Since the airport closed in 2000, the only way onto Santo Antão is by ferry from São Vicente. The Ferry Cabo Verde Express crosses from Mindelo to Porto Novo in about an hour, several times a day. Buy tickets at the Mindelo terminal — they sell out on weekends in high season.
From Porto Novo, the road over the spine of the island via Cova de Paúl is one of the great drives in West Africa — twisting up to 1,170 m and dropping into the green valleys of the north. Shared aluguers (minibuses) leave from outside the ferry terminal whenever they fill up. The trip to Ponta do Sol takes about 90 minutes via Ribeira Grande.