Diving on Sal, Cape Verde: An Honest Review From Divers Who've Been to the World's Best

We have dived Sipadan Island, Palau's Blue Corner, the Maldives, the Derawan Archipelago of Indonesia, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Fiji's tiger shark dives, and the Bahamas. After four years living on Sal, here is our honest account of what diving here is — and what it isn't.

Spending time below the ocean surface is, for us, one of the most calming and meditative experiences we know. The world above disappears. You focus on the here and now — on what is directly in front of you, on your breathing, on the quality of light through the water. We have logged dives that went well beyond the 60-minute mark, we have dived in conditions many people would not attempt, and we have been fortunate enough to encounter the majority of the large marine species that serious divers chase across a lifetime. We still don't get bored of it. We are still, after all of that, most excited by the big stuff — a wreck with a nurse shark resting in its shadow, a cave with a blacktip escaping through the blue, a drift dive with current and the genuine possibility of something large appearing from the deep.

Diving around Sal is different from anywhere we have dived before. Here is what that means in practice.

Managing Expectations Honestly

Let's start here, because it matters.

Sal is in the Atlantic. The Atlantic is not the Indo-Pacific. The Blue Corner in Palau, where you hook yourself to a rock in the current and watch grey reef sharks, whitetips, and Napoleon wrasse pass by in continuous procession, is a specific phenomenon that does not have an equivalent anywhere in the Atlantic. The visibility at Sipadan, the marine density of the Philippines' Verde Island Passage, the sheer biomass of the Maldivian atolls — these are not what you find diving around a small volcanic island off the west coast of Africa.

What you do find: over 60 endemic species, with an interesting mix of Mediterranean and tropical species — from small nudibranchs and sea slugs to larger animals including turtles, stingrays, moray eels, groupers and occasional pelagic visitors. The waters around Sal are rich in tuna, amberjack, and grouper — all excellent shark food species, which means sharks are out there. But the Atlantic is fast, rough, and vast. The big pelagics — manta rays, whale sharks, hammerheads — exist in these waters, and lucky divers encounter them. It is luck, not guarantee. Any dive operator who tells you otherwise is overselling.

What this means for your trip: if you have never dived anywhere particularly exceptional before, Sal will give you plenty to smile about. If you have dived the Red Sea or the Maldives, come with an open mind and appreciate what Sal is rather than measuring it against what it isn't.

We have had guests staying at our villas who went diving every single day of their stay. Every one of them came back to the terrace with smiles all over their face. That is not a bad endorsement.

The Dive Sites Around Sal

The dive sites are grouped around two main points of the island. Near Santa Maria on the southern tip you will find several beautiful reefs with overhangs, swim-throughs and caverns teeming with life, and two wrecks forming an excellent artificial reef. The Palmeira dive sites off the northwest coast are most famous for their highly accessible cave systems — each cave has several large openings through which cathedral-like spaces can be entered, where divers find sharks, rays, polyps and crabs.

The Wrecks

The Kwarcit is a Russian fishing boat of 50 metres that was deliberately sunk in 2006 to create an artificial reef. It lies at approximately 28 metres and is suitable for all levels. The wreck is encrusted in coral and populated by schools of fish, with scorpion fish, lobsters, stingrays and various species established in its structure. Macro photographers will find flabellinas and fire worms.

The Santo Antão wreck, sunk in 1966, is a 45-metre vessel lying portside in sand at shallow depth — just 5 to 11 metres — and only 300 metres from shore. The bow and stern are in good condition, the former cargo hold scattered mid-ship. Moray eels are common throughout, with schools of red mullet and soldierfish, flounder, puffer fish and scorpion fish all regular residents. Visibility here can change quickly — from 5 to 30 metres depending on conditions.

Two wrecks of different character, at different depths, accessible to different experience levels. A solid wreck diving programme for a relatively small island.

The Reefs

Choclasse, located about three kilometres off Santa Maria, features a large plateau with yellow coral polyps, schools of fish, tuna, Atlantic sailfish, and occasional sharks at depths of 13 to 30 metres.

