Sal Island Travel Guide

Writing | Photography | Editing | Self-publishing

Sal is one of the ten islands in the Cape Verde archipelago, around 570 kilometres off the coast of Senegal in the eastern Atlantic. It’s the flattest and driest of the group — a small, wind-swept stretch of sand, salt, and volcanic rock that receives almost no rain and whose economy depends almost entirely on tourism. Most visitors arrive on charter flights from Europe, transfer to all-inclusive resorts along the southern coast, and spend their trip within a few hundred metres of Santa Maria Beach. There’s nothing wrong with that — the beach is genuinely extraordinary — but there is a lot more to Sal than the resort strip, and very little of it is written down anywhere in a way that’s useful to someone actually trying to navigate it.

This book exists to fill that gap. It’s a 250-page illustrated travel guide written for people who want to move through the island independently — on foot, by aluguer, by quad, by whatever means they can arrange — and make their own decisions about where to go, what to eat, and how to spend their time. It’s not a marketing brochure, and it’s not a highlights reel. It’s a practical reference built to answer the kinds of questions that come up when you’re standing on an unfamiliar street in Espargos, trying to figure out how things work.

Sal Island Travel Guide - Mira Maria Belniak

First-Hand Experience

I wrote the book during and after a stay on Sal that lasted over a year. I wasn’t there on a research trip with a deadline. I was living on the island, which meant I had time to learn things slowly, through repetition and daily life rather than quick visits and scheduled interviews. A large part of what I know came from my Cape Verdean friends who were willing to explain their home, their customs, and their perspective on the place — the kind of knowledge that doesn’t show up in tourist brochures. It shows up in understanding which aluguer routes actually run on time, what to say and what not to say, how tipping works in different contexts, why certain beaches are empty at certain hours, and what “no stress” really means as a cultural attitude rather than a slogan.

Island's Main Attractions

The guide covers Sal’s main locations in detail: Santa Maria and its beach, pier, and town centre; Pedra de Lume and the old salt crater where visitors float in mineral-dense water; Buracona and the Blue Eye, a natural light phenomenon inside a coastal cave; Shark Bay, where juvenile lemon sharks gather in shallow water year-round; Kite Beach, one of the most reliable kitesurfing spots in the Atlantic; Terra Boa, the desert interior where mirages form over the flat terrain; Murdeira; Palmeira, a small fishing port on the west coast; and Espargos, the island’s capital, which most tourists drive through without stopping but which has its own character and its own reasons to visit.

Practical Information

Beyond the locations, the book covers the practical side of being on Sal in a way that tries to leave nothing out. Transport — how to get from the airport, how aluguers work, when and where taxis are available, what renting a vehicle actually involves. Accommodation — what the options look like at different price points and in different parts of the island. Food — not just restaurant recommendations, but an explanation of Cape Verdean cuisine itself: the signature dishes, the street food, the snacks, the drinks, the desserts, what to expect from local dining spots versus tourist-facing restaurants, and how to eat well without defaulting to hotel buffets. Safety — honest and specific, without exaggeration in either direction. Etiquette — what’s expected, what’s appreciated, and what will get you a cold reception.

History and culture

There are full chapters on Sal’s history and on Cape Verdean culture more broadly — the music, the language, the social fabric, the mix of African and Portuguese influences that shaped the archipelago. The book includes a section on Creole, with the most useful words and phrases for daily interaction. There’s a chapter on nightlife and entertainment — Santa Maria’s bar strip, live music venues, cultural shows, festivals, and quieter ways to spend an evening for people who aren’t looking for a party. And there’s a dedicated section for families travelling with children, covering family-friendly beaches, animal encounters (turtles, sharks, marine life), activities suited to different ages, dining with kids, and health and safety considerations specific to younger travellers.

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Photos

All the photographs in the book are mine, taken over the course of my time on Sal, in the locations described, under real conditions — not staged, not sourced from a stock library. They show the island as it actually looks when you’re there: the light, the dust, the colour of the water, the texture of the streets.

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Publishing

I edited the book myself and self-published it through Amazon KDP in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle ebook. The entire project — research, writing, photography, editing, layout, and publication — was a solo effort from start to finish.

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This is the guide I wished I’d had when I first arrived on Sal — honest, detailed, and grounded in lived experience rather than recycled travel copy. The island deserves that, and so do the people who take the trouble to visit it properly.