Diving and snorkeling in Cape de Verde islands is absolutely fantastic. There are a lot of known reefs, several ship wrecks and even sharks to be seen. Cape de Verde islands are also known for having a lot of nesting beaches for big turtles, the loggerhead sea turtle. We found the best diving places and diving organizers around the island of Sal.

We spent our scuba diving holiday in Cape de Verde for one week in november 2011. And it was absolutely fantastic! My best diving holiday so far. It is less windy in Cape de Verde islands between april to november, and those months should provide the clearest waters and the best diving conditions maybe? There are several diving businesses in Cape de Verde islands, mostly in Santa Maria / Sal. Services are available in different price ranges. A single dive in Sal is about 20-50 euros depending on the size of the group, privacy, location etc. Renting the equipments is about 10-15 euros / day. Negotiate with locals at the dock to find the best price.

You might see grouper, tuna, mackerel, wahoo, lobster, manta, turtles and tropical reef fish. Sharks are rare but you might get lucky. A good spot in Cape de Verde, at Sal, specially for sharks, is just north of Baia de Parda. Baia de Parda is located 2 km south of Pedra Lume on the island of Sal. The sharks are known to get very close to land here. You can even see them from the shore. October to December are the best months for seeing sharks diving in dawn at Cape de Verde islands. Another great coral reef is just outside the town Murdeira, Sal. We were lucky to see all mentioned fish above on our trip, and I can’t wait to go for my next diving holiday to Cape de Verde islands.

Burracona was a great spot for us (up north near Palmeira / Sal). At 20 m deep there are natural caves and grottos and green / blue absolutely beautiful waters. Other sights was The Bera Coral reef, Pontinha and Farol. Ask your organizer for more tips.

Don’t worry if you are a beginner. The scuba diving / snorkeling organizers in Cape de Verde often offers free diving training in a pool before the actual dive. If you are new to scuba diving and snorkeling, make sure the instructor speaks good English (or whatever language you speak) and choose easy waters with less underwater currents. Snorkeling is the first step, then try diving. It can be hard to snorkel just of the shore because of the waves and cloudy water near the beach.

Late summer months brings sting rays, morays, mantas, barracudas, nurse sharks and more rarely sand sharks and tiger sharks to Cape de Verde islands. Whale sharks can be seen but this is very rare. We are planing to get back to Cape de Verde islands in august next year for another great diving holiday.

// Marczin, Santos & Ewa, Poland