Spot Guide: Boa Vista, Cape Verde. Cross offshore empty Atlantic waves.
Boa Vista (Portuguese for Good View) is a round shaped island in the Cape Verde island chain in the Atlantic some 350miles west of Senegal, Africa. The islands are volcanic and lack a continental shelf and are typically pretty dry and dusty on the interior; Boa Vista also has stunning volcanic landscapes and miles of empty sand dunes. Trade winds blow NE across the island which measures some 20 odd miles tip to tip, and it’s free to pick up any swell going thanks to a large fetch in all directions.
Surf spot maps of Boa Vista are non existent, but I made one with the use of a GPS whilst I was there in February. Here is a run down of the spots and their wave potential, with my map to show you where the all are:
1. Riu Hotel Beach
Five minutes from the airport. Check in, put some shorts on and hit the beach in front of the hotel. Faces west, picks up any swell going. Pretty small in this photo, but it can get seriously huge. Cross off winds turning cross shore the further south you move down the beach. Beware the submerged ship wreck off to the right of the hotel.
Riu Beach. Photo credit: Rou Chater
2. Bahia Beach
Upwind (north) from Riu Beach, effectively the same beach. Expect stronger winds that are more offshore, and a bit more swell shelter than you’ll get at Riu; it was a bigger day in this photo hence bigger looking waves than Riu above. There is a windsurf / kite centre there and a decent little hangout bar run by a top local chap called Danny. Loads of space, little danger.
Bahia Beach. Photo by: Rou Chater
3. Varandinha
In the south west corner of the island, just one last rocky headland saves you from drifting off into the open ocean if you stuff it up badly enough here. Usually it’s a pretty slack, sloppy wave but a solid wind swell can see the place really showing it’s teeth. Lots of space, some flat rocks on the inside further upwind. Look out for the turtle shells and remains on the dunes, quite spooky…
Varandinha Beach
4. Ervatao
Probably the place with the most potential on the island. Tucked around on the east coast, it needs a huge swell to wrap around and then it produces super clean long left handers that are so easy to carve up. Of course, we missed that day! Typically you can expect a fun, clean point wave with a flat water lagoon on the inside for freestyle. Some rocks near the point, and bang offshore winds mean you need to ride with a few other kiters for safety.
Ervatao
5. Ponta Antonia
Forgot to switch the GPS on the day we went here, hence not on the map – but it’s up in the north eastern corner of the island. Super clear water, lots of turtles swimming around. Choppy lagoon on the inside, rolling kickers on the outside for punting and slashing. A pretty spot with a protected feel to it, despite the large number of sharks lurking around the corner…
Ponta Antonia
6. Ship Wrecks
A huge beach on the north of the island. Totally deserted but for the rusting hulk of a ship wreck that you can just make out in the sea mist in the photo. Typical Atlantic cross on shore blown out mess, strong current, quite bleak. Good flat water freestyle action between the waves on the inside, no glory further out.
Ship Wrecks
7. English Reef
A British ship was wrecked out in the Bahia bay and it has created a pretty hot big wave spot. Other than the weight of the water, it’s pretty safe since there are no obstacles to hit as you’re in the open water. A snapped line or similar would eventually see you drift across the bay and come in somewhere near the Riu Hotel. Easily reached by a few tacks from Bahia Beach; naturally, safety in numbers.
English Reef. Photo by Jim Gaunt
8. Riu Beach Lagoon
On a big swell and spring tide, a neat little lagoon tucked behind a sand dune fills up with sea water. It’s pretty shallow, and once filled up can hold a few kiters. Super flat, lots of fun, nice and safe. Just walk out of the hotel onto the beach and turn right and you’ll see it.
Riu Beach Lagoon
Finally, the map! You’ll need to rent a 4wd as much of the driving is over rough tracks in 4wd mode, and to access Varandinha you are required to drive over an awful lot of big sand dunes that will test your rallying skills to the max.
Boat Vista Surf Spot Map
Boa Vista is a great kitesurf destination for getting out of the European winter. It has reliable NE trade winds, picks up mid latitude west Atlantic swells and the conditions are pretty easy to figure out. An all inclusive package (flights, full board, transfer) to the Riu Hotel costs £750 for 1 week – it’s amazing value. Keep an eye on the charts and hit Boa the next time a huge low swings in.
15 Comments
hi dom, thinking of going to boa vista in late nov early dec, staying at the riu hotel, is there any surfing beaches or reefs or point breaks, stayed at sal 8yrs ago and scored good surf there. cheers nick
Hi Nick, thanks for the comment.
In short, I didn’t see any waves that looked good for paddling into, other than the ones on the beach in front of the Riu Hotel which extends for a few miles and catches a lot of swell.
The point at Ervatao needs a lot of swell to wrap into it but from what I gather, it’s not that fast a wave.
That said there are a lot of beaches all over the island so it’s possible that there are waves out there that we didn’t find.
If you weren’t desperate to get waves and were prepared to gamble and explore, I think you could really have a lot of fun. Boa is really unspoilt and stunning, it would be good to experience it before the planned developments alter the landscape.
All the best, Dom.
Hi Dom,
I am thinking of going to hotel RIU Karamboa on Boa Vista for 2 weeks at the end of November/early December. I was wondering: are you allowed to kite on the beach in front of the hotel? I don’t think they have their own kite club.
