Things to Do in Boa Vista Island

Santa Monica Beach barefoot walk

You'll leave the only footprints for kilometres on cinnamon-coloured sand that squeaks underfoot. The Atlantic rolls in with a low, theatrical rumble. Flocks of sanderlings dart past your ankles like thrown silver coins. Bring nothing but water. There's no shade, and the sun bounces off the dunes with mirror intensity.

Deserto de Viana dune boarding

A miniature Sahara creeps across the island's north-west interior. Sliding down 20 m crescents of blond sand you taste dust so fine it coats your teeth. The silence here is so complete you can hear your own heartbeat mingle with the gritty hiss of the board.

Sal Rei harbour sunset grogue tasting

Fishing boats thump against worn tyres while you sip sugarcane firewater smoothed with honey. The drink smells of green bananas and drifts of diesel. Every pour comes with a story about illicit stills hidden in the island's date-palm groves.

Turtle nesting night walk at Ervatao

Between July and October loggerheads haul their armoured bulk ashore, exhaling loud, weary sighs that sound almost human. Guides switch off torches and you kneel in cool sand, listening to eggs drop softly into the chamber like ping-pong balls.

Boa Vista Salt Trail quad-bike loop

You'll buzz past abandoned salt pans where crystals still crunch like brittle glass, then climb inland tracks flanked by spiky sisal and the sweet, peppery smell of wild oregano. The final stop is the ghost village of Povoação Velha, its stone houses open to the sky and echoing with cockerel crows.

Sal Rei centre, low-key guesthouses above bakery shops that fill dawn air with sweet yeast; you'll hear the mosque's first call drifting over ochre rooftops.

Estoril beach strip, mid-range hotels share a cove with fishermen mending nets. Morning coffee tastes of sea spray on your balcony.

Cabo Santa Maria (north), splurge-worthy eco-lodge where the only lights come from phosphorescent plankton after dark.

Rabil village, family-run pensões among date palms, roosters replace alarm clocks.

Curral Velho - windswept isolation for kite surfers, no Wi-Fi, just stars.

Chaves dunes fringe, all-inclusive resorts built low so the horizon feels endless; you'll smell chlorine and grilled lobster drifting down garden paths.