Island Highlights
Arriving on Santiago Island
Flights to Cape Verde are becoming more frequent as tourism increases. There are twice-daily flights between Praia and Lisbon (operated by TAP-Air Portugal and TACV-Cape Verde Airlines) and weekly flights between Amsterdam, Paris and Boston (TACV). Sambala Resort is only 15 minutes away from Praia international airport.
To organize a trip to Santiago Island, Cape Verde, and a site visit to the Sambala Resort, contact our travel partners, Destination Cape Verde based in Witney in Oxfordshire. They can offer the best deals for Sambala clients.
- By Telephone: +44 (0)1993 773269
- By Email: mail@destination-capeverde.com
All foreign nationals require an entrance visa to Cape Verde. This can be obtained through travel agents, Cape Verdean embassies or on arrival in Cape Verde. There is a fee of €25 per person. Parents with children can obtain a group visa for €35.
Taxis from the airport to the Hotel Praia-Mar or Hotel Trpico are roughly €10. There are many taxis in Praia both marked and unmarked and a journey within the city limits should not cost more than 150 - 200 Escudos but may double between 8pm and 8am. Should you wish to hire a taxi for the day, expect to pay about 7000 Escudos (about €65). Two of the better known taxi firms on the island are:
- Eurotaxi - 262 6000 This is a 24 hour taxi service which appears to be reliable.
- Taxi Lopez - 262 1043
Santiago Highlights
Driving around Santiago Island is easy with a network of good paved or tarmac roads throughout. There are several notable routes and destinations, such as:
Tarrafal
The pretty fishing village of Tarrafal is situated at the north of Santiago Island about 75 kms from Praia. It takes about one-and-a-half hours from Praia depending on photo stops, but the trip is well worth the effort and the stunning drive through the interior, via the Island's second city, Assomada, affords fabulous views of the craggy mountainous interior cut with deep verdant valleys intensively planted with corn and sugar cane plus a surprisingly wide variation of vegetables, hence the Island is known as the bread basket of the archipelago. Villages, hamlets and farmsteads with quaint 'grogue' (rum) distilleries are found en-route. Tarrafal boasts a white coral sand beach fringed with coconut palms and there are a number of restaurants and pensions for those that wish to stay.
S￣o Domingos and Rui Vaz
The village of S￣o Domingos (about 20 km from Praia) is also en-route to Tarrafal via the interior. A gift shop here sells baskets, pottery, paintings and other artefacts produced by local artisans. It is worthwhile breaking off from the main route here to visit the region of Rui Vaz up higher in the mountains (about 10 kms from the main road at S￣o Domingos) where there is a wonderfully located restaurant/bar called 'Quinta da Montanha' with inspiring views of Pico do Santo Antnio and Jo￣o Teves.
S￣o Jorge
The route through the interior of the Island also gives an opportunity to pull-over to visit the National Botanical Garden at the village of S￣o Jorge dos Org￣os (approx 30 km from Praia) where there is a spectacular 'miradouro', a panoramic viewing point, established to rest and admire the views of the magnificent 'table-top mountain', Jo￣o Teves, and the Island's highest point, the Pico do Santo Antnio, a twin peak that protrudes 1392 metres (4567 feet) from the landscape like a canine tooth. The colourful valley below is irrigated all-year-round and planted intensively by the 'national institute for agricultural development' (INIDA) with all kinds of fruit trees, bougainvillea and oleander. The mountain slopes are covered with eucalyptus trees in this region.
Assomada
The lively market town of Assomada (population approx 55,000) sits within the Serra Malagueta, the main farming region of the Island (about 45 km from Praia). The market (Wednesdays and Saturdays) provides a surprising array of locally grown produce. A huge baobab tree (reputed to be the largest in West Africa) can be visited within in a valley called Boa Entrada nearby the town. Continuing along the route to Tarrafal, the road ascends rapidly before passing through a dramatic deep cut in the mountain top and then descending towards the northern half of the Island and on to Tarrafal.
