The 6 Best Natural Pool Tours in Cape Verde

1.Salt Mine, Natural Pool, and Shark Bay Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 165 reviews · 6 hours · from $34Our pick

Travel from Santa Maria in a small group of up to eight, with guides such as Emerson, Domingos, Jay, or Alssis. You’ll visit Sal’s salt mines, Buracona’s Blue Eye, Miragem, Palmeira, and Lemon Shark Bay. Transport may be a 4x4 or minivan, and lunch and entry fees cost extra.

“Absolutely loved travelling on the back of the pick up. A little bumpy but only to be expected when going off the beaten track. Visiting all the villages, getting lots of info from the guide, travelling through the dessert, seeing the mirage, experiencing the lemon sharks swim between our legs, floating in the salt pools at the mine. Every event was amazing, we would do it again in a heart beat. Very good value for money. Lunch not included but the restaurant we stopped at for lunch was very reasonably priced and very good quality food and venue. Thank you so much for the experience!!”

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2.All inclusive Salt Lake, Natural pools and Shark Bay

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 39 reviews · 4 hours

See Sal’s most unusual sights in four hours with a private guide and vehicle. Float in Pedra de Lume’s salt lake, visit Buracona’s Blue Eye and natural pool, watch lemon sharks at Shark Bay, and pause at Miragem. Guides named Jose, Jackson, and Kiki have been praised for friendly, flexible service.

“Guide très sympathique, et qui a permis d'éviter la foule. Activité sympa, le côté privé permet de le faire à notre rythme.”

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3.Natural Pools & Shark Bay Private Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 8 reviews · from $88Top rated

You’ll travel privately from Santa Maria with a guide and driver such as Djibril, Eddy, or Grace, visiting Shark Bay, Pedra de Lume’s salt crater, and Buracona’s *Blue Eye*. Expect rocky footing, saltwater floating, optional swimming, and €8 in entrance fees, with water shoes available for €2.

“Excellent visit, attentive guide Djibril, cool and safe driver Eddy, sharks there! everything is truly magical in this island of Sal 😃👍🌞”

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4.Coffee Plantation and Natural Pools Day Trip

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 6 reviews · 7 hours · from $100

Travel from São Filipe to Cova Figueira, Mosteiros, and Salinas on a seven-hour Fogo day trip. Your guide explains local customs, farming, coffee, and island life, while you visit a coffee plantation, walk across 1951 lava flows, and swim in a clear natural pool. Guide Elmar has earned praise for his detailed explanations, but confirm language ability when booking.

“The guide and driver were really nice and gave us a lot of interesting information about Fogo, Plants, agriculture, coffee, customs, social aspects and animals. We also tried cashew fruit which was very interesting. The swim in the saline was also fun. The water has a high visibility so I recommend a scuba mask if you wanna explore underwater. Definitely recommend this.”

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5.2. Nature, History of FOGO and relaxation at the natural pool of Salinas

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 4 reviews · from $55

Spend about four hours exploring São Filipe and Fogo’s western coast with a local guide. See the old sobrados around Igreja Nossa Senhora da Conceição, hear stories of the island’s past, visit Salinas natural pool, and taste calabaceira punch. Pickup is offered, groups can reach 22 people, and at least two participants are required.

“The trip showed a section of Fogo. Communication was difficult at times because our tour guide didn't speak English very well. The Salinas were impressive because the sea was very rough. Swimming would have been life-threatening.”

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6.Discover the Black Sand Beach+the Natural Pool

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 3 reviews · 4 hours · from $135

Spend four hours exploring Ribeira das Prata near Tarrafal, where dark volcanic sand meets rough Atlantic water and a rock-carved pool. Your private guide provides hotel pickup, transport, and local insight in English, French, Spanish, or Portuguese. You set the pace, with time to swim, relax, take photos, and see village life.

“our tour guide was very nice. it was like hanging out with a local for the day. we did really whatever we wanted since it was only us in the group. it was nice because we could work on our own time. definitely worth it and pools were beautiful. blank sand beach was amazing. there were monkeys too!”

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