Full Day Santiago Island Tour Experience with Bu Country Tours

My 1st full day Guided tour of the island of Santiago was a great way to start my West African trip in the beautiful country of Cape Verde!

As I continued my journey around the world, I started traveling again after months of hiatus. This time I’m in West Africa! Just a word of warning, applying for an African visa is quite difficult and complicated for Filipinos, but you know me, this won’t stop me!

My Country 174th – Cape Verde! When I started my African journey in Cape Verde, I was blown away by the way people treated me! Everything is unforgettable and I am going to share with you all my experiences and why this African country has held a special place in my heart.

In my days of stay in Cape Verde, I felt so happy that Bu Country Tours hosted me. I stayed at Casa da Mizi where Mama Maria looked after me, gave me clothes and toiletries when I didn’t have them. It felt like I was being treated like a baby.

Bu Country Tours – Day Tour to Santiago Islands

On my first few days in Cape Verde, I was hosted by Bu Country Tours as they let me experience one of the popular tourist destinations in the country – Santiago Island.

This full day Santiago Island tour not only showed me what the island has to offer but I was also able to experience a workshop with a local family. Yes! I learned to cook Couscous, a popular Cape Verdean dish.

Highlights of my Santiago Island Tour

I can’t hide my excitement when I started the tour, my photos will be the proof! More of my adventure below.

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My tour started learning the recipe of the popular dish Couscous, with a local family who treated me like their own family. If you are in Cape Verde, don’t miss this. One of the best experiences I have while traveling is eating local food, but this time I have to cook them!

Assamada

When we visited Assomada we went to the famous Assomada market. The market offers many different items and souvenirs to choose from.

You will find clothes, shoes and food stalls with meat, vegetables, fish, herbs, etc. I literally can’t stop looking from left to right. haha!

Serra de Malagueta

If you like walking, this is one of the best parts of the Santiago Island tour! We drove to the nature park and got to see a beautiful view.

I also learned a lot about the people who live there. If you want to hike here is a tip, it has an altitude of 1100 mn, so prepare a jacket as it can get cold there.

Tarrafal . Beach

After an exciting ride we went to Tarrafal Beach, the most beautiful beach in Santiago. The white sand, the beautiful ocean and the sound of the waves, the beach is the perfect place to relax after a tiring walk. You can snorkel as there are plenty of fish to see! Moreover, there are also restaurants nearby where we had lunch.

Rabelados

To conclude our day tour, we visited Rabelados, a community that maintains Cape Verde’s oldest customs. This part of the tour is so close to my heart. I need to talk to the locals, understand their story, their customs and much more.

My interaction with them was eye opening, you get to know more about the other side of the world that not everyone gets to see. I was really so lucky!

We ended our 1st day tour with a lot of knowledge and great experiences that left me in awe.

One day was not enough to spend time with the locals, talk to them, laugh with them, their hospitality and friendliness is the first thing you should expect when you visit the island.