Photo
Access and reality
Read moreShow less
Who it's for
The short answers
The essentials before the detail
When to come
Nov to May
Every spot here is in season then
Number = how many of the 2 spots are in season that month.
Windiest modelled month
January · 14.5 kt · Ervatão
The month the wind model rates highest; the season above is when riders and schools go.
modelled
the month's average wind in January at Ervatão, the strongest month any spot here models
A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. What it holds here is the month's average wind, month by month; it does not count how many days carry a three-hour window at 12 kt.
What it costs
mid-range
guided 4x4/kite-safari day trip is typically sold as an add-on package through a Sal Rei kite school rather than priced standalone
Schools
1
in the directory
Permits & rules
2 spots
with rules of their own for permits, zoning or the bathing season, on the spot cards
Permits in fullBoa Vista is officially divided into 14 protected natural areas island-wide, several of them turtle-nesting beaches, but whether Ervatão bay falls inside one of those 14 zones, and so carries a seasonal access permit or closure rule, is not published.
Good to know before you go 4
- No rescue boat and cross-off wind with no downwind safety net if things go wrong - this is not a spot to ride without a guide or without solid self-rescue skills
- No shade, water, food or shelter on site - bring everything for the whole day
- The dune track is easy to lose without a local guide; do not attempt it in a rental 2WD
- Nearest help of any kind is 1.5 hours back in Sal Rei
The spots
Ervatão
Ervatão is a wave spot on the southeast to south coast of Boa Vista, a long way from the school beach at Sal Rei.
Editor's brief
Read the full brief · 1 minAccess and protection · Planning a trip
Access and protection
Planning a trip
In detail on this page:Getting therePracticalBefore you book
Schools
1 in the directory
Getting there & around
Nearest airports
- BVC Aristides Pereira International Airport (Boa Vista) · 15-20 min / roughly $12-20 taxi to Sal Rei, which is the only realistic base for reaching Ervatão
Car
Transfers
Road quirks1 min read
Kite bag rules for your airline
Type the carrier you are flying: what it charges for a kite bag, and the year of the policy that says so.
Checked so far for Cape Verde:Cabo Verde Airlines (TACV)TAP Air Portugal
Every carrier, with limits and what riders report at the counter →
Practical
Cash & cards
More on cash & cardsATM in town
Internet & working
More on internet & workingCoverage
Health & safety
More on health & safety3 facts · Nearest hospital · Trauma centre
Fees & rules
Permits
Power
Outages
Before you book
Put these to the school
- Confirm with your Sal Rei school exactly what safety cover (support boat, driver on standby, buddy system) they provide for the Ervatão day-trip, given the wiki's explicit 'no rescue' warning.
- Ask how the cross-off wind is managed in practice - the wiki claims the bay's geometry keeps the far point downwind for most of a reach, but confirm this with your guide rather than assuming it from the forum description alone.
What riders say
11 recurring claims
The tag says how far the riders who mention it agree; the figure is how many mention it.
The drive is the real cost of the spot: roughly one to one and a half hours, ending on an unpaved track of washed-out holes and loose boulders, and every account treats a 4x4 with a local driver as non-negotiable rather than optional.
consensus4 riders
Ervatão is consistently named (by two separate forum posters and the spot wiki) as the windiest of Boa Vista's spots, typically a few knots stronger than elsewhere on the island.
strong3 riders
Groups that make the drive tend to rate Ervatao the best spot on the island and want to go straight back the next morning.
consensus3 riders
Riding on downwind from the south is where trips go wrong - the sideshore turns offshore partway and there is nothing between you and open ocean, so the guided versions carry an instructor, a caddie and a driver.
consensus3 riders
The wind is a gusty cross-off (NE accelerating off the land) with no rescue boat/safety net - riders are explicitly warned about this, not just told it as neutral trivia.
strong2 riders
Show all 11 claims
Getting there is cheap if you fill the truck and expensive if you don't: shared spot excursions land around 10-20 euro a head, a guided kite safari runs near 45 euro, and hiring your own 4x4 pick-up is 70-80 euro a day.
majority3 riders
There is no infrastructure at all, so gear damage ends your day - one wave session there cost the group several kites and a morning of hand-stitching on the beach.
majority2 riders
Locals treat it as a two-day trip rather than a day out, which is a hint about how much of the wind window the drive eats.
majority1 rider
Even though it's technically cross-off, riders note there's enough cross-shore component that the far point of the bay stays downwind of you for most of a reach, softening the danger somewhat.
mixed1 rider
The level it demands is argued over: it is written up as an intermediate-to-advanced wave bay, but the local kite manager insists it also has a gentle entry area, and one rider blog files it among the island's beginner-friendly options.
contested3 riders
How empty it actually is depends who you ask - one visiting crew found it sometimes packed with kitesurfers despite being the island's furthest spot, while other trips describe having the bay to their own group.
contested2 riders
The trade-off
- Named the windiest spot on the island by two independent voices (a forum reply and the separately-maintained wiki page).
