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Ervatão

Ervatão - Boa Vista · Sal Rei

also known as Porto de Ervatão, Ponta de Ervatão, Praia de Abrabas

Part of Ervatão, Boa Vista →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

advanced onlylow crowds

On this page

The spot
Wind
Forecast
Month by month
Water
Level
The scene
Launch
Schools
Tips
Getting there
Photos
FAQ

Riding essentials

Season

Nov–May

Months riders and schools name

How windy

15-25 kt

Character: trade

Room to launch

huge

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

27 °C in summerOpen Atlantic beach and bay: sand, dunes, nothing built

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Advanced only

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

low crowds · busy Dec Jan Feb Mar

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

90 min

Aristides Pereira (BVC)

When it fills in

No onset time is published for this spot.

Nearbystraight-line distance

Backup spotsWhere riders go when the wind doesn't work here.

Varandinhano page yet
Faro Morro Negrono page yet
Porto Ferreirano page yet
Praia das Gatasno page yet
Praia Carlota / Sal Rei
Ponta Antóniano page yet

The spot

Location and conditions

Ervatão is a wave spot on the southeast to south coast of Boa Vista, a long way from the school beach at Sal Rei. The wind is NE trade, reportedly side to side-on and elsewhere given as side-off to cross-off, and that disagreement is the whole safety question here.

Waves

Treat it as open-ocean wave riding: a left-hander, small to medium days, flat sections between the sets, and reef waves when a swell arrives.

Access and isolation

Getting there is half the spot. It is about 1.5 hours by 4x4 from Sal Rei through sand and dunes, with no services, no rescue and nobody on the beach to notice you are gone.

Self-rescue and skills

The launch itself is big open sand with room to spare, but the angle and the isolation mean you need solid upwind, a real self-rescue and wave judgement.

Turtle reserve

Ervatão sits inside Boa Vista's Turtle Nature Reserve, so beach driving, night presence and anything near turtle tracks or nests has to be handled with care.

Recommended approach

Go in with a local school or guide rather than treating this as a casual self-drive session.

The wind

locals call it NE trade winds

Direction

cross-offNEwind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Direction to shore

cross-off

Kite sizes

567891011121314

metres · typical quiver highlighted

Character

trade

Average strength

20.8 kt reported; Boa Vista-wide high-season reports range about 15-30 kt.

Typical strength

15-25 kt in season; other reported bands are 4-6 Bft or 11-30 kt.

Generally steady trade wind, but the NE wind can accelerate over land and become gusty at Ervatão.

The season is broadly November to May, with different counts giving November-April or December-May. The waves are best January to April.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

15 ktJan
14 ktFeb
14 ktMar
14 ktApr
14 ktMay
12 ktJun
10 ktJul
9 ktAug
10 ktSep
12 ktOct
13 ktNov
14 ktDec

avg knots per month · season highlighted

Modelled monthly averages. Highlighted: the months riders and schools name (Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May).

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (~30-yr MERRA-2 reanalysis-based model climatology), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds.

Every figure, month by monthKnots · Wind from · Air

Month	Knots	Wind from	Air
Jan	14.5 kt	N	22.2 °C
Feb	14.4 kt	N	21.7 °C
Mar	13.9 kt	N	22.2 °C
Apr	14.2 kt	N	22.8 °C
May	13.9 kt	N	23.3 °C
Jun	12.3 kt	N	24.4 °C
Jul	9.5 kt	N	25.6 °C
Aug	9 kt	N	27.2 °C
Sep	10.3 kt	N	27.8 °C
Oct	11.6 kt	N	26.7 °C
Nov	12.5 kt	N	25.6 °C
Dec	13.6 kt	N	23.3 °C

How this is modelledmodelled · ~30-yr MERRA-2 reanalysis-based model climatology

A weather model's cell over this place, not a station on it. Good for comparing places, weaker for one beach.

A station this far away — often inland or at an airport — can understate accelerated local wind. The typical daily max and the direction are columns of the table above, month by month. Highlighted months are the riding season from the spot record.

Vila de Sal Rei, Boa Vista, Cape Verde (weatherspark modeled climatology) · Weatherspark (Cedar Lake Ventures, MERRA-2 reanalysis-modeled climatology) · ~30-yr MERRA-2 reanalysis-based model climatology

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

Reported standable at both low and high tide, but also reported as deep elsewhere; unconfirmed.

Tides

Low tide is reported flatter and shallow enough to help relaunches, while high tide becomes a little deeper and choppier; best tide is listed as unknown.

Temperature

27 °C summer · 22 °C winter

Wetsuit

Shorts in summer; shorts, shorty, or 3 mm top in winter. A 3/2 mm is also recommended for Ervatão.

Currents

Strong currents are possible, and Boa Vista's eastern protected coast is not recommended for swimming because of them.No Ervatao-specific measurement exists.With a cross-off to side-off wind, no rescue and no mobile signal, a current that carries you offshore is the realistic way a session here goes wrong - which is why the standing local advice is never to ride alone.

Conditions

Open Atlantic beach and bay: sand, dunes, nothing built. Small to medium waves, a left-hander, flat sections between the sets, and reef waves offshore when a swell is running. Swimming is not recommended along the eastern protected coast because of the currents, and nothing specific to Ervatão has ever been measured.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners herenot for intermediates here

Ervatão is for independent riders only. The side-off to cross-off angle, the absence of rescue and the distance from any help rule this out for beginners and for intermediates riding on their own. Advanced riders, and never alone.