East Coast
On the return leg from Tarrafal, one can follow along the east coast with its colourful fishing villages of Calheta and Pedra Badejo (aka Santiago), sweeping around dramatic creeks and pass through the lush banana, mango, lime, papaya, date and coconut palm plantations that line the east coast.
Cidade Velha
This was the first ever European settlement to be established in the tropics (since 1462) and is referred to as the "cradle of Cape Verdeanity". The village is worthy of World Heritage Site Status issued by Unesco (a United Nations organisation). Cidade Velha (translated as 'Old City') was once called "Ribeira Grande" and is situated on the south coast at the mouth of a verdant miniature grand canyon, of the same name, which extends up into the interior of the Island. There are numerous reminders of the rich history of Cape Verde's first capital city including the Fortaleza de S￣o Filipe, built in the 16th century. This surprisingly well preserved fort dominates the cliff-side and bristles with cannon which still sit poised and ready to defend the town and ships in the port below that would pass through laden with gold, silver and jewels from the Americas from pirate attack such as by Sir Francis Drake in 1585. In 1533, a cathedral was built and Santiago was created a diocese. During its heyday in the 15th and 16th centuries, it was then a wealthy and unique strategic staging post of the Portuguese Empire for the routes connecting Europe, Africa, the Americas and India, acting as a repository for replenishment of ships in drinking water and fresh produce and also slaves from the African mainland destined to the plantations in the Americas. Cidade Velha is situated 15 kms to the west of Praia.
Praia
Development of the present capital, Cidade da Praia, began just after the sacking of Ribeira Grande (Cidade Velha) in 1712 by the French pirate, Jacques Cassart, and in 1770 it was officially declared the capital of the Islands receiving status as a city in 1852. Praia currently has a population of about 150,000. The old centre of Praia sits on top of a basaltic plateau overlooking the bay of Santa Maria with enchanting old colonial buildings lining the squares, market place and avenues. The Presidential Palace (once the Governor of Cape Verde's building) and adjoining old fort with cannon sits on the edge of the Plateau with historic monuments. There are currently only two international standard hotels in Praia (Tropico and Praia-Mar) totalling about 200 rooms and several good restaurants, bars and night clubs.
Praia Maritime Museum
An excellent museum which is well worth a visit including an ethnographic cultural section and comprehensive maritime section containing artefacts from many important wrecks found off the coast of the Islands. Some of the country's most exciting discoveries were made off Santiago and perhaps the most important find was a mariner's astrolabe (an early navigational instrument that calculates latitude relative to the angle of the sun and stars) that was found wedged down a rock gully in about 30ft of water only yards off the Sambala Resort coastline in 1999 by a Portuguese salvage company (German financed). The salvage company, Arqueonautas, managed by Count Nicolas Sandizell had a 3 year concession with the Cape Verdean government to search for and recover historically important vessels that had perished in Cape Verdean waters. All restoration work was carried out under the watchful eye of Professor Margaret Rule of Cambridge University who led the excavation of The Mary Rose, Henry VIII's flagship in the Solent. She ensured that the archaeological recording of the wrecks was paramount.
Sambala's General Manager, Piran Johnson was involved in the archiving of artefacts found during this expedition several years ago and is a fount of information on the discoveries and Island's maritime past. The astrolabe is the only silver plated astrolabe from the 1600's ever found in the world. It was auctioned by Sotheby's in 2001 to an American museum for a record sum. Its makers mark is clearly visible as 'Nicolao Ruffo' which is likely to be an Italian manufacturing in Genoa during the early exploration era. The astrolabe can be seen alongside gem encrusted gold crosses and other jewellery, cannons, gold and silver 'Reale' coins and numerous artefacts recovered over the years. Cape Verde's rich maritime past is beautifully represented in the Museum which can be found behind the Alfandegas building (the Old Customs House) in Cha d'Areia. There is even a restored large marble baptismal font that was found in a garage being used to clean engines!