- Uncrowded, wild, dune-backed setting explicitly noted ('Sand, dunes, wild life. Lots of space.').
- No rescue boat and a cross-off wind direction - flagged with an explicit bolded warning on the community wiki, not just a hazard footnote.
- No nightlife, no lodging, no shops on site - it's a guided day-trip destination, not a base (consistent with the batch's own framing).
Wind micro-knowledge
3 facts · Through the season · Wind shadows
Tips from riders
- Go to Ervatão specifically if you want the windiest conditions on Boa Vista - two independent sources agree it runs a few knots stronger than the rest of the island.
- Treat the cross-off direction and no-rescue setup as real constraints, not just wiki boilerplate - solid self-rescue skills are assumed.
Communities
kiteforum.com "boa vista kite spots" thread
kiteforum.com "boa vista kite spots" thread
kiteforum.com
Short six-post thread (Mar 2017-Jan 2018) with real dated replies from named posters comparing Boa Vista's spots including Ervatão; low volume but genuine first-hand rider content, including a local school owner (boavistakite) chiming in.
Scene & life
- the drive itself passes dunes, scattered villages and wildlife-watching territory typical of Boa Vista's empty interior
- Ervatão is named directly in Boa Vista's official geography as one of the island's beaches, alongside Chaves and Santa Monica.
History & trivia
2 items
- Ervatão became known through Boa Vista kite schools and guides opening up wave-safari day trips as Sal Rei's own beaches got busier, offering a genuinely empty alternative for wave riders willing to make the drive
- The spot's left-hander with rights up to ~3m at the neighbouring Varandinha break has made it a fixture of Boa Vista 'advanced rider' trip write-ups (Bobby Was Here, Kiteadvice, kite-safari operators)
Itinerary idea
FAQ
When is the best time to kite Ervatão?
Kite season runs November-April, driven by the trade wind that makes the wave rideable; outside that window there's little reason to make the drive.
Is Ervatão suitable for beginners?
No - it's for competent wave riders with solid self-rescue skills, since there is no rescue boat and cross-off wind leaves no downwind safety net.
Do I need a car to reach Ervatão?
Yes - a 4x4 with a driver or guide is required, since there is no paved road and the dune track is easy to lose without local knowledge.
Where should I base myself?
Ervatão has no lodging, food or shops, so every kiter bases in Sal Rei, about 1.5 hours away, and treats it as a guided day excursion.
How is a trip to Ervatão usually arranged?
It's typically booked as an add-on wave-session day through a Sal Rei kite school, often bundled with the Cabo Santa Maria wreck and Viana Desert as a combined 4x4 tour.
How this place scores
Scores out of 10, compared with other places. The data figure under each label is how much of this record that score had to work from, so a high score on thin data is a thin score.
- Room on the waterdata 81%9.1
- Wavesdata 65%8.2
- Wind reliabilitydata 10%6.6
- Affordabilitydata 55%5.4
- Long staydata 31%4.9
- Flat waterdata 100%4.8
- Beginner friendlydata 71%4.5
- Safetydata 82%3.7
- Kite communitydata 87%3.5
- Ease of accessdata 27%2.9
- Familydata 100%2.6
- Off the waterdata 80%2.2
A paler bar was scored from less than half of the record.
Scores by trip type
- Wavesdata 100%6.9
- Freestyle and flat waterdata 100%6.4
- Kite and workdata 100%5.1
- Learning to ridedata 100%4.7
- Family tripdata 100%3.1
Still open
Things we could not verify. If you have ridden here, you can help.
Show the 7 open questions
- Does Ervatão sit within one of Boa Vista's 14 protected natural areas or turtle-nesting beaches, and what seasonal access rules apply?
- Inter-island medevac time/process from Boa Vista to Praia or Mindelo for serious trauma - ask a Sal Rei kite school or the Hospital Sal Rei administration directly, since no public source publishes this.
- Whether any of the Sal Rei kite schools running the Ervatão wave-safari day provide a support boat as standard, or only on request - worth asking the specific operator before booking, per the batch's own riders_voice questions_to_ask_before_booking.
- Does Ervatão sit in a protected loggerhead nesting zone with June-October night closures, like Sal Rei's beaches?
- Inter-island medevac time/process from Boa Vista to Praia or Mindelo for serious trauma.
- Do the 2017-2018 rider reports on Ervatão still match the seasons riders get in 2026?
- Does a guided 4x4 day trip to Ervatão carry a buggy fee like the $20-50/day charged at Jeri and Preá?
When to go and nearby places
Last updated: 6 September 2026