Getting around Sal Island: taxi, tours or independent travel
Once the big decisions are made — where to stay and how many days to visit — another key question appears, one that directly affects both your budget and daily experience: how to get around the island.
Taxis, organised tours or moving independently.
There isn’t one option that’s better than the rest, but there are options that fit certain trips much better than others.
Choosing well here helps you avoid unnecessary expenses and that familiar feeling of “this isn’t what I expected”.
Before comparing options: one important idea
Getting around Sal isn’t difficult. What can be tricky is choosing the wrong system for your type of trip.
Many mistakes happen because the options are compared as if they all served the same purpose — and they don’t.
On Sal, it’s not about moving more, but about moving with purpose.
Taxis: simple and practical (when they fit)
Taxis are one of the most commonly used ways to get around, especially if you’re staying in Santa Maria.
They work well if:
- you’re taking short trips,
- you’re not moving constantly,
- you’re staying only a few days,
- or you prefer not to think too much about logistics.
For going out to dinner, changing beaches occasionally or moving around now and then, taxis do the job.
What taxis offer (and what they don’t)
Taxis give you:
- immediate convenience,
- no planning,
- flexibility for single trips.
They’re not designed for:
- multiple daily journeys over many days,
- regular exploration of more remote areas,
- changing plans repeatedly throughout the day.
This is where other options start to make more sense.
Taxis on Sal work very well… as long as they’re not your only mobility plan.
Organised tours: a quick solution (if you know why you’re using them)
Organised tours often divide opinion, but on Sal they serve a clear purpose: showing the island’s highlights in a short time.
They work best if:
- you have limited time,
- you don’t want to drive,
- you prefer someone else to set the route,
- or you simply want an easy overview.
They’re not the most flexible option, but they can be very efficient when time is tight.
The advantages and limits of tours
Tours offer:
- a fixed plan,
- transport included,
- no decisions during the day,
- a quick general picture of the island.
In exchange, you lose:
- control over timing,
- the chance to stay longer where you like,
- freedom to change plans on the spot.
Tours aren’t for discovering Sal in depth — they’re for understanding it quickly.
Moving independently: when it starts to make sense
Moving independently doesn’t necessarily mean renting a car for the whole trip. Above all, it means making your own movement decisions.
This option usually fits better if:
- you’re staying several days,
- you want to return to places you enjoy,
- you like improvising,
- or you don’t want to depend on other people’s schedules.
The experience becomes more personal, but it does require a bit more planning.
The common mistake when combining options
One of the most frequent mistakes is mixing transport systems without thinking about the trip as a whole. For example:
- using taxis for everything over many days,
- booking too many tours in a row,
- or moving independently without checking distances and timing.
No option is bad by itself. Problems appear when the system doesn’t match the way you’re travelling.
Final recommendation
After looking at all three options, the conclusion is simple: there’s no single correct way to get around Sal, but there are ways that fit your trip better than others.
If your stay is short, you’re based in Santa Maria and you don’t plan to move constantly, taxis work well and keep things simple.
If you have limited time and want a quick overview of the island, one or two well-chosen tours can make sense.
If you’re staying longer, enjoy improvising and don’t want to depend on fixed schedules, moving independently becomes much more appealing.
The practical advice is this:
Don’t choose one system for the entire trip.
Combine options depending on the day, your time and what you want to do.
On Sal, moving well isn’t about moving a lot — it’s about moving logically.
And when you get that right, the trip becomes simpler… and cheaper.