The scene

What riders come here for

advancedwavesstraplessremote sessionsdownwind trips

Wild, quiet, expedition-style. Few people, no beach users, no amenities, no nightlife.

Launch and rules

three ways on to the water, and what each one asks of you

With a school or a boat

3 schools name this spot

See who they are

On your own

Room to launch: huge

Read the access rules

Somewhere else

4 spots nearby

All 4 spots within 40 km are under Nearby

Rescue

None. No rescue boat, no lifeguard, no infrastructure of any kind on the beach. Ride with someone and carry everything you might need.

Launch

A big undeveloped sand beach among dunes on the southeast and south coast of Boa Vista. Access is by 4x4 from Sal Rei, about 1.5 hours, and a first visit belongs with a local guide or a kite school.

Hazards riders report 21 reported

Wind

cross-off to side-off wind on most descriptions; a gear failure pushes you out to sea
gusts possible when NE trade wind accelerates over land
cross-off to side-off wind: a gear failure pushes you out to sea
gusts when the NE trade accelerates over the land behind the beach

Waves and currents

waves up to 3m at Varandinha next door
reef/rock sections possible on a wave coast
powerful waves and possible offshore reef wave on swell days
strong currents possible along this coast
powerful waves over sand, and a reef with waves offshore on swell days

Protected areas and rules

strong currents possible on Boa Vista's eastern protected coast
protected turtle nesting zone; avoid tracks and nests and minimise beach disturbance
protected turtle nesting beach: stay off tracks and nests and do not drive on nesting sand

Other

no rescue service
remote: a long way from any help
remote 4x4 access through sand tracks/dunes
no mobile signal reported
4x4 vehicles can get stuck in soft sand
no rescue, no lifeguard and no infrastructure of any kind on the beach
no mobile signal reported at the spot
about 1.5 hours by 4x4 from Sal Rei, and no hospital on the island
soft sand that strands 4x4s on the access tracks

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: Ervatão lies inside the Reserva Natural Tartaruga, the Turtle Nature Reserve; Cabo Verde's Boletim Oficial records Decreto-Regulamentar n.º 14/2022 amending the 2013 delimitation of the protected area.

Turtle-season beach access in 2026 means dark clothes, no lights and no flash, quiet movement, no walking on tracks or nests, and a maximum of 10 people behind a nesting turtle.

No kitesurf permit, launch zoning or daytime kite ban was found for Ervatão.

Access rules drift faster than anything else we hold — check locally, and propose an edit if this has changed.

Schools that ride here

Rider tips

Go in the first time with a Boa Vista school or a licensed guide; the access route alone is worth the fee.
Book the guided downwind session from Sal Rei toward Varandinha, roughly 1.5 hours, instead of driving out and riding it alone.
Carry water, food, shade, reef booties, a full repair kit and a way to call for help, because nothing is available on the sand.
Read wind angle and swell together before you commit: cross-off or side-off plus a broken line, with no rescue, escalates fast.
Take a directional or strapless board: the left-hander is the reason to make the drive, and a twin tip is the wrong tool for it.
Stay off every turtle track and nest and do not drive on nesting sand. If the forecast looks light, call a local centre before the long drive, because Ervatão reportedly still works then.

Getting there

Airport

Aeroporto Internacional Aristides Pereira (BVC), Boa Vista

Route

Fly into Boa Vista's Aristides Pereira International Airport, base yourself around Sal Rei or Praia Carlota, then go in by 4x4.The inland route takes about 1.5 hours from Sal Rei and passes the abandoned village of Joao Barrosa; the alternative follows the south coast via Curral Velho and costs more. A pickup or a quad is the vehicle you want, because soft sand strands cars.Do not go alone on a first visit: take a school trip or a licensed guide, and check the operator actually holds a licence and insurance.

Transfer

90 min

Cost level

medium-high for the spot day: Kitexperience lists a 2023 half-day Kite Trip to Ervatão at EUR 100 per car; around EUR 60 return by the inland route or EUR 80 via the south coast/Curral Velho is also reported, source date not stated.

Staying

No accommodation at Ervatão. Stay in Sal Rei/Praia Carlota or nearby hotels/apartments and travel in with a school, guide or 4x4.

No-wind days

surfing · wing foil or foil at Sal Rei/Praia Carlota · 4x4 or quad tours · Deserto de Viana · Santa Monica beach · shipwreck tours · licensed turtle-watching in season · catamaran or snorkelling trips

Photos

FAQ

When is the best time to kite Ervatao?

The main season runs roughly November to May, with the best wave conditions typically January to April.

Is Ervatao suitable for beginners?

No; it's considered one of Boa Vista's advanced wave spots, with cross-off wind, no rescue, and remote access unsuitable for beginners.

What is the wind like at Ervatao?

NE trade winds blow cross-off to side-off here at around 15-25 knots in season, and local guides note the wind can accelerate and get gusty over land.

How do I get to Ervatao?

It's about 1.5 hours by 4x4 from Sal Rei through sand tracks and dunes, with no services and no mobile signal at the beach.

Are there rules at Ervatao?

Yes; the spot lies inside Boa Vista's Turtle Nature Reserve, so night beach access during nesting season requires care around tracks and nests.

The bigger pictureEverything about Ervatão - Boa Vista

Last updated: August 2026