Boa Vista tour: Santa Monica Beach, shipwreck & sand dunes

Walk 18 miles of empty white sand, then stand beside a ship that's been rusting on the beach for fifty years.

A five to six hour tour of Boa Vista departing from Sal Rei in a small air-conditioned group with a local guide who speaks your language. You cross the white sand dunes of Viana Desert, walk the length of Santa Monica Beach, explore the rock-divided coves of Varandinha, and visit the MS Cabo Santa Maria shipwreck on Praia de Atlanta. The tour includes pickup and drop-off in Sal Rei, and you'll have lunch on the beach.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Boa Vista's natural and cultural sites

• Ride in air-conditioned vehicle
• Visit Desert of Viana sand dunes
• Walk on Santa Monica Beach
• Explore Varandinha beach and sand cave
• See MS Cabo Santa Maria shipwreck
• Discover local village and ceramics
• Enjoy local lunch on the beach

What’s included

• Your guide speaks English, Spanish, Italian, French or another language you arrange.
• the tour includes pickup and drop-off in Sal Rei, air-conditioned transportation, and liability insurance.

Times

• Every day 09:00

Another time? ›

Before you book

Group Up to 8

Live guide English, Spanish, French, German and Italian

Meeting point and pickup Hotel pickup included. You can choose from 2 pickup points.

Book up to 2h before

Ages Adult (11 and older) · Child (3 to 10 years) · Under 3: can't be booked

Cancellation and refunds Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund. It may be canceled due to bad weather or if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Good to know

Low physical effort

Operated by Kapverden Tours

Prices and times updated 13 days ago

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The experience

The tour starts with the Desert of Viana, a sprawl of white sand dunes that extends from the Sahara itself, now sitting in the Atlantic. Small oases break the expanse: acacia bushes, palm trees, coconut and date palms scattered across the landscape. From there you head to Santa Monica Beach, the longest stretch in Cape Verde at 18 miles, where the sand is empty enough to walk barefoot without seeing another person for hours.

Varandinha Beach comes next, a quieter cove on the southwest coast where rocks divide the sand into smaller pockets: the kind of place that feels removed from the rest of the island. Then you reach the MS Cabo Santa Maria, a cargo ship that ran aground on Praia de Atlanta more than fifty years ago and has stayed there ever since, rusting and slowly dismantled by the sea. It's become a landmark and a symbol of Boa Vista itself. The tour also includes a stop at a small village where locals work with clay ceramics, giving you a look at how people live on the island away from the beaches.

You travel in a certified, air-conditioned vehicle with a guide who knows the island's history. Groups stay very small, and lunch happens on the beach. Pickup and drop-off are both in Sal Rei, and the whole outing runs five to six hours.

Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English, Spanish, French, German and Italian.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (3 to 10 years). Children under 3 can't be included in the booking.

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

How long is Santa Monica Beach and what's it like to walk it?

Santa Monica Beach stretches 18 miles along Boa Vista's coast and is largely deserted, so you can walk barefoot across the vast white sand without crowds or noise interrupting the space.

What is the MS Cabo Santa Maria shipwreck and why is it still there?

The MS Cabo Santa Maria is a cargo ship that ran aground on Praia de Atlanta over fifty years ago and has remained on the beach ever since, gradually dismantled by the sea. It's now a landmark and symbol of the island.

What's included in the tour and what do I need to arrange separately?

The tour includes your guide, pickup and drop-off in Sal Rei, transportation in an air-conditioned vehicle, and liability insurance. Lunch on the beach is your own arrangement.

What's the Desert of Viana like compared to other parts of the tour?

The Desert of Viana is a landscape of massive white sand dunes with scattered oases of acacia, palm and date trees: an extension of the Sahara that sits on the island itself, very different from the beaches and the shipwreck you'll see later.