MapCape VerdeSal Rei, Boa VistaTurtle Bay (Bahia)Sal Rei, Boa Vista

Turtle Bay (Bahia)

Sal Rei - Boa Vista

also known as Bahia, Turtle Bay, Laguna or Turtle Bay, Baie de Sal Rei Turtle Bay

Part of Sal Rei, Boa Vista →

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

not for beginnersmedium crowds

On this page

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

Riding essentials

Season

Nov–May

Months riders and schools name

How windy

20 knots

Character: trade

Room to launch

huge

access rules on record, below

Water

mixed

26–27 °C in summer

Hazards

Reported by riders

Level

Intermediate to advanced

With a caveat: see Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

Crowds

medium crowds · busy Dec Jan Feb Mar

Schools

named at this spot

From the airport

15 min

International Airport (BVC)

NE trade winds

11:00 · 14:00 · 17:00

The NNE trade builds from around 11:00 and eases by 17:00 at the Estoril centre; at Praia Carlota next door the winter NE is quoted as starting around 14:00, so timing shifts by spot and by day.

The marks are the clock times the record names, laid on a 24-hour day. The bar between the first and the last covers those hours; it is not a promise of wind.

Nearbystraight-line distance

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

Praia do Estorilno page yet
Baie de Sal Reino page yet
Funanano page yet
Praia Carlota
Leoano page yet
Chavesno page yet

The spot

Two different beaches on Boa Vista get called Turtle Bay. One is the Bahia/Praia do Estoril teaching area in front of the schools at Sal Rei; the other is pinned farther south near Chaves and the Riu Karamboa. Ask your school which one before you book a pickup.

Wind and water

At the Sal Rei end the pattern is NNE trade wind blowing cross-off over flat-to-choppy water behind the islet and reef, building from around 11:00 and easing by 17:00, 15-30 knots in high season, with small waves on the reefs further into the bay. When a swell runs there is a wave of around 2 m along the bay; when it does not, the same line is a flat speed strip parallel to the shore.

Season and rescue

Season is November to April or May, strongest January to March; July, August and September are not worth the flight. Because the wind leans offshore the schools run everything with boat support, and there is a rescue boat an independent rider can buy into: 25 EUR for 1 rescue, 40 EUR for 2, 60 EUR for 5, up to 75 EUR if they pull you out without a ticket (2026).

Learning and location

Complete beginners learn with supervised lessons on the shallow lagoon at low tide; nobody should treat this as a self-taught open beach. The upside is that Sal Rei, the apartments and the beach restaurants are 10 minutes from the airport and right behind the launch.

The wind

locals call it NE trade winds

Direction

cross-offN to NEwind blows away from land — rescue cover matters here

Direction to shore

cross-off

Dominant direction

N to NE, with NNE commonly cited for Sal Rei/Estoril

Kite sizes

4567891011121314151617

metres · typical quiver highlighted

The quiver, in words

9-15 m covers the season at the Estoril centre for a 75-85 kg rider; the rental quiver there runs 4-15 m.

Character

trade

When it fills in: see above ↑

Average strength

Typical strength

15-30 in high season; 20 knots is the average most often quoted, 15-25 at nearby Praia Carlota.

mostly reliable trade wind in season, but side-off/offshore exposure and some gustiness are reported

November to April or May, with January-March usually strongest.

December-May gives 80-90% of days at Beaufort 4+; a stricter count is November-April.

The beach centres open from around the end of October to early or mid-April, one of them 30 October to 9 April across the 2026-27 winter, on the water 08:30-17:30.

July, August and September are not kiting months here.

Forecast

Live forecast

Windguru Windfinder Windy

Month by month

Jan, riders' month88
Feb, riders' month96
Mar, riders' month92
Apr, riders' month95
May, riders' month97
Jun86
Jul50
Aug52
Sep69
Oct77
Nov, riders' month81
Dec, riders' month85

per cent of the month at force 4 or more

Ringed months are the ones riders and schools name: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Nov, Dec.

