Overseas Property Consultants - Cape Verde Property Island Guide

Located 300 miles (480 kms) off the West Coast of Africa, the Cape Verde archipelago of 10 islands and about 8 islets, is Europe's closest tropical island paradise. It shares the same latitude as Barbados and boasts the same glorious climate.

The name Sal is taken from the now disused salt mines. Though not particularly large, measuring approximately 30 kms by 12 kms at its longest and widest points, Sal is considered to have the most touristic development'. The island is renowned for its magnificent white sandy beaches, with perhaps the best known being the 8 km Santa Maria beach. Unlike Santiago Island, with its contrasting scenery, Sal is the flattest, and most barren island. Nevertheless, crystal clear, unpolluted waters make for a diver's paradise and provide the basis for many other water related sports. The international airport, built in 1939, made Sal the gateway to the Cape Verde islands. This, coupled with its thriving nightlife and a reputation as a sun seekers paradise, resulted in Sal becoming the Archipelago's major tourist attraction.

Measuring approximately 55 kms by 29 kms at its longest and widest points, Santiago is the largest island in the archipelago and considered to be the most 'African', famous for its traditional festivals and music. The capital Praia is noisy, crowded and bustling with activity. Some 10 kms from Praia is the port of Cidade Velha, once the Portuguese capital of Cape Verde. This town boasts the remains of an imposing cathedral and the magnificent 15th century fort of S. Filipe. Famous visitors to this island include Captain Cook and Sir Francis Drake, both of whom docked here on their voyages of discovery. The contrasting scenery of this island takes us from a rugged coastline, with occasional sandy beaches, inland via lush plantations of delights such as banana, papaya and mango, to a mountainous interior. The highest point is the twin peak of Pico d'Antonia, rising 1392m above the landscape. Deep valleys within the mountainous region are planted with corn and a wide variety of vegetables. For this reason, the island has become known as 'the bread basket of the archipelago'. The recently completed Praia International Airport will inevitably attract greater numbers of tourists, not just to this island, but also for onward travel to other islands within the group.

Although nearly three times larger than Sal, Boavista is a much quieter island, with Sal Rei as its sleepy capital. Of a more uniform, somewhat pentagonal shape, it measures approximately 31 kms by 29 kms at its longest and widest points. Known as the island of beaches and dunes, it boasts some 55 km of unspoilt beaches with Curralinho beach (better known as Santa Monica) being the largest and most beautiful in Cape Verde. The island is essentially flat, with a barren interior of volcanic formations interspersed with palm filled oases, something of a dramatic extreme. The highest point, Pico d'Estancia, rises 390m above the landscape. An abundance of sand dunes, together with a surface somewhat rusty in colour, gives the island a lunar appearance in places. However, like Sal, the crystal clear, unpolluted waters provide excellent conditions for all forms of water sports. There are significant plans for the development of Boavista as its natural beauty has been recognized by the tourist industry and the airport is currently being expanded to accommodate international flights.

Like Boavista, Maio is a quiet and tranquil island, almost the place that time forgot. Wind erosion has resulted in very little evidence of the island's volcanic past except for Monte Penoso with an altitude of 436m. The island is arid with hardly any irrigated land, though oddly, it does have the largest forest park in Cape Verde. Similar in size to Sal, measuring approximately 24kms by 16kms at its longest and widest points, virtually the entire coastline is made up of beautiful, deserted beaches of golden sand, ideal for the water enthusiast. These beaches are also a favourite for turtles in which to lay their eggs. The capital, Vila Do Maio, with its large white baroque church, is a small town, which runs alongside one of the longest beaches in the archipelago. Many investors believe that the beauty of Maio will draw tourists, willing to make a small additional flight of ten minutes, from Santiago.