Shark Bay Cape Verde: The 12 Best Tours

1.All-Inclusive Salt Lake, Blue Eye and Shark Bay Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 2,033 reviews · 4 hours · from $53Our pick

See Sal’s main natural sights in four hours with a local guide such as Kiki, Vanessa, Tony, or Nani. Float in Pedra de Lume’s salt lake, watch lemon sharks near Shark Bay, visit Buracona’s Blue Eye, and photograph the desert mirage from an air-conditioned minibus.

“Tony is the best. Great tour with lots of in depth information for each specific area. Fun times with the sharks and bathing in the salt lake. Did not feel rushed at all, everything went smoothly. Great chauffeur too. Thanks guys!!”

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2.Shark Bay Experience from Santa Maria

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 345 reviews · 2 hours · from $35

From Santa Maria, ride to Sal’s east coast for about an hour with lemon sharks in the shallows. Your guide explains their habits and habitat, provides water shoes, and helps you across the rocks. You can watch from shore or enter the water for a closer look.

“Great trip. Interesting facts on the journey there and then about the sharks themselves. Top tip- use crocs not the swim shoes. Great couple of hours. We'll worth it.”

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3.Santa Maria, Sal: All inclusive Salt Lake, Blue Eye and Shark Bay

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 311 reviews · from $52Top rated

Travel from Santa Maria with a local guide such as Nany, Christian, Chan or Shawn to float in Salinas, visit Buracona’s Blue Eye, spot the Miragem illusion, view Murdeira Bay and meet lemon sharks at Shark Bay. Transport, fees and hotel transfers are included.

“Amazing experience. Exactly what we wanted. Not too long but you can see most of the Island treasures. Our guide was great. He had a lot of knowledge about the Island life and history. Shark bay was fantastic. Floating in salt lake is something you need to experience yoursRead more”

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4.Salt Lake Tour, Shark Bay and Pedra de Lume Village

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 274 reviews · 3 hours · from $36

Travel from Santa Maria, Murdeira, or Espargos to Shark Bay and Pedra de Lume with a local guide. Watch lemon sharks for 30 minutes, visit Sal’s old salt village, then float in a dormant volcanic crater. Bring water shoes, swimwear, a towel, and sunscreen.

“I had a wonderful time, great guide, shark experience was nice and in addition salt cave tour was private and educational. Would recommend for sure”

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

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 165 reviews · 6 hours · from $34Best value

I’ll take you from Santa Maria across Sal by 4x4 or minivan, with stops at Kite Beach, salt mines, Miragem, Buracona, Palmeira, and Lemon Shark Bay. Guides such as Emerson, Domingos, and Jay bring local stories. Expect optional entry fees, lunch costs, sun, wind, and a small group of up to eight.

“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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6.Shark Bay Shark Watching Experience from Santa Maria

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 97 reviews · from $34

From Santa Maria, a local guide drives you to Shark Bay to see lemon sharks in their natural nursery. You can watch from shore or wade into the shallow water with supplied water shoes. Guides such as Chan and Nanny add useful island and shark information, with hotel pickup included.

“Very nice experience but not for person who has troubles to move/use legs. I didn’t realise that we are in so deep water-> maybe dry pants would be nice😀”

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

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 39 reviews · 4 hours

Spend four private hours exploring Sal with a local guide, floating in Pedra de Lume’s salt lake, visiting Buracona’s Blue Eye, crossing the desert at Miragem, and watching lemon sharks at Shark Bay. Guides such as Jose, Jackson, and Kiki have earned praise for friendly, flexible service.

“Gostaríamos de dizer que adoramos a experiência e fomos muito bem conduzidos pelo Jackson. Ele foi incrível!! Recomendamos o servico”

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8.Sal Island, Salinas, Buracona and lemon shark

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 34 reviews · from $34

Travel around Sal Island from Santa Maria with a local guide such as Nelson, Carla, or Evandro. See salt flats, Shark Bay, Buracona’s Blue Eye, Terra Boa’s mirage, Murdeira, and Palmeira. The 7 to 8-hour trip includes hotel pickup and transport, while lunch and three entry fees cost extra.

“An excellent tour of the island, amazing tour guide. Really interesting and good value for money. Would definitely recommend doing this tour.”

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9.Salt Lake Tour, Shark bay & Pedra de Lume Village

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 34 reviews · from $36

Join a small-group tour from Santa Maria with local guides such as Kiki or Ronny. Visit Shark Bay, Pedra de Lume village, its volcanic salt lake, and the old salt cable car. Expect about three hours, hotel transfers, a €6 lake fee, and rocky water entry.

“The half day trip was great and we enjoyed it very much. Kiki was an excellent guide who made us laugh. The sites we visited were close to each other and it was well planned. Highly recommended. Thank you very much!”

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10.Sal Island, Salinas, Buracona and Lemon Shark

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 33 reviews · 7h 30m · from $41

Spend 7 to 8 hours touring Sal with a local guide such as Nelson or Eder. See Pedra Lume salt works, Terra Boa’s mirage, Buracona’s Blue Eye, Palmeira, and natural-habitat lemon sharks. Hotel pickup, car, and guide are included; entrance fees and lunch cost extra.

“O guia Nelson é uma pessoa bastante humorada e divertida , a viagem com ele foi divertida. Fomos a vários locais e levou-nos a almoçar.”

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11.Lemon Shark Bay and Pedra de Lume Salt Lakes Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 30 reviews · 3 hours · from $40

You’ll visit Lemon Shark Bay with a local guide, enter shallow water near baby lemon sharks, then head to Pedra de Lume to float in a salty pool. Hotel pickup, drop-off, and multilingual guiding are included, but shoes, shark access, and the salt-lake ticket cost extra.

“Great tour! You pay for the entrance separately (3€ sharks, 6/8€salina), but that was clear from the start. The driver and guide were very friendly and helpful.”

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12.3-Hour Shark Bay and Salt Lakes in Sal Island Guided Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 19 reviews · from $37

Spend about 90 minutes at Shark Bay with guides such as Ola or Kalu, watching juvenile lemon sharks from the water’s edge, then float in Pedra de Lume’s salt lake. Hotel and port transfers are included, but the salt-crater entry fee and protective shoes cost extra.

“Litt skuffende at vi trodde alt var betalt. Transporten var dekket, Shark Bay var dekket, men da vi kom til Salt Lakes måtte vi overraskende betale ytterligere seks Euro pr person. Er dette riktig? Burde vært opplyst om. Ikke store beløpet, men alikavel.”

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