Boavista Island in Cape Verde, also known as the ‘Island of Dunes and Beaches’,
is one of major touristic places in Cape Verde, especially if you are looking
for a place to relax and be away from crowded cities. The Island is full of
excellent resorts and hotels, making it a holiday destination for many
tourists, from inside and outside the country.
Although
Boavista is commonly identified with white sandy beaches, it is important to
note that the Island has a harsh and dry weather, is similar to a desert (picture below) and still lacks certain
types of infrastructure such as good roads and communication supplies. This
contributed for the immigration of most of the Islands’ native people and
that’s why Boavista is so calm; the population rounds at approximately 6,233
people (as of 2010). Nevertheless, the Government has been taking action to
improve the Islands’ conditions and continue to make it one of the most sought travel
destinations.
In terms of accommodations,
there is a huge range of prices, going from inexpensive local hotels, to the beach
apartments run by Italians and full-service hotels such as “Riu Karamboa”. Apartments
can be rent with the options of breakfast included or self-catering, depending
of the guest’s desire. Hotels and resorts also offer breakfast included packages
as usual or there is the all inclusive, which has turned almost into a standard
within the big resorts in Boavista.
Depending on the time of
the year, for example in the summer, prices can go up, but even though is it
worth it. The best option is to do the reservations directly with the hotel and
not through travel agencies; that will avoid the agency fee. This was what I
did when going to Clubhotel Riu Karamboa and I got a much cheaper price for the
all inclusive alternative.
The hotel is amazing! It
actually looks like a mini Arabia in Cape Verde (picture below). The rooms are cozy; the staff is very friendly and
efficient; there is a variety of cuisines (Capeverdian, Japa/Chinese and
African) and food; there are also a lot of entertainment options, ranging from
day group activities such as aquatic gymnastic, lotto games and volleyball and
tennis matches, and night life with local entertainment shows, karaoke and a disco
club.
Because of the weather, guests
usually spend most of their time in the pool and the good thing is that the
hotel has a big pool, with an in-water bar and plenty of sun beds. The hotel also
has an exit which leads directly to a beach, which is also where a lot of the
guests decide to stay during the day.
Other
activities include scuba diving, motorcycle rides in the dunes and even camel
rides (picture below). Nonetheless,
these activities were kind of expensive. I noticed that some of the hotel
stores had items super priced as well, thus, guests should choose to buy those
products outside the hotel or in one of the other islands. In fact, in
Boavista, prices are higher than in some of the other islands precisely because
of the ‘tourism label’.
Anyway, outside hotels there
are many beautiful places to visit and exciting things to do in Boavista: Santa
Monica beach, the Jewish Cemetery, turtle watching, Viana desert, whale
watching, etc. People should only be careful about the transportation options
since public transport is cheap but not fixed timed, cabs are extremely
expensive compared to the national average rate and on foot it’s not possible
to reach all places, hence car rents are a good choice, particularly if you’re
planning to spend more than 3 days in the Island. Overall, Boavista is one of
the most attractive Capeverdian islands and considered by many a paradisal
place to spend vacations. So you should definitely give it a shot!!