Cavala, one kilometre off the coast of Santa Maria, is a site for more experienced divers at 25 to 40 metres. At 30 metres a specific cave shelters many rays. The rocks and crevices are filled with coral and fish, and turtles are commonly encountered here.

Farol Baiox offers shallower diving — schools of fish, a small shipwreck, and coral-filled crevices, with regular sightings of turtles, rays, and various tropical fish.

The Caves — Northwest Coast

The cave systems off Palmeira on the northwest coast are the highlight of this area — each cave with several large openings allowing entry into cathedral-like interior spaces where sharks, rays, polyps and crabs are found. The northwest conditions can be more exposed than the southern sites, and these dives are weather-dependent — when the conditions align, they are among the most atmospheric dives the island offers.

Buracona also features as an underwater dive site — the same Blue Eye cave formation that impresses above water creates a mesmerising light effect underwater, with the play of sunlight through the lava tunnel turning the water an electric blue.

Turtles

Between July and October, sea turtles can often be spotted underwater, particularly during nesting season, and chances of diving with loggerhead turtles around Sal are among the highest in the world. Between March and May, lucky divers might encounter majestic manta rays, while humpback whales make an appearance between February and May.

The Water Temperature Reality

We will be honest about this because no dive operator website ever is.

The Atlantic around Sal does not get close to the water temperatures of the Pacific or Indian Ocean. We were used to warm waters and we never fully acclimatised to the Atlantic — we still get cold well before the air runs out. The right wetsuit and layering concept makes the dives genuinely enjoyable: a 5mm wetsuit is the minimum for most divers, 7mm for those who feel the cold quickly, with a hood recommended in the cooler months between November and March when water temperatures drop to the low 20s or below. The mix of Atlantic and tropical currents creates a unique ecosystem, but that same mix keeps temperatures lower than comparable tropical destinations.

For experienced divers: plan for shorter bottom times in the cooler months if you run cold. It is not a limitation that ruins the diving. It is a variable to manage sensibly.

When to Dive

Diving is possible year-round from Sal — with over 60 endemic species and mixed Atlantic and Mediterranean tropical features visible throughout the year. The warmer months of May to October offer the most comfortable water temperatures — mid-20s — and the best visibility conditions. This is also peak turtle season, both underwater and on the nesting beaches.

The cooler months are still diveable and offer their own seasonal highlights — humpback whales between February and May, manta ray encounters between March and May, and winter brings pelagic visitors to the deeper sites.

When We Wanted More — The Bahamas

After two years living on Sal, we found ourselves craving something more. Not because the diving here had stopped being enjoyable, but because we are the kind of divers who need an occasional dose of the spectacular to stay calibrated.

We flew to Bimini in the Bahamas to dive with the great hammerhead. Same ocean — the Atlantic — entirely different experience. Bimini's hammerhead shark dive is one of the most reliably dramatic shark encounters in the world, with tiger sharks and bull sharks as regular bycatch. It was exactly what we needed. We came back to Sal refreshed, genuinely appreciating the Sal diving with new eyes.

That is the honest perspective of people who live here rather than visit: Sal is very good diving, genuinely enjoyable, with unique elements — the cave systems, the turtle encounters, the wreck diving — that visitors will not easily find in the same combination elsewhere in the Atlantic. It is not Palau. It is not Sipadan. It does not need to be.

Practical Notes

Several SSI- and PADI-certified dive centres operate around Santa Maria, with boat transfers to all major sites taking a maximum of 25 minutes. Sal has over 20 recognised dive sites suitable for beginners through to advanced divers. Night diving is available through at least one operator based in Santa Maria. The northwest cave sites are weather-dependent and best accessed in the calmer months.

For guests staying at in Palmeira, the northwest cave systems at Palmeira are the closest sites — worth requesting specifically from any dive operator, as they are less commonly offered than the Santa Maria sites to the south and significantly more atmospheric.

villas in Palmeira, Sal — the gateway to both the north coast dive sites and the best of the island's landscape beyond the tourist strip.

→ —  L'Ancora

→ — Surf House