Diving Boa Vista

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Boa Vista, Cape Verde

Boa VistaCape Verde
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Country: Cape Verde  Area: Cape Verde

Water Temp: 20 - 30°C (68 - 86°F)

Visibility: 10 - 40m (33 - 131 ft)

Depth Range: 3 - 22m (10 - 72 ft)

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Stunning beaches, a relaxed vibe, few people and unique Portuguese/African flare – welcome to Cape Verde, a newly discovered scuba diving gem. Boa Vista is the easternmost island in the rocky and volcanic archipelago, and its name directly translates to mean 'beautiful view'.

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 The municipality has two parishes, Santa Isabel and São João Baptista.  Other than salt, the island’s main industry is tourism. The island caters to intrepid vacationers looking for a laid back, low key and sun-filled holiday.

Boa Vista island situated in the mid-Atlantic is surrounded by a shallow reef making this area home to a huge variety of sea life including whale sharks and Manta rays. A number of hidden reefs along with strong currents and high iron content in the islands rocks, that will misconstrue a ship’s compass, have led to numerous wrecks around the island. Although coral reefs are pretty much non-existent off this island, Boa Vista offers pristine clarity, warm waters and experiences for all levels of divers.

Parrotfish, Credit

People who want to see something different than the Red Sea, Maldives or southeast asia. The diving here is challenging from the conditions (surf, surge, currents) but very rewarding in terms of seeing something new and normally totally different to what people have dived until now. For macro live Boa Vista is a perfect spot. The most special thing is the underwater symphony of the whales during the season. On some spots you hear them singing all dive long. Whale and Turtle nesting season attracts a lot of people who are not divers.

Marine Conservation

Boa Vista has the largest number of national parks and natural moments in all of Cape Verde.  The island remained largely untouched by tourism and development until recent years. With the onset of quick growth, a number of organizations are emerging to ensure that this development occurs in both a sustainable and responsible manner.

Several turtle and whale conservation and protection initiatives are active in the area. These organisations work to educate locals about responsible practices, while simultaneously protecting the current populations. These organizations offer ‘voluntary holidays’ to foreign tourists, giving visitors the chance to live and work with the organizations.

Climate

Playing Beach Volleyball, Boa Vista,  Credit

The climate is mostly warm (between 25 and 31 degrees) and humid. Rainy Season is September/ October. Winter month are windy, a paradise for Surfers and Kiters, Temperature can drop to 20 degres.

The diving season is year round, with the best months occurring in the summer.

 
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Wildlife Calendar

                           
           
           
           
                     
           
                             

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Shore Diving

There is no shore diving in Boa Vista.

Boat Diving

There some dive sites which, in good conditions, are also good for beginners and courses: Taliarte Wreck, max 11m, The Channel, max 14 m, Anchora from 12 to 20m, Bodega de Fran, 14m, Marine Club wall 12m, Bodega de Juan 18 m. On these places you go for the macro life. Taliarte wreck offer a lot of different reef fish.

Red Star, Credit

Places such as Shark Bow (27m), Atlantida (15-30m) and Shark Point are good for intermediate to experienced Divers, and at these places the marine life gets bigger if you are lucky! (Rays, Mantas, Sharks, Turtles). Shark Point, Bodega de Juan and Shark Bow also have caves and swim-thrus.

Between Boa Vista and the Illheu of Sal Rei there are unnamed spots, where dive centers take people for snorkling, DSDs and also some deeper confined sessions, with depths between 3 and 7m.

At Boa Vista you can see a wide array of marine life. Year round you can see a lot of different Nudibranches, Flabellinas and Sea hares. Different Reef fishes such as Amber Jacks, Surgeon fish, Guinea grunts, Atlantic cornet fish, Sea breams, Hogfish, Sergeant Majors, Angelfish and Chromis year round, various species of Rays, Sea Stars and Sea urchins can also be seen year round.

Underwater, Credit

There are at least five different species of Moray- and Conger Eel. Different species of Shrimps, Reef Lobster and Lobster, Spider Crabs, Porcellain crabs.

Nurse Sharks can be seen resting in the sand throughout the year and in Winter there is the possibility of seeing Sandtigersharks!

On some dive spots you can see big porcupine fishes, different species of groupers, Trigger and Filefishes, Goatfish, Glasseyes and Flounder. Tunas and Wahoos can be seen on offshore dive sites.

