Cape Verde is an archipelago of 10 islands 300 miles off the coast of Senegal and thanks to year-round temperatures which average 24°C it is fast becoming a sought-after holiday destination and tourism numbers are increasing rapidly.
It's been predicted that the number of visitors to the islands will exceed 1 million annually by 2015, and it had the distinction of making Lonely Planet’s list of top 10 countries last year. It is being likened to the Canary Islands but in fact is quite different, and at just a five-hour flight from the UK it’s eminently accessible.
The most obvious attraction of the archipelago is its beaches, and Boa Vista, the third largest island has no less than 55 km of pristine sandy beaches, and as tourism is only just beginning to take off most are beautifully quiet. The landscape on the Boa Vista is almost lunar and it's generally necessary to take a 4x4 vehicle to get around.
The main town on Boa Vista is laid-back Sal Rei, and it's easy to see the Portuguese influence as the islands only gained independence in 1975, and the official language is Portuguese. It's very much a fishing town as this is still quite a thriving industry, but there are already a number of craft shops and souvenir shops to cater for the tourism market.
Although there are a number of sites worth seeing on this island one of the major attractions are the nighttime tours to see the loggerhead turtles which nest in their thousands on the eastern and southern beaches each year. Boa Vista is a charming island, and as it becomes more widely known it's easy to imagine visitors flocking here.
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