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Cape Verde Boa Vista Island Tours

Getting around on Boa Vista

Unlike on Sal aluguers do not like to accept European passengers. They expect you to hire one yourself and take the full charge which can be as much as £20 or £30 for even a short journey. It is absolutely essential to haggle in advance. A half day trip visiting one of the remote beaches will set you back by at least £40 to £50.

So a hire car sounds attractive. But do not even think of attempting this yourself in a hire car, even a good 4x4 taking one to the south unless you are an experienced desert driver. You will get stuck in the sand drifrts that plague these poor roads.

Sal Rei Car Hire or Car Rental by the week

Car hire is more costly on Boa Vista than in Sal. There is far less demand. And supply ise limited , as there is not the reliable fleet of Suzuki Jimnys which exist on Sal. Driving conditions are difficult with only a short stretch of tarmac road around the capital Sal Rei. Elsewhere the traditional Cape Verde volcanic cobbled roads soon give way to dirt tracks of uneven repair. The road out to Espinguera on the north of the island is marked only by white stones at 50-100m distances. In the south it can be still more difficult where the wind has swept big dunes across the road and made them impassable except to those with desert driving skills.

Aluguer drivers on Boa Vista will not generally permit Europeans to share one as they do on Sal, so you are faced with hiring the entire vehicle or a taxi. This can be very expensive as fixed tariffs are not enforced as they are to some extent on Sal. So car hire even at £340 per week for an Isuzu DMax becomes an attractivre alternative.

C from London comments

"The big Isuzu DMax truck with its 3 litre turbodiesel seemed a lot for two people. But it was all that was available on that day. It proved to be rugged and reliable and relatively comfortable and straightforward to drive. We came to like it and it enabled us to get to places that we could not have seen without it. "

Arrange Car Rental in Boa Vista

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