Liveaboard Diving

There are no liveaboards in Cape Verde – though a few operators do have plans to establish a service in the future.

Sandshark, Credit

Marine Life

At  Boa Vista you can see a wide array of marine life. Year round you can see a lot of different Nudibranches, Flabellinas and Sea hares. Different Reef fishes such as Amber Jacks, Surgeon fish, Guinea grunts, Atlantic cornet fish, Sea breams, Hogfish, Sergeant Majors, Angelfish and Chromis year round, various species of Rays, Sea Stars and Sea urchins can also be seen year round.

There are at least five different species of Moray- and Conger Eel. Different species of Shrimps, Reef Lobster and Lobster, Spider Crabs, Porcellain crabs.

Nurse Sharks can be seen resting in the sand throughout the year and in Winter there is the possibility of seeing Sandtigersharks!

On some dive spots you can see big porcupine fishes, different species of groupers, Trigger and Filefishes, Goatfish, Glasseyes and Flounder. Tunas and Wahoos can be seen on offshore dive sites.

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How to Get There

Boa Vista has an international Airport making it a pretty easy place to get to. Flights from Europe are available on a weekly base and also from other worldwide destinations. There are also daily conections to the Airport of Sal.

You can also catch Ferries between the islands but they generally require reservation. Flying between the islands is cheap (i.e. Boa Vista to Sal, One-Way, is around 50 Euros ($65))

Boa Vista do Tupim, Credit

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Where to Eat and Drink

Boa Vista is calm and relaxed place so those who need to party will struggle to many options here.

There are a lot of good Beach Restaurants are open during the day (Tortuga Beach Restaurant, Alisios, both in Sal Rei). In the evening, a number of Cape Verdian restaurants open up, serving international and Italian cuisine. Ca Luisa and Beramar are popular Italian joints, while Don Pincheos serves up a great burger. Blue Marlin arguably serves up the island’s best seafood – though reservations in this tiny restaurant are required! And check out Naida for a more local experience.

A restaurant near the beach, Credit

There are a few local bars and clubs near the capital, Sal Rei. Wakan Bar and Unico Amor cater to an international crowd, and have great views of the beach and port. Disco Bambu, Mazurca and Crystal are a few local favourites.  

The restaurants are all in walking distance at Sal Rei, if you stay in one of the places here: Guesthouse as the Orquidea, Casa Velha or the Migrante, Appartments like Ca Nicola, small Hotels as the Estoril or Boa Vista Hotels. All the Places mentioned are within several minutes walk from good dive centers.There are a few 4 and 5 star Hotels are available - for example the Iberostar and the Royal Decameron.

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Tips

Boavistadiving is the only divecenter at Boa Vista which is open to public. The others (for example Scuba Caribe) works exclusively for RIU hotels.

Traveling in Boa Vista is safe, but of course, as with most tourist locations there are some souvenir shops and sellers who want your money! It is best to avoid carrying big cameras and money in an obvious way to reduce the chance of attracting unwanted attention - as with all developing countries all over the world!

 

Quinta da Boa Vista, Credit

Be prepared for higher prices in Boa Vista. Nearly everything is imported into Cape Verde.

There is no hyperbaric chamber in the whole of Cape Verde. There was one in Sal, though it is currently not operational. The nearest functioning one is in Dakar, Senegal on the continent – 280 miles from Cape Verde.

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Rating 10/10

Visit the best dive center in Boa vista Cape Verde

Boa Vista16 Jun 2023 - 30 Jun 2023

Welcome to Riamar Diving Center!

Our dive center is dedicated to providing high quality education to divers of all levels. As a PADI certified dive center, we adhere to the highest standards of safety and professionalism in all of our operations.

Whether you're a beginner trying to dive for the first time or an experienced diver looking for advanced training, our team of certified PADI instructors are here to guide you every step of the way. Our courses range from Discover Scuba Diving experiences to Open Water, Advanced Open Water, Rescue Diver, and Divemaster certifications. We also provide snorkeling trips and whale & dolphin watching tours.

We invite you to come and explore the wonders of the underwater world with us at our PADI Dive Center. Contact us today to book a scuba diving course or trip and start your scuba diving adventure.

Rating 10/10

Amazing day at Shark Bow

Boa Vista22 Apr 2014 - 22 Apr 2014

Few days ago I was diving with ScubaCaribe Boa Vista, Cape Verde.

The name of the divesite was Shark Bow and during this dive I understand why. - During this dive I saw my first sandtiger shark with a length of more or less 2 meters.

