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Cape Verde Cape VerdeIsland

Santo Antão

787 km² rising to 1,979 m out of the Atlantic Ocean.

When to go

Santo Antão seen from space, cut out from the sea (Sentinel-2)
Porto NovoPonta do SolRibeira GrandePombasChã de PedrasJanelaGarça de Cima
N 5 km

Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.

In numbers

787km²

Area

156km

Coastline

1,979m

Highest point

Topo da Coroa

47,124

People

27°C

Warmest sea

October

827km

To the mainland

When to go to Santo Antão

Best for the beach from May to August and in October.

The sea is warmest in October (27 °C) and coolest in February (22 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).

Sea temperature (the water level) Air: night low to afternoon high Wet days Best months

Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.

Second largest island of Cape Verde

Santo Antão is an island in Cape Verde. It covers 787 km², with 156 km of coastline. Its highest point, Topo da Coroa, rises to 1,979 m. About 47,124 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 827 km away.

Read more on Wikipedia

Getting there

  • Cesaria Evora International Airport (VXE)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 29 km in a straight line
  • Ferries30 min. fastferry / 55 min. normal ferry (oneway), serviço para barco de pesca (45 min. oneway)
  • 827 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
  • From May to August and Octoberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)

Plan the trip

Ferries, stays and things to do

Car hire in Cape VerdeDiscover CarsSee 

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

On the island

What you find on Santo Antão.

  • 12beachesPraia De Tropo, Praia dos Curraletes, Tarrafal beach and 9 more
  • 61viewpointsPico da Cruz, Delgadim, Gudo de Matinho de Corda and 58 more
  • 4lighthousesFarol de Fontes Pereira de Melo, Farol, Farol da Ponta Magrande and 1 more
  • 2ferry terminalsGare Marítima
  • 30named peaksMonte Tomé, Monte Frade, Monte Lajes and 27 more
  • 32volcanoesTopo da Coroa, Morro de Covãozinho, Monte Aranha Perna and 29 more
  • 10waterfalls
  • 6ruins and archaeological sites
  • 1dive centresSanta Antao scuba diving
  • 27waymarked walking routesCha de Padre - Cova, Rota de Ponta do Sol, Trilho da Celado do Mocho and 24 more
  • 5campsitesWild camping spot, haystacks and 3 more
  • 123hotels, guesthouses and apartments
  • 136restaurants, cafés and bars

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.

Cross-checked with our atlases

Santo Antão in our other atlases

Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Santo Antão, each with its own numbers.

  • 20beaches and covesCoastya
  • 25mountainsPeakyas

  • Highest point

    1,979m

    Topo da Coroa

    prominence 1,979 m · according to Peakyas

  • Beach with the warmest sea

    26.8°C

    Praia de Passo de Pau

    sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya

20 beaches

on Coastya, the beach atlas

  1. Praia de Lisboa26.6°C
  2. Beira Mar26.7°C
  3. Praia de Esborradeiro26.7°C
  4. Praia de Passo de Pau26.8°C
  5. Praia do Curral Velho26.7°C
  6. Praia de Toninha26.7°C
  7. Praia do Companário26.7°C
  8. Praia de Barco26.7°C

12 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗

25 mountains

on Peakyas, the mountain atlas

  1. Topo da Coroaprominence 1,979 m1,979m
  2. Pico da Cruz1,585m
  3. Cova1,176m
  4. Monte de Baixo
  5. Morro Branco
  6. Morro Fundo de Casa Velha
  7. Monte Arranha Perna
  8. Monte Carneiro

17 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗

The shape of the land.

On average the island stands 647 m above the sea. 20 % of it is below 200 m.

  • 5 %0–50 m
  • 14 %50–200 m
  • 25 %200–500 m
  • 31 %500–1,000 m
  • 24 %1,000–2,000 m

Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).

Size, for real

Next to islands you may know.

Santo Antão787 km²
Madeira Island742 km²
Tenerife2,038 km²

20 km

All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).

Towns on the island

  • Porto Novo11,138 people
  • Ponta do Sol3,300 people
  • Ribeira Grande3,000 people
  • Berlim2,115 people
  • Pombas1,429 people
  • Chã de Pedras1,266 people
  • Janela1,167 people
  • Garça de Cima1,138 people
  • Alto Mira1,003 people

Month by month

The weather on the island.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon high (°C)222222232324252727272524
Night low (°C)202020202122232425252322
Sea (°C)232222232324252627272624
Rain (mm)413719147792846273750
Wet days543321158567
Sun h/day7.88.29.09.19.18.07.37.77.98.07.77.2
Wind (km/h)252523232322181719202022

Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.

Recent years

Warmer and cooler years at sea.

Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020−0.3+0.1+0.4+0.6+0.6+0.1+0.6+0.9+0.9+0.7+0.7+0.3
2021+0.1±0.0−0.1−0.2−0.3+0.3+0.5+0.2+0.5+0.4±0.0+0.1
2022+0.7+0.3−0.5−0.1+0.1+0.3+0.4+0.3+0.6±0.0±0.0+0.1
2023+0.6+0.3+0.6+1.4+1.0+1.4+1.6+1.8+1.4+1.1+1.0+1.2
2024+1.1+1.6+1.2+1.2+0.9+0.8+1.0+0.7+0.8+0.5+0.7+0.8
2025+0.7±0.0−0.3−0.3−0.3+0.2+0.3+0.7+0.6+0.6+0.4−0.1

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Photos

Seen by visitors.

Coastline Santo Antao
Konstantin Krismer · CC BY 3.0
Vale do Paúl, Santo Antão, Cape Verde
CaptainDarwin · CC BY-SA 4.0
Pico da Cruz en Santo Antao
Quiebrajano · CC BY-SA 3.0
Piste Santo Antao (Cap-Vert)
Cadouf · CC BY-SA 4.0

Nearby

More islands nearby.

São VicenteCape VerdeCape Verde226 km²750 m33 km awaySanta LuziaCape VerdeCape Verde35 km²397 m57 km awaySão NicolauCape VerdeCape Verde346 km²1,312 m108 km awaySalCape VerdeCape Verde215 km²405 m241 km awayFogoCape VerdeCape Verde472 km²2,829 m252 km awayBravaCape VerdeCape Verde63 km²976 m250 km awayBoa VistaCape VerdeCape Verde634 km²387 m274 km awayMaioCape VerdeCape Verde274 km²437 m297 km away

About these numbers

Names, area, populationWikidata (Q112232) · CC0
Outline© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Sea temperatureNOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020
ClimateNASA POWER · 1991–2020
Relief, 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
TownsGeoNames · CC BY 4.0
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfallsCoastya, Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit