Cape Verde Islands

Where to surf in Cape Verde Islands

The archipelago of Cape Verde presents an unusual version on the tropical island theme which is so arid many of its landscapes would not look out of place on the moon. Aside from Sal, there are many other islands to explore with various exposures to both northern and southern hemisphere swells.

Ilhas do Barlavento

Sal has ever-present dry, hot Saharan winds which scour the rocky earth, making it a world-class wind and kiteboarding spot, as well as holding some excellent righthand reefs and points for the sail-less.

Boa Vista looks similar to Sal having both N and S swell exposure if the angles are just right. Check the sandy Praia de Santa Mónica and Praia Varandinha on the SW coast for offshore conditions, plus around Sal Rei at Cabral, the offshore English Reef (mainly kiting) and the bays to the north. There’s even a tasty wrapping left on the windward east side at Ervatao.

Crazy rock formations characterize the deeply wind and wave etched coastline of São Nicolau, which suffers from filtering by the other islands in S swells, but picks up plenty of NW-N lines. On the sheltered west coast at Tarrafal de São Nicolau, the righthand point at Sabi Sabi is usually offshore and there are rocky black sand beaches, especially at the dried-up rivermouths. Plenty of coastal angles to explore and if the wind drops, north coast beaches like Praia da Areia Branca in small swells.

São Vicente is shielded from winter NW swells, but there is still north coast action at the two due N exposed beaches of Salamansa or Praia Grande, near Calhau. Popular with surf and wind/kite schools, it’s often big and messy, with potential for some righthanders off the eastern headlands. Baia das Gatas is scene of a big music festival and some occasional lefthanders sweeping round the breakwall in low or W winds. South coast spots are limited to the big sweep of sand at São Pedro, which is usually shoredump, but the wind/kite crew like the strong trade winds whistling down the airport runway.

Finally, the last and most exposed island in the barlovento (windward) chain is Santo Antão, which is unaffected by any swell shadow other than from the E-SE. The young volcanic landscape throws up towers of basalt along much of its littoral extent, so there are less surf spots than might be expected. The northwest coast is fierce and foreboding, with little access to the angry, windblown waves hitting slabs of rock most people would prefer to avoid.

From the scary big-wave reef of Ponta do Sol through Ribeira Grande and on to Janela there are miles of boulder-backed black sand beach with some rideable peaks, including the lined-up lefthanders at Vila das Pombas, for confident surfers when the wind drops and the coast road makes access easier. Porto Novo nestles in the SE, missing the bulk of the swell, but can have a wave occasionally. Tarrafal de Monte Trigo is the go-to-spot for the combination of good N and S swell exposure, plus it’s dead offshore in the NE winds that usually rip across the mountainous interior.

Ilhas do Sotavento

Maio looks similar to Sal having both N and S swell exposure if the angles are just right.

Over on Santiago, deep inside the capital’s port Praia, there are clean, tidy lefts peeling over cobbles beside a shipwreck at Praia Negra and waves on both sides of Ilha de Santa Maria. More S swell city reefs to the west like the rocky lefts at Coragi. Ponta do Lobo is the area to search on the choppy east coast, but most surfers will end up in Tarrafal on the NW tip. A string of west-facing, boulder-strewn reefs convert winter W-NW (NW-N is blocked by the other islands) into rights at Punta Brava, Shira and Chao Bom with good lefts at the town break of Caju. There are few beaches on the island and the super craggy coastline is steep and waveless for long stretches.

This is a problem that re-occurs on the neighboring volcano dominated Fogo, where the black sand beaches of São Filipe on the west coast are uninspiring and the soaring 80m cliffs make any of the rocky points unapproachable.

The tiny island of Brava has similarly inhospitable geology and while there may be some waves on rocky beaches beneath the steep cliffs, it is not worth the considerable effort to get there.