14 ktJan24°
16 ktFeb23°
15 ktMar23°
15 ktApr24°
15 ktMay24°
14 ktJun25°
12 ktJul26°
11 ktAug28°
12 ktSep28°
13 ktOct28°
13 ktNov27°
14 ktDec25°

avg knots per month · water °C below · season highlighted

Modelled from weather reanalysis on a 10–25 km grid (2020-2024), not a ground station: reliable for trade and synoptic winds, understates thermal sea breezes and valley winds.

Every figure, month by monthForce 4+ · Knots · Wind from · Air · Water

Month	Force 4+	Knots	Wind from	Air	Water
Jan	88%	14.3 kt	NE	22.8 °C	23.8 °C
Feb	96%	15.6 kt	NE	22.3 °C	23.2 °C
Mar	92%	15.2 kt	NNE	21.9 °C	23.3 °C
Apr	95%	14.6 kt	NNE	22.7 °C	23.9 °C
May	97%	14.7 kt	NNE	23.1 °C	24.2 °C
Jun	86%	13.6 kt	NNE	24.1 °C	24.6 °C
Jul	50%	11.5 kt	NNE	24.9 °C	26.2 °C
Aug	52%	11 kt	NNE	26.5 °C	27.5 °C
Sep	69%	12.2 kt	NE	27.1 °C	28 °C
Oct	77%	13.1 kt	NE	27 °C	28.2 °C
Nov	81%	13.3 kt	NE	25.7 °C	26.8 °C
Dec	85%	14.1 kt	NE	23.8 °C	25.3 °C

How this is modelledmodelled · 2020-2024

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

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.

ERA5 reanalysis grid point (modelled) · Open-Meteo historical weather API — ECMWF ERA5/ERA5-Land reanalysis, not a ground station · 2020-2024

The water

Type

mixed

Standing depth

Two different waters carry the name and only one of them is shallow. The teaching lagoon is knee-deep, roughly 500 m by 100 m, five to ten minutes from the beach centre, and a class can stand in most of it. Shallow zones inside the bay itself run to about 2 m depending on tide.Turtle Bay as a riding area is the wave and speed strip out along the bay, and that is not standing depth.

Tides

Semi-diurnal at Porto de Sal Rei, roughly 0.1-1.1 m in the late August 2026 tables. The schools teach on the shallows at low tide.

Temperature

26–27 °C summer · 22–23 °C winter

Modelled monthly average: 23–28 °C

Wetsuit

Shorty is usually enough for many riders; a 3/2 mm is commonly used in January-March trade-wind conditions.

Conditions

Turtle Bay proper has a wave of approximately 2 m along the bay when swell is running and is a flat speed strip parallel to shore when it is not. The rest of the Sal Rei bay is flat-to-choppy behind the islet and reef, with small, beginner-friendly waves on the reefs further in.

Shorebreak shows up at the bay edge and on most Boa Vista beaches away from the sheltered centre frontage.

Your level

BeginnerIntermediateAdvanced

not for beginners here

Independent riding is intermediate-plus: side-off to offshore wind, and every school talks about boat support for a reason. Beginners can learn with boat-backed lessons or on the shallow lagoon at low tide, but this is not a lagoon you teach yourself in.

The scene

What riders come here for

wavesintermediatefreeridesurfadvancedlessons with boat support

Low-key. Sal Rei/Bahia has the schools and beach restaurants; out at Turtle Bay it is space and a handful of sails, nothing like the resort islands.

Launch and rules

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

With a school or a boat

4 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

Lessons run with boat escort. A dedicated rescue boat covers up to 2 nautical miles from the coast in wind under 35 knots, with a jet ski on standby alongside it; in big swell the cover switches to whatever will work that day.

In 2026 rescue tickets cost 25 EUR for 1 rescue, 40 EUR for 2, 60 EUR for 5, and up to 75 EUR if you are assisted without a ticket. The tickets are open to independent riders, not only lesson or rental clients, and the boat is based at the Praia do Estoril/Bahia centre.

Praia Carlota next door also runs a rescue boat, because the wind there is side-offshore to offshore.

