Cape Verde travel tips

Is Cape Verde safe?

1 guide, each rated 1 to 5 with the reason — and two lists per place, where you are comfortable and where to pay attention. Nowhere is called dangerous; the specific thing is what helps.

4.0 average across 1 guide · Safe
Cape Verde, Cape Verde

Cape Verde Safe

Calm and welcoming, with Sal and Boa Vista essentially resort islands. Praia and Mindelo have pickpocketing after dark in specific streets. The Atlantic here is not a lagoon: strong undertow on many beaches, and the harmattan can blow dust across the islands from December to March.

Comfortable: Santa Maria, Sal · Mindelo · Sal Rei · Praia

  • Praia — and Mindelo, for pickpocketing after dark in specific streets
  • Beaches with no flags and no lifeguard, which is most of them — the Atlantic undertow here has drowned strong swimmers
  • The harmattan dust from December to March, which grounds inter-island flights

The ratings are this site's own, from the guides' authors and the corrections readers send in; they are not an index. Read the general advice in travel safety tips.

The guides in Cape Verde

Volcanic ridges falling to a beach in Cape VerdeCape VerdeCape VerdeTen Atlantic islands where Africa, Portugal and Brazil met and stayed