A real desert island, Boavista is wonderful for exploring by 4 wheel drive visiting the deserted beaches, loggerhead turtle project or trying your hand at kite surfing. It is also one of the best islands in Cape Verde for family holidays as Ian Coates discovered….

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My Boavista family experience

“With my 1 and 3 year old children in tow, we headed to Boavista in February for 4 days.

Ian Coates on Boavista, Cape Verde

 We stayed at the Parque das Dunas which, while a fairly camp-like layout, provided us with a fantastic location on Chaves beach and a wonderful swimming pool which had a shallow part ideal for the children. We hired a jeep to explore the island which meant we could bump along the tracks (there aren’t many tarmac roads) to remote white sand beaches, sand dunes in the interior, the turtle hatchery and through quiet friendly villages. One of the highlights was sitting in an Italian beach bar watching the kite surfers and windsurfers perform their amazing acrobatics. The children loved the play area in Sal Rei and got to join in with the local children there, it also had a great little ice cream parlour. All in all, this is a great island for families but it’s definitely worth getting a jeep to explore on your own.”

Ian Coates