Things to do in Sal Rei

Sal Rei is the main town of Boa Vista, and tours in Sal Rei set out across the whole island. It grew around salt pans, and pirates sacked it in 1815 and 1817. A fort followed, on an islet off the port.

The town and its neighbours

Sal Rei itself is small. Hotel pick-ups cover Sal Rei, Chaves and Rabil.

• The bay. A sand dune above the bay gives the wide view, and the islet with the fort sits in front of the port.
• Chaves. The long beach beside the town.
• Rabil. The island's second town, and the usual start for quad and buggy rides. A handicraft workshop and a church are on the route.
• Povoação Velha. The first settlement on the island, where clay-brick houses with thatched roofs still stand.

The island on wheels

Every tour here is on wheels, by quad, buggy or 4x4. The dunes and the wreck are the draw.

• Santa Mónica. A long white beach for swimming when the sea allows.
• Varandinha caves. Limestone caves cut by the sea into the dunes.
• Morro de Areia. A nature reserve where the dunes run down to the water.
• Cabo Santa Maria. A shipwreck that has sat on the sand at Praia de Atalanta for decades.
• Viana desert. Rolling sand dunes on the full-day route.

The longest tour adds Shark Bay and Turtle Bay, where sightings are possible but not promised.

Quad, buggy or 4x4

Quad tours run two or four hours, buggies two. A guided 4x4 covers Santa Mónica and the caves in half a day.

Drivers must be 18 with a category B licence. Some quad tours need four bikes to run.

Practical

• Weather. Highs run from 25C in January to 30C in September, and nights from 18C to 24C. Rain is scarce, about 67 mm a year.
• Dust. Bring trousers, closed shoes and a scarf against the dust.
• Insurance. Cover on the vehicles is for third parties, so damage to you or the bike is yours.
• Swimming. Bring a towel and swimsuit. Swimming at Santa Mónica depends on the sea.
• Limits. Not advised in pregnancy or with back problems.