Dive trip Sal

Stay, Diving holidays in Cape Verde, in Sal

Do you want to explore some of the best sites in the Cape Verde Islands? Well stay on the island of Sal, time to explore Buracona, a huge cave with 3 entrances, Pontinha a magnificent drop off colonized by lobsters, Chouclass, a shoal off the coast, popular for the passage of its pelagics.
Without counting the fauna rather of macro type, with frogfish, nudibranchs and scorpionfish concentrated on the wrecks Kwarcit (Boris Wreck), a Russian fishing boat, and Santo Antao Wreck, in front of Santa Maria.

It would be reductive to see only the diving aspect at Sal, which means salt in Portuguese, because of Pedra de Lume, a salt mine formerly exploited and located in the crater of an extinct volcano.
Sal, located at the gates of Europe, attracts tourists, kite surfers who meet at Kite Beach Ponta Preta for hell waves as well as divers.
For this island is not lacking in attractiveness with its white sandy beaches near Santa Maria, it's a warm, sunny and dry climate, its beautiful arid landscapes, and its 50,000-year-old volcano.
Sal, the oldest of the Cape Verdean islands, was formed from a volcano that is now extinct, although the island appears flat and sandy.
You contemplate underwater a beautiful and eventful architecture, due to Sal's volcanic past, sculpted by eruptions and lava flows, with drop-offs, dry, caves with walls covered with yellow and orange sponges.

During your diving stay in Sal, you should know that there are 19 other dive sites to explore, accessible in less than an hour by boat, or by car for the dives from the shore.
There is undertow, current and swell at most of the sites in Sal, which is part of the Windward Islands, Barlavento.
The dives and the recoveries of the divers on the dive sites are quite rock 'n roll. But I promise, the beautiful encounters we make underwater are worth it.

Marine species in the area

Dive sites

Take the time to discover the most beautiful sites of Cape Verde, during your diving trip in Sal.Thus Buracona is a cave with 3 entrances with magnificent plays of light.
Explore a maze of caves of different sizes, connected by tunnels, in Regona.
The exploration of Lagosta Verde with its caves colonized by crustaceans and nudibranchs is claimed by some of the island's diving centers. Swept by violent currents, Morro das Pedras, with its 3 small rocky ascents where sharks maraud, descends to a sandy bottom of 32 meters.
A beautiful drop with turtles, falls on the sand, at 22 meters, in Peridão.West of Sal, Ponta Preta Funda is a sandbank rising to 31 meters. Humpback whales pass here between January and April. From June to November, turtles are also seen here. Sometimes a tiger shark prowls around.

The Mushroom Fell, where turtles and nurse sharks are frequently seen, falls to a depth of 14 meters, often with very good visibility.Facing the drop-off at 12 meters deep, in Dunas, the shore is a turtle nesting site from June to December.
Two distinct types of routes are possible at Pontinha, depending on the level of divers:the first exploration takes place along a wall colonized by lobsters, crabs, and shrimps, which starts at 14 meters and goes down to 30 meters.
The other walk consists of descending further down the slope, colonized by moray eels and stingrays, towards the blue. Hammerhead sharks are sometimes seen on this oceanic slope.All levels of divers access Farol, known for its moray eels, and adjust the depth according to their prerogatives.

The Three Caves, an easy dive at 18 meters, is a crustacean headquarters. Ancora is a small drop of which, from 16 meters, concentrates an abundant fauna.
The Chouclass shoal is about 4 km off the coast of Santa Maria. The dive starts at 14 meters and continues to drop down into the Blue in an environment full of fish due to its distance from the coast and the currents. It is possible to see pelagic fish such as tuna, and, more rarely, manta rays, sharks, and whale sharks.
Located off the east coast of Sal, Bera is also a shoal starting at 20 meters with nurse sharks on site. Kwarcit (Boris Wreck) is a Russian fishing trawler, built in the 1970s.
Conveying illegal workers from Senegal, it sank in January 2006 at 28 meters depth, in front of Santa Maria.The place is ideal for photographers because, with its intact hull, it is now a real artificial reef with scorpionfish and nudibranchs but also on the sand, stingrays.

Crossed by schools of juvenile fish, the hold is accessible for those who have the technical level.Santo Antäo Wreck is a freighter wreck that used to shuttle between the Cape Verde Islands. It sank in front of Santa Maria in 1966, at a depth of 11 meters. Laid on its side, the wreck is broken into pieces and colonized by porcupine fish.
The ideal destination for families, small groups of friends and nature lovers, diving holidays on the island of Sal are ideal from April to November and can be combined with a stay on the island of Sao Vicente.

Others Activities

Sal : Dive shops

Scuba Team Cabo Verde
Cape Verde - Santa Maria
French

The Scuba Team Cabo Verde diving school is located on the island of Sal, in the Cape Verde archipelago, about 50 meters from the Morabeza Hotel. Imagine yourself on a fine sandy beach, in the middle of dunes and in front of a sparkling sea, about 100 m from the center of the town of Santa Maria, next to the old port! The first dive of the morning starts at 8.30 am with a boat departure at 9 am. On request, another trip can be scheduled at 10:30. In the afternoon, the boat leaves at 2.30 pm. This is said to be the oldest diving center on the island. The guides and instructors teach in French, Portuguese, English, Spanish, Italian, and, of course, Creole. This CMAS, PADI, ANMP, FFESSM, and FPAS training center offers courses for beginners with the Discover Scuba Diver course up to the advanced Divemaster course. Divers are allocated to different boats according to their experience and level. The equipment rented is up to standard, recent, regularly renewed, and revised every year. All dives are guided by an instructor or a divemaster. The chosen sites are planned in detail each day according to the level of the divers, the weather conditions, the state of the sea, respecting the experiences and preferences of each diver. During your diving holidays in Cape Verde, you will be surprised by the biodiversity with a real mix of Atlantic, Mediterranean, and tropical fauna. A diving holiday in Cape Verde will not be enough to see the 60 species of endemic fish ranging from manta rays to nudibranchs! In Cape Verde, turtles and sharks are at the top of the list of protected species. From your Scuba Team Cabo Verde dive club, you can access 19 different dive sites, ranging from 11 to 45 meters deep, with plateaus, drop offs, wrecks and caves, in 5 to 30 minutes. [+]