A body boarder at Ponta Preta © Marco Muscarà
World-class waves for experienced surfers, windsurfers and kitesurfers. Beautiful beaches for the less active.
A stunning beach with a single restaurant from which to appreciate it, Ponta Preta is a favourite of windsurfers and surfers. It is possible to reach the beach by walking for about an hour around the coast from Santa Maria. Alternatively, drive along the road that goes west from Santa Maria towards the resort hotels, turn right opposite Hotel Crioula and go straight ahead for approximately 2km. You will see, after a few minutes, the timber-built restaurant, and a minute after that you will find a rough track leading towards the water.
There is also a little wooden hut, where a man can be seen making handicrafts from fish bones and sandstone. (Some of his other products are imported from mainland West Africa.) Just north of Ponta Preta the Melia Group have a host of all-inclusive hotels on and around Algodoeiro Beach; the Melia Tortuga is home to Cabo Verde.