Cape Verde travel guides

EU, UK, US and Canadian passport holders do not need a visa for stays of up to 30 days, following the 2019 abolition of visa requirements for most Western visitors. You do however need to complete an online pre-registration before travelling and pay an airport security tax, currently around 30 euros per person, which is either collected online in advance or on arrival. Other nationalities can apply for an e-visa.

Cape Verde is a genuine year-round destination, with temperatures between 24°C and 30°C in every month. November to June is the driest and most reliable stretch, and also the best window for windsurfing and kitesurfing when the trade winds are strongest, peaking from December to March. August to October is the short rainy season, hotter and more humid with occasional heavy showers, though rainfall remains low overall and the islands stay green afterwards.

It depends entirely on what you want, as the islands are strikingly different. Sal and Boa Vista are flat, sandy and built for beach resorts and watersports, and they take most international flights. Santo Antão is the hiking island, with spectacular ridge walks and green valleys, reached by ferry from São Vicente. São Vicente's Mindelo is the music and nightlife capital. Fogo has an active volcano you can climb. Santiago holds the capital and the UNESCO-listed old town of Cidade Velha.

Domestic flights and ferries both operate, but neither is entirely reliable, so build slack into your plans. Inter-island flights are quick and connect the main islands via Sal or Praia, though schedules change and cancellations happen. Ferries are cheaper and more frequent between nearby islands, particularly the short São Vicente to Santo Antão crossing which takes under an hour. Crossings on open water can be very rough. Avoid booking tight onward connections on the day you island-hop.

The Cape Verdean Escudo (CVE) is the currency, pegged to the Euro at a fixed rate of about 110 to 1. Euros are widely accepted in tourist areas, hotels and restaurants, though you will often get change in escudos and the rate applied can be rounded unfavourably. Cards work in resorts and larger businesses on Sal and Boa Vista but much less reliably elsewhere, so carry cash on the quieter islands.

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