Full Day Sal Island Tour: Santa Maria to Shark Bay

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/49

Duration7h

GroupUp to 8

LanguagesEN · DE +5

PickupAt your hotel

You walk into the sea at Shark Bay and lemon sharks glide between your legs.

A full-day island tour of Sal covers Santa Maria's fishing pier and market, the village of Murdeira, a natural salt mine where you can float, and Shark Bay where you wade in to see lemon sharks. Your guide is local and speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and three other languages, so the commentary reaches whoever is on the tour. Public transportation is included; lunch is available separately.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Sal Island highlights

Visit Santa Maria pier and fish market
Drive through local streets and vegetable market
Relax at kite beach
Visit Murdeira village
Visit a school and see fishermen at work
Shop for souvenirs
See the Blue Eye and lookout point
Lunch in Espargos capital
Visit Pedra de Luma salt mine
Float in salt springs or hike nearby
Visit Sharkbay and see lemon sharks

The Experience

You start at the pier in Santa Maria where fishing boats unload their catch each morning. The fish are cleaned and sold right there—it's the working heart of the island, not a staged stop. From there you drive through the local streets to the vegetable market, then out to Kite Beach. The sequence moves from the busiest part of the island to the quieter edges, so you see how the place actually works before you reach the scenic overlooks.

The middle of the day takes you inland. You visit the small village of Murdeira, stop at a school where there's time to shop for souvenirs, and see fishermen at work. Then comes the Blue Eye—a natural formation at Buracona with a lookout point where the sea opens up below you. After that you drive to Espargos, the capital, for lunch (available for €12). The salt mine at Pedra de Luma comes next: you can float in the salt springs or hike the mountains around it, depending on what you want to do that afternoon.

Shark Bay is the final stop. You walk into the shallow water and lemon sharks swim past you, between your legs—close enough to see clearly but in their own space. It's the kind of moment that doesn't happen on most island tours. The whole day runs about seven hours and moves by public transportation, so you're not paying extra for a private vehicle or a guide's fuel.

What’s included

Public transportation throughout the day.
a local guide fluent in multiple languages.
stops at Santa Maria's fishing pier and market, Murdeira village, a school with souvenir shopping, the Blue Eye lookout at Buracona, Espargos capital, Pedra de Luma salt mine where you can float or hike, and Shark Bay for wading among lemon sharks.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyInfant seats availablePets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Elvin Tours Cabo Verde Sal

Is this one for you?If you speak a language other than English, book this tour for a guide who can explain what you're seeing in your own words—the commentary is what turns a list of stops into a real understanding of how the island works. The local guide also means you're not following a script written for tourists; you're getting the actual ins and outs from someone who lives here.