This was just an amazing moment for me. At this divesite I could see a lot of nice other life as well like some lobsters, stingrays, a frogfish and of course a lot of differnt schools of fish.

This spot gonna start at arround 23 meters and go down to almost 30 meters. It is even not that far away - with a boat of ca. 15 minutes.

Shark Bow is for sure one of the best divesites I have ever been to and I would go there anytime again and again.

Rating 10/10

Exploring new dive site Boavista Cape Verde

Boa Vista12 May 2014 - 18 May 2014

My last dives at Boa Vista, Cape Verde were really good! we went to atlantida dive site and wanted to some exploration (Atlantida is one of the best dive sites we have)and we found a new place near atlantida.

Diving the reef direction west from the normal starting dive and about 4 minutes swim at 15 mts we did find a new wall!. It has almost 300 mts length and bottom is at 28 mts depth with a top of 17 mts. Really nice to dive along. We name the new site SILENCE WALL. What we found there, lots of stuff, big lobsters, full of moray eels, nudibranches everywhere…and the visibility was really good too!.And 2 days ago we went exploring Possona area. Possona is 30 meters depth, has a lot of nice rocks,and nice overhands where we could dive in, most the time we can get surprise we sharks there …but that day we didn’t see any sharks but we saw a big manta ray on our way up to the surface at 18 mts and it stayed with us playing and dancing for about 15 minutes until end of the dive it was really amazing,I just cant wait to go to possana again…

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moo

Nick T. Morrison

Amazing to explore a new dive site!! :)

Rating 9/10

"DIVE PARADISE"-BOAVISTA DIVING CENTER

Boa Vista14 May 2014 - 14 May 2014

Summer is coming and we waiting for you.

I thing are you asking why is "you" and why is "summer"?

Let me explain better.Is threee dives per day,two in the morning(we start at 9am)and one dive in the afternom(we start at 14pm), and this my divers can happen in NEXT MONTH.

You dont have your own equipament dont worry we have everything for you(bcd ,wetsuit 6mm,mask,regulator,fins)for all sizes.

You have wife and children and you are asking if i go dive what my falmily gonna do,dont worry because we have snorkel excursion for all family,we have kayak,pedal boats and we do catamara excursion.

Summer guys this DIVE EVERYDAY.

YOU can found this in all in one center BOAVISTA DIVING.

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Rating 4/10

MY DIVES IN BOAVISTA ISLAND

Boa Vista24 Jan 2013 - 14 May 2014

WAS AMAZING SINCE MY FIRST DIVE I DID MY OPEN WATER COURSE IN SCUBA CARIBE BOAVISTA ISLAND I HAVE JUST 15 DIVES BUT WAS SO NICE,IMAGINE IN MY 15 DIVES A SAW A LOT OF FISH AND A NURSE SHARK,LOBSTARS,ROCKFISH,TROPICALFISH ALL DIFERENTS TYPES,DIFERENT COLOURS,I DOVE IN WRECK TALIARTE MAXIMUM 12 METERS,A LOT OF DIFERENTS SPOTS,OK GUYS I HOPE I CAN DO MORE DIVE REPORT AFTER MORE DIVES.

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Rating 10/10

Diving with the "Revista Buceadores & Plongee Magazine Team"

Boa Vista4 May 2014 - 10 May 2014

Yes,May has arrived so we are ready for the diving season! The 1.8/1.5metres waves of the last month are getting lower to 1.4, till no more waves where people can swim,do kayack,pedal boat,snorkeling and of course,diving!

Visibility will be around 15-30 metres,when compares with the 6-8 metres of the past month. Will be no wind , the sun will be shinning all day and the water temperature can be 24 degrees.

We started this month with a pleasant visit,the «Revista Buceadores & Plongee Magazine Team. This is they´re third they in the island and it seems they´re having a good time here making photograph and also a couple videos of ours marine lifes. Here i´m posting some pictures

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Showing 3 of 4 comments. Show all
GOPR0400

Éder Márcio Pereira

Yup,it was huge! This Sting ray were filmed at «Atlantida»,one of the best dive sites in Boa Vista island. It is common to see Manta Rays,Big lobster and huge moray eels over there. Maybe one day you come to dive here,Mr. Mickael!

scubadiver

Mickael Jeunes

Hopefully one day, it would be great to see mantas!

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Reginaldo Tavares

nice

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