Sal Island

Sal, Cape Verde — a flat, sun-baked island ringed by some of the Atlantic's most consistent wind, making it West Africa's kitesurfing and windsurfing capital.

Santa Maria's long white beach is the main base for kite schools and equipment rental, busiest from November to July when trade winds peak. Beyond the wind sports, visit the eerie salt flats of Pedra de Lume, a volcanic crater lake where you float in hypersaline water, and Buracona's natural rock pool nicknamed the "Blue Eye."