Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Due to dangerous cross winds, no flights currently operate to Santo Antão and the airstrip
at Ponta do Sol has been shut down for years.
There are daily ferries between Mindelo and Santo Antão. While subject to change, the
comfortable
Mar d'Canal
leaves Mindelo at 8am, returning at 10am (except on Sunday,
when there's only the afternoon departure). It leaves Mindelo again at 3pm (except
Sunday), returning at 5pm. The trip costs CVE770 and lasts just under one hour. You must
buy tickets 30 minutes before departure at the ferry-dock offices on both islands.
Getting Around
If you want to see a lot of the island in a single day, your best bet is to hire your own
aluguer,
though expect to pay around CVE8000 for a full day around the east side of the
island. You can usually arrange one when you arrive at Porto Novo. Alternatively, you can
join locals on an
aluguer
headed towards Ribeira Grande and Ponta do Sol (CVE400, 45
minutes). Note that
alugueres
use the new, faster coastal road; if you want to travel along
the scenic mountain road, be prepared to negotiate with the driver and dish out extra. It's
typically pretty easy to find
alugueres
anywhere you are on the island, especially if you
time your journey according to the ferry timetables. If you want to explore the west of the
island, you may want to overnight in Porto Novo to get an early start.
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Porto Novo
Arriving by ferry, the grubby port town of Porto Novo will be your first impression of
Santo Antão. Don't worry; things rapidly improve! If you do get stuck in Porto Novo (al-
though that's quite unlikely), you'll find a few places to stay, including the basic but de-
cent
Residencial Antilhas
( 2221193; residencialantilhas@hotmail.com; s & d without breakfast CVE2520)
,
where you should request an upstairs room with a balcony offering views of the harbour.
The upscale
Santantao Art Resort
( 2222675;
www.santantao-art-resort.com
;
s/d from CVE4500/6500;
)
to the south of town has balconied rooms, a range of facilities and a small trop-
ical garden.
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Ponta do Sol
