is cheaper if you want to check out different spots. And if you are enyoing waveriding you would probably be happy with Sal Rei too with the offshore wind.

Boa Vista is a perfect kitesurfing destination for small groups of 4-5 people travelling togheter.

But of course a kitesurfing vacation is not only about kitesurfing. The windfree days we were chilling in the sun, stand up paddleboarding and surfing in the waves. It was also fun to go swimming in the turquoise waters with all the turtles – yes, turtles were everywhere – I even bumped into one accidentally while kitesurfing!

It’s impossible to leave Boa Vista before tasting the local deliciosness – goat cheese and fresh fish.

And one big plus with Cape Verde is the beautiful nature and the nice laid-back attitude the locals have. “No stress” is the motto at Cape Verde, which makes it a perfect travel destination for those who really want to relax. The locals at Boa Vista were friendly and the food was great, especially the goat cheese and the fish. However, the small town Sal Rei is tiny and there is not a lot to do there, but we enjoyed the evenings with food and talking to locals, tourists and other surfers.

Heres some more pictures from Boa Vista – enjoy! 

Bikini, wetsuits, shorts and rashguards from Rip Curl 

Kites of course Airush Razor