Cape Verde is the outlier in this region and works differently from the mainland. It is an archipelago of ten main islands and several islets, settled by the Portuguese from the 1460s on land that was uninhabited, and shaped since by the Atlantic rather than the Sahel. The language is Portuguese officially and Kriolu in practice.
Most arrivals land at Sal or Boa Vista, on package holidays to beach resorts. That is a fair description of those two islands and a poor description of the country. Santo Antão is a mountain of terraced valleys with some of the best hiking in Atlantic Africa. São Vicente has Mindelo, a harbour town that produced Cesária Évora and still plays morna most nights. Fogo is an active volcano with a village inside its crater.
The practical constraint is inter-island transport. Flights are limited and change schedule; ferries run but are weather-dependent and the crossings vary in comfort. Build any multi-island itinerary with slack in it, and treat the Mindelo-Porto Novo ferry as the one reliable link.
When to go
| Months | What it is like |
|---|---|
| Nov-Feb | Trade winds at their strongest. Prime conditions for kitesurfing and windsurfing on Sal and Boa Vista, choppier for swimming and for ferries. Saharan dust, known locally as bruma seca, reaches the islands in this period and cuts visibility. |
| Mar-Jun | The best all-round window. Calmer seas, clearer air and reliable hiking weather on Santo Antão and Fogo. Humpback whales pass Boa Vista roughly March to May. |
| Jul-Oct | Hottest and most humid, with the archipelago's brief rains in August and September. Loggerhead turtles nest on Boa Vista and Sal from around June to October, with hatchlings from August. Mindelo's Baía das Gatas festival is in August. |
Before you go
- Visa: several European and other nationalities can enter without a visa for short stays, but all arrivals must complete an online pre-registration and pay an airport security fee before travel. Check the current rules for your nationality; this changed recently and catches people out at check-in.
- Health: Cabo Verde was certified malaria-free by the WHO in 2024, which makes it the only country in this region where prophylaxis is not the default question. Yellow fever vaccination is not generally required for arrivals from Europe, but is required if you are arriving from a country with risk of transmission, which includes most of mainland West Africa. If you are combining this with Senegal or Ghana, carry the certificate.
- Money: the Cape Verdean escudo (CVE), pegged to the euro. Euros are widely accepted on the resort islands. Cards are fine in Sal, Boa Vista, Praia and Mindelo, and much less so on Santo Antão and Fogo.
- Getting around: inter-island flights are limited and schedules shift, so leave a buffer before international departures. The Mindelo to Porto Novo ferry takes about an hour and runs several times daily. Santo Antão has no airport. Aluguer shared minibuses cover most island roads.
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