WorldCape Verde › Boa Vista › Santa Monica, Boa Vista

Santa Monica, Boa Vista 55.6

#3593 of 5756 surf spots in the world · 🇨🇻 Cape Verde · Boa Vista · near Praia

Very consistent, wind is the enemy here, no off season.

Works all yearWarm waterBeginner friendlyBeginner
Santa Monica, Boa Vista, Cape Verde
Photo: Fulvio Barudoni · CC BY 3.0 · source · photo taken 2.1 km from the spot
Surf score55.6 /100
Surfable days71% of the year
Clean days14% groundswell + friendly wind
Groundswell14% period 11 s+
Typical size0.7 m 2.2 ft median
Water24°C a rash vest or 2 mm

Best time to surf Santa Monica, Boa Vista

The best time to surf Santa Monica, Boa Vista is February, March, December. It rarely works. In February the water sits around 22°C, so pack a 2 mm shorty, and the typical wave is 0.8 m. The nearest airport is SID (83 km) and the nearest town is Praia (137 km).

MonthSurfableCleanSizeWaterSuit
Jan86%16%0.8 m23°Cvest
Feb85%29%0.8 m22°C2mm
Mar88%19%0.8 m22°C2mm
Apr85%16%0.7 m22°Cvest
May52%2%0.6 m23°Cvest
Jun54%4%0.6 m24°Cvest
Jul54%9%0.6 m25°Cboardies
Aug63%14%0.7 m27°Cboardies
Sep67%12%0.7 m28°Cboardies
Oct57%8%0.6 m28°Cboardies
Nov73%15%0.7 m26°Cboardies
Dec87%26%0.8 m24°Cvest

What is under Santa Monica, Boa Vista

Eight kilometres out along its swell window the sea floor sits over 29 m.

Depth 8 km out29 m
Depth 4 km out28 m

Measured, not estimated: NOAA ETOPO 2022 global relief at 15 arc-seconds, about 460 m per cell, sampled along this spot’s own swell window. At that scale the survey sees passes and channels; it cannot see a reef ledge, so nothing here is said about how the wave breaks.

Why 55.6

Seven parts, each normalised 0 to 1 and multiplied by its weight; the sum is scaled so the best spot in the world scores 100. Wave quality and what the spot does on its best days carry more than half of it, which is what separates this from a ranking of where the water is warm.

Wave quality 34.7%
18.7
Best days 22.4%
3.7
Clean days 18.4%
6.2
Consistency 10.2%
8.3
Season spread 4.1%
4.1
Water comfort 6.1%
5.0
Access 4.1%
2.1

The detail

Faces 210° with 42% open water around it. Friendly morning wind 98% of days. Mean peak period 10.3 s. Days over 3 m: 0%. On its best tenth of days it reaches 1.0 m, with a peak period of 12 s. Mellow days (0.4 to 1.2 m): 94%. Months that work: 12 of 12. Coordinates 15.994, -22.895 (OpenStreetMap).

What it costs to be here

Living here
€952/ month
typically €838 – €1,070
Rent, one bedroom€502
Groceries€200
Eating out€115
Getting around€68
Phone + internet€72
Renting by the month, cooking most days, local transport.
One month here
€1,860/ month
typically €1,640 – €2,080
Somewhere to stay€1,100
Eating out€391
Car, transfers, fuel€251
Data + extras€119
Short stays, eating out, a car or transfers.
49% cheaper if you live here instead of visiting

Remote spot, so the local estimate is 15% below the country average. Estimate: World Bank PPP price level for Cape Verde (2025, United States = 1.00) applied to a fixed surfer basket, then adjusted for how remote the spot is. Your own number moves with the season and how you live.

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Spots nearby

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