And how often does the lagoon near the hotel fill up with water?
Looking fore ward to go there…
Greetings,
Dorien
Hi Dorien;
Yes you can kite on the beach in front of the hotel, it’s quite strange as the wind is usually cross-off but it’s pretty stable and you can get fantastic waves there. If there’s wind, you’ll usually see other kiters there. The lagoon – dunno the filling patterns, depends on the sandbar I guess but it was there for the week we where there.
There is a kite club up about a mile up the beach from the hotel, towards Sal. Worth dropping by.
You’re sure to have a good trip, enjoy Boa Vista,
Dom
[...] Click here for a spot and general kite info guide guide to Boa Vista that I wrote – and that rarest of things [...]
Hi, Dom
Planning on going on a trip Nov/Dec. And i’m wondering what kite sizes i should bring. i have slingshot rpm’s 7-9-12. Thinking of bringing two of them.
Greetings
Chris
Hi Chris, if you could really only fit two kites in your luggage you should always take the 7 and 12 as that’s gonna give you most range with least overlap.
Cape Verde has trade winds but up and down days like anywhere else.
In these situations I wear more clothes on the plane to leave more room for kites
Have a great trip mate,
Dom
Hi Dom, Thanks for all this information. I am planning to go at the Riu Karamboa for about 2 weeks at the end of October. I am thinking in renting a 4WD there. On the map it is difficult to see how long it will take to go to the spots but as you have been there do you think it is easy to travel on your own to the different spots? Or do you think it is best to stay with local people?
Cheers Olivier
Hi Oliver,
Thanks for reading the blog and glad it’s helping you out a little!
Re: travel time to spots; no where is really more than 45 minutes away from anywhere else on Boa, and it is rather sparse so you can pick out landmarks and head for them. The unmarked roads may seem confusing at first but they do become quite logical.
With caution, I think you would be able to drive between spots yourself without issues, however, the sand dunes around Varandinha would be very easy to get stuck in. Hopefully you’ll meet some other kiters at the hotel who you can lift share with. Two heads always better than one in these scenarios. If none of that really appeals, then the beach up at Bahia is a good place to meet folk and establish convoys.
Hope you score some good winds,
Dom
Hi
I have been kitting for 2 summers already. I have kited in Lanzarote (Famara) with waves and I’m ok with it. My concern is tha the wind in Boa Vista is offshore… is not that dangerous outside the lagoon?
Thanks in advance!
Ulises
Hi Ulises;
Boa Vista is an odd place – first rule is always kite with other riders, that way you can help each other out as naturally (most) of the beaches do no have any form of boat rescue. It is an island after all, so you can drive to where the wind is cross-onshore so that if it all goes wrong, you’ll get blown back to land. There is sometimes a lagoon near the Riu Hotel (the one close to the airport). This is separated from the ocean (at times!) by the beach so you have no chance of getting blown out to sea.
Hope that helps, enjoy your trip!
Dom
Hi Dom
Love the site, really useful stuff!
My partner and me are planning a trip to Boa Vista in February. We’ve been to Sal before and loved it. We were thinking of staying at the eco lodge on the North cost (Spinguera, if you know it?) and I was wondering if it’s within easy reach of Ship Wrecks? Sounds like the kind of spot we’d be comfortable with coming from Jersey where conditions are onshore and messy most of the year. Also, I was wondering whether Ship Wrecks is a popular spot, all the pictures on the internet seem to be from the populated areas? We will hire a 4×4 but I worry that the best spots are on the East and I don’t want to be too out of the loop.
Thanks for your help – keep up the good work.
Carol-Ann (and Mark)
Hi Carol-Ann,
Thanks for reading the site, glad to hear it has come in useful!
Ship Wrecks is not a popular spot, it feels a bit lonely and bleak – quite a lot of water moving around and near to the ship the currents are particularly bad, certainly wouldn’t want a dropped kite out there.
If you have a 4×4, the whole island is easily accessible, and we were driving across it daily – it doesn’t get dull as the scenery is stunning and driving the dirt roads is a lot of fun. East coast has cracking spots yes, but if the wind swings a touch more north you will have an excellent day on the west coast, around the Riu Hotel by the airport and northwards along the beach. Don’t forget there is also a nice lagoon near the hotel at times for a bit of flat water basting.
The east is very unpopulated, but kiters do head over there quite a bit.
A really good thing to do for a day would be to rent Strava the kitesurf guide; he’ll show you where you need to be. I’ll try to find his details for you and post them up here!
All the best and have a great weekend,
Dom
Hi Dom and thanks for you efforts. Your blog (and map!!) really is helpful. Me and my mates are heading to Boa Vista in a few weeks time and hence the information came in handy. One thing that I wonder about, which you touched upon, is if there are (dangerous) sharks around and if they are in certain places or “everywhere”? Any advise or experience on this subject?
Thanks! Freddy
Hi Freddy, glad it helped you and your mates out! Sharks – they are there, maybe some people will tell you some places are sharkier than others but who can you really trust? Follow the usual protocol of not pushing the dawn and dusk sessions, don’t kite in murky water and you’ll have little to worry about