Fishing Trip and Barbecue

Fishing has shaped Tarrafal as much as any other force in its history, and this tour gives you the chance to experience that tradition directly, from the water. The Traditional Fishing Trip and Barbecue is a five-hour easy-rated ocean adventure that puts you aboard a traditional wooden fishing boat with local fishermen who have spent their lives working this bay in Cape Verde's Santiago Island, followed by a beach barbecue with whatever the morning produces.

Departure is early, when the bay is glassy and the light is still low and gold over the mountains behind town. The boats used are the same hand-line vessels that have worked these waters for generations: narrow, brightly painted, built for the specific conditions of Tarrafal bay. Your guides are working fishermen, not performers, and the trip unfolds the way their mornings actually do: lines in the water, patience, conversation, the Atlantic doing what it does.

Hand-line fishing is accessible to complete beginners. The crew will show you exactly what to do, and there is a real satisfaction in the process regardless of experience. The catch on any given morning varies with the season and the sea, but grouper, tuna, and various reef species are common in these waters. Everything caught becomes lunch.

The beach barbecue happens on a stretch of Tarrafal's coastline away from the main tourist area, with the fish cleaned and grilled simply over charcoal the way local fishermen actually eat: with fresh lime, local spices, and grogue or cold beer if you want it. It is a meal that tastes entirely different because of how it arrived on the grill. At €80 per person, this is one of the most authentic experiences Tarradise Tours offers in Cabo Verde, and it regularly fills up quickly. Use WhatsApp to check availability and book your morning on the water.