Boa Vista is the third largest island after Santo Antão and Santiago, with an area of 631.1 square kilometres.

Boa Vista is famous for its large beaches like Atalanta, Cabral, Chaves, Ervatão, Gatas, Santa Mónica and Varandinha.

Its main river is the Ribeira do Rabil, which has the largest basin area of all Cape Verde at 199 km2 (77 sq mi).

Boa Vista is surrounded by a number of uninhabited islets, the largest of which is Ilhéu de Sal Rei.

The uninhabited island Boa Vista was discovered by António de Noli and Diogo Gomes in 1460.

[5] In 1820, after many pirate attacks, the population moved to Porto Inglês, later renamed Sal Rei, which had been founded at the end of the 18th century.

[6] As did much of the Cape Verdean economy, the exploitation of salt on Boa Vista also relied largely on slavery.

A lot of people do work in this touristic sector as a taxi driver, an employee in one of the hotel chains or as a salesman of souvenirs in Sal Rei.

[15] Boa Vista is not as abundant in flora and fauna as the other larger or more humid islands such as Santiago and Santo Antão; only 3% of its area is forested.