Sorry for being a little quiet this past week, but well, I’ve been off sunning myself on this beach.
So let’s face it. I’m not THAT sorry. I was having a lovely time!
If you’re like me before a few weeks ago, you may not have heard of Cape Verde. The collection of islands off the West African coast had completely escaped my attention, until my man and I decided to search for some last minute summer sun. We both love to travel and have been lucky enough to have done so fairly extensively, so wanted to find somewhere new and exciting for both of us. Cape Verde completely ticked our boxes, hot, not too far away, white sand and turquoise seas, and small enough/new enough to tourism to have escaped over-crowding.
Now. I have to say, from the descriptions we read (such as articles in the Telegraph) we were expecting something remote, idyllic, untouched and relaxing – a little like the Maldives. After all, both the Cape Verde islands and the Maldives are Archipelagos, and a lot of the research we did suggested they were similar.
They’re not particularly.
The island we visited, Sal, has beautiful beaches and some wonderful diving, snorkelling and boat trips, but their idea of tourism is somewhat different from the luxury for the Maldives. Instead of private beach huts and luxe villas, the accommodation we stayed in (billed as 5*, it’s more like a 3*) was huge, with slightly dated rooms with fairly basic features. It’s the type of place where the evening entertainment in slapdash and family orientated, the cocktails are ready mixed out of a bottle and they have aqua aerobics at 11am every morning. OH. And where you can’t get a pool lounger after 7am…so be prepared to set your alarm to put your towel out! We thought it was a relatively new and undiscovered area, but the hotel was packed with Brits on package holidays, making the most of the all inclusive.
But – once we settled in to the fact it was that kind of holiday – we absolutely LOVED it.
There is no pressure to get involved with any activities you don’t want to. The grounds, pool, spa and amenities are all fabulous. There are plenty of bars and restaurants, the hotel staff are on the whole pretty friendly (although conversation works slightly different out here – you have to be straight to the point or you’ll lose their attention) and the beach is heavenly – and if you move up a little way from the hotel, quiet too.
There are various trips available, from yacht cruises to jeep trips and visits to the local towns and markets. We were only there for a week so made the wise decision to do pretty much nothing, except for a gorgeous boat trip on our last afternoon (49euros each), but there are definitely options available, and you could easily be active and exploring new things every day.
For me, right now, this was the perfect trip. OK, so it wasn’t what either of us expected straight away, and is more family orientated that romantic, secluded getaway, but we laughed a lot, soaked up the sun, did some swimming (both in the pool and sea), ate well, drank well, slept well and relaxed in each others company, reading, smiling and peeling our way through 7 days.
We booked the trip independently, not as part of a package, and flew with TAP Portugal and stayed at the RIU Garopa. In total, it cost us around £800 each All Inclusive for 7 nights, which is really reasonable for flights, accommodation and food off the west coast of Africa.
We didn’t see any bugs, any sharks, any pirates, weren’t harassed by beach sellers or hassled into excursions. We did read lots of books, drank a few gin and tonics, did some snorkelling, jumped off a boat (him not me), get a tan and have a jolly lovely week.
Would I recommend Sal?
Yes. If you have a family, are looking for a great deal and aren’t bothered by pomp and circumstance, the Riu is for you. If you’d like something a little classier, I definitely recommend checking out the Melia Tortuga, which is just up the road but much more slick in it’s appearance. Just be aware that this is a developing country, and that the areas outside the hotels haven’t yet been given much attention. It’s not an island packed with beauty at every corner, but the beaches we visited are amazing, and there are other islands just a short boat/seaplane ride away – which are ripe for exploring.
I also want to say a HUGE thank you to the staff at TAP Portugal. I was exhausted on the flight out and managed to leave my phone on the plane – but thanks to a message I have on my background saying “If found, please tweet @Love_London”, the kind staff set up a Twitter account especially, tweeted us and returned it – just before we got through to O2 to cancel! Great service, and the fact they flew it in on the next flight and arranged for us to pick it up at Sal airport, made it even better. Thanks so much Maria!
