Towns and Villages
Sal Island’s towns — Espargos, Santa Maria, Palmeira, and smaller inland villages — each reflect a different layer of the island’s economy, history, and everyday life.
Where to Stay on Sal? The Best Options with Prices
Where to stay on Sal? The question presents itself immediately upon arrival at Amílcar Cabral International Airport. This easternmost island of Cape Verde, shaped by wind and salt, offers surprisingly diverse accommodation options across its compact 216 square kilometres. From the bustling town of Santa Maria, through the calm and quiet Vila Verde, to the island’s capital — Espargos; each area presents a different set of advantages for various types of travellers.
Santa Maria: Walk Through The Most Popular Town
Santa Maria is a coastal town at the southern tip of Sal Island in Cape Verde, renowned for its stunning white-sand beaches and year-round sunshine. Once a sleepy fishing and salt-trading village, it has transformed into the island’s central tourist hub, while retaining a laid-back charm.
Palmeira: Fishing Village and Sal’s Most Important Port
Where Sal’s desert plains meet the Atlantic, Palmeira stands — an island lifeline that hums with maritime purpose.
Urban Part of Sal Island
Sal Island’s cities and towns are few, distinct, and shaped as much by geography as by migration and tourism. The largest is Espargos, the administrative capital, located inland at the centre of the island. Built in the shadow of the old salt trade and later expanded due to the airport, Espargos is where daily life unfolds for most residents — government offices, local markets, hardware shops, schools, and modest cafés. A couple of kilometres north-west from there, Palmeira functions as the island’s main port and fishing hub, a low-rise, working town with colourful boats, warehouses, and a pace set by the tide.
To the south, Santa Maria is the face of modern Sal — once a quiet salt-exporting village, now transformed into a tourism hub lined with hotels, restaurants, and beach clubs, while still home to a local population that maintains its rhythm. Murdeira, nearby, is a tranquil town with a stunning bay teeming with marine life. Scattered settlements, such as Terra Boa and Pedra de Lume, offer glimpses into a more rural life. Each town serves a function, and together they map the tension and balance between tradition, development, and survival.
Buddy Bar: The Most Popular Music Spot on Sal
If you’ve been researching bars in Santa Maria, you’ve probably seen or heard Buddy Bar mentioned everywhere. It’s that characteristic, orange-colored corner building on Rua 1 de Junho that many travel blogs seem to rave about. But what’s the real deal with this place?
Ocean Café: Sensational For Its Good Music And Dance
Right in the heart of Santa Maria, facing the historic town square and just 50 meters from the beach, stands one of the important centres of local nightlife, Ocean Café.
Pontão: The Unique, Iconic Pier of Santa Maria
The sun breaks over the Atlantic at 10 a.m. Fishing boats return to Santa Maria. Their hulls paint the water in blues, reds, and yellows. Engines sputter and die as they approach the pier. This daily scene has played out at the Pontão for decades. The wooden pier does more than receive boats. It holds the rhythm of Cape Verdean life.
Palmeira: The Most Important Port on Sal Island
[pac_divi_table_of_contents default_state="closed" level_markers_1="none" level_markers_2="decimal" level_markers_3="whole" _builder_version="4.27.4" _module_preset="default" custom_margin="0px||||false|false" custom_padding="0px||||false|false" hover_enabled="0"...
Families with Children: the Best Place to Stay on Sal
Family travel to Sal presents unique challenges around children’s safety, dietary needs, and entertainment—challenges that accommodation choices can either amplify or mitigate.
Espargos: Capital of the Island in the Heart of Sal
[pac_divi_table_of_contents default_state="closed" included_headings="on|on|on|off|off|off" level_markers_1="none" level_markers_2="decimal" level_markers_3="whole" _builder_version="4.27.4" _module_preset="default" custom_margin="0px||||false|false"...
Palmeira: The Important Fishing Village of Sal
Tucked away on the windswept western coast of Sal Island, Palmeira is not the place you visit for palm-lined beaches or polished resorts.
Strange Sculpture on Rua 15 de Agosto in Santa Maria
On 15 Agosto Street in Santa Maria, we find an interesting curiosity, a sculpture described as a Stone Artifact. Its information plate also has a quote: “From here I see the beach of the President, and you?” in four languages, and the name of the sculptor underneath, Giovanni Mandole Jr. The artwork is dated 12.09.2015. And it’s all we know about it so far. The mighty internet and the power of asking people locally gave us no trace of any other information about the meaning of this fascinating “artefact”.
Church of Nossa Senhora das Dores in Santa Maria
Church of Nossa Senhora das Dores – Our Lady of Sorrows: a small whitewashed church with blue-green trim and a bell tower that catches the morning sun.
Quiet Harbor at the Crater’s Edge, Pedra de Lume
Perched just off the rugged coast east of Espargos lies the Porto de Pedra de Lume, a small recreational marina that speaks softly of Sal’s quieter side.
Sal’s Hospitals, Clinics and Pharmacies: Useful Notes
Whether you are on the island as a tourist or resident, it’s good to have up-to-date information on the nearest health centres and pharmacies. Health is a primary value, and it is crucial to protect it and to be able to get help quickly and efficiently in the event of illness or accident. I had the opportunity to visit almost all of the local clinics when I fell ill a few weeks after arriving on the island, and I still remember how much stress it caused me to search for information with a fever. Therefore, in this article, I tried to gather all the information on the island’s private and public health centres and pharmacies.