Things to do in São Vicente

Overview

Mindelo wraps around Porto Grande, a deep, sheltered bay on the north-west coast of São Vicente, and almost everyone on the island lives here. It grew as a coaling port for British steamships, and the colonial waterfront still shows it. Mornings are liveliest at the fish market, beside a small copy of Lisbon's Belém Tower. After dark, the bars along Rua de Lisboa fill with morna and funaná, the music Cesária Évora carried from here to the world, and Carnival, around February, is the biggest party of the year.

Walks, lagoons and wind

Monte Verde, the island's highest point at 744 metres, rises about 6 kilometres east of town, and the hike to the top looks across the channel to Santo Antão when the cloud lifts. On the east coast, Baía das Gatas has a shallow lagoon behind a rock barrier, calm enough for children and easy snorkelling. São Pedro, beside the airport on the south-west coast, is a long beach where the trade wind funnels through a gap in the hills and blows hard offshore. It draws experienced windsurfers and kitesurfers, who ride there with a safety boat. Swimmers should take care, because the current can be strong.

Booking on adventuro

The ferry to the walking valleys of Santo Antão leaves from Mindelo, so many people spend a night here either side of the crossing. Use the Book here tab to see live dates for walks and wind sessions around Mindelo.

FAQs

Laginha, the city beach, is a short walk from the centre, and it's where Mindelo goes to swim. For the calmest water, take a taxi or an aluguer (shared minibus) out to Baía das Gatas on the east coast, where a rock barrier keeps the waves out of a wide, shallow lagoon. Weekdays there are quieter than weekends.

On a clear day, yes. From the top you look down on Mindelo's bay and across the channel to the mountains of Santo Antão. The upper slopes are damper than the rest of the island, so most of São Vicente's rare native plants grow up here. Cloud often sits on the summit, and a clear morning gives you the best chance of a view.

The music festival takes over the beach at Baía das Gatas on a full-moon weekend in August, with bands playing late into the night. Mindelo's rooms fill up well ahead for that weekend, so book your bed early. For the rest of the year, the bay is quiet and good for a family swim.

Overview