Launch

Sandy beach in front of the Bahia Beach Club at Praia do Estoril, with the Sal Rei bay riding areas straight out in front. Keep right on the way out: there is a small reef immediately left of the launch.The islet shelters this frontage, so there is no shorebreak here, unlike most of the island. About 2 km of water sits between the beach and Sal Rei island.Turtle Bay itself is the wave and speed area to the left, downwind of the centre, depending on swell.

Hazards riders report 9 reported

Wind

cross-off wind direction - self-rescue ability recommended
side-offshore/offshore wind; do not ride without self-rescue skills or arranged rescue/boat cover
possible gustiness in side-offshore flow

Crowds and zones

near port traffic at Sal Rei
harbour and boat traffic near Sal Rei, Funana and Leoa

Bottom

small reef immediately left of the beach launch - keep right on the way out

Waves and currents

shorebreak at the bay edge and around many Boa Vista beaches away from sheltered centre frontage
reef near the centre/frontage and reef sections used for waves

Protected areas and rules

turtle and wildlife sensitivity; avoid disturbing turtles and respect any signed nesting-beach restrictions

Rules & access

1 min read

2026: no kitesurf-specific permit, zoning, harbour exclusion or launch restriction for Bahia/Turtle Bay has been found, and the island's designated turtle-nesting protected coast is the eastern side, the Costa de Boa Esperança, not the Sal Rei frontage where the schools work.

2024: Cape Verde's turtle-observation regulation defines turtle nesting season as 1 June-31 October, incubation and emergence through November, turtle observation as 15 July-30 September, and allows temporary beach-use suspension where nesting is disturbed.

Treat any signed local restriction as binding.

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

Confirm which Turtle Bay your school means before arranging a pickup or driving; the name covers two places on the island.
In side-off wind either ride with the school's boat or buy a rescue ticket in advance: 25 EUR for 1 rescue, 40 EUR for 2, 60 EUR for 5 (2026). Without one an assisted pickup runs up to 75 EUR.
For shallow-water practice go at low tide; that is when the schools schedule lagoon lessons.
Pack a shorty at least; 22-23 C water and a full day of trade wind gets cold, and a 3/2 is what most people wear January-March.
Stay out of signed turtle nesting zones. Cape Verde's turtle rules set nesting season at 1 June-31 October and allow beach use to be suspended where nests are disturbed.

Getting there

Airport

Boa Vista-Rabil / Aristides Pereira International Airport (BVC)

Route

Fly to BVC, then a taxi or transfer to Sal Rei or the Bahia/Estoril beach. The road transfer from the airport to the centre is about 10 minutes, 15 EUR one way (2026); count about 15 minutes to the Boa Vista kitesurf centre.

Transfer

15 min

Cost level

medium

Staying

Almost everything is on the west coast around Sal Rei. Apartments in Vila de Sal Rei put you closest to the centre; Cala da Lua and Ca Nicola are the usual names.

No-wind days

Surfing, SUP, snorkeling, diving, fishing boat trips, whale watching in season, 4x4 beach/dune trips, Sal Rei restaurants/live music, and turtle watching only through permitted/responsible operators in season.

FAQ

When is the best time to kite Turtle Bay?

The main trade-wind season runs November to April or May, with January to March typically strongest.

Is Turtle Bay suitable for beginners?

Only with lessons; schools use boat support because the wind is side-off to offshore, so this isn't a simple self-supervised learner spot.

What is the wind like at Turtle Bay?

NE to N trade winds blow cross-off, averaging around 20 knots, typically building from about 11am and easing by evening.

Are there kite schools at Turtle Bay?

Yes; Wind Sports Center/Bahia Beach Club and Planet Allsports both offer lessons with boat escort in the area.

Are there rules at Turtle Bay?

Cape Verde's 2024 regulation sets turtle nesting season as June 1 to October 31, and beach use can be temporarily suspended where nesting is disturbed.

The bigger pictureEverything about Sal Rei - Boa Vista

Last updated: August 2026