Cape Verde
Cape Verde
Ten Atlantic islands where Africa, Portugal and Brazil met and stayed
Photo by Dominique Josse on Unsplash
Photos by Secret Travel Guide, Secret Travel Guide, Dielemans Photos and Danique Godwin on Unsplash
Best time to visit all of Cape Verde
November to June (dry, and the wind drops after March)
Climate month by month
The next sixteen daysOpen-Meteo
Average high and low · °C
Rainfall · mm per month
Best months to visit This month · wettest 45mm in Sep
Where it is
16.60°N, 22.93°W Open in Google Maps
Things to do
A week easily- Walk the Cova to Paul valley on Santo Antao
- Float in the salt crater at Pedra de Lume
- Hear live morna in a Mindelo bar after midnight
- Climb into the caldera on Fogo and drink the wine grown in it
- Kitesurf the wind that made Sal famous
Cape Verde travel tipsthe general rules
Currency budget Cape Verde
Good valueThe escudo is pegged to the euro at a fixed 110.27, so euros are accepted in tourist areas at a rate close to that — but change is given in escudos and you cannot change them back. Take out only what you will spend.
ATMs & cards
Banco Comercial do Atlantico and Caixa machines work with foreign cards in Santa Maria, Espargos, Mindelo and Praia; elsewhere they are scarce and often empty at weekends. Draw cash before island-hopping.
Avoid these
- hotel exchange desks
- changing back at the end — escudos cannot leave
Use these instead
- Banco Comercial do Atlântico
- Caixa Económica
- Banco Interatlântico
Machines run dry at weekends and are scarce outside Santa Maria, Espargos, Mindelo and Praia. Draw before island-hopping, and only what you will actually spend.
Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.
Safety all of Cape Verde
SafeCalm 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.
Where to walk, and where to pay attention (7 areas)
Comfortable, including after dark
- Santa Maria, Sal
- Mindelo
- Sal Rei
- Praia — the Plateau, by day
Worth more attention
- 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
Our own assessment, not a sourced index.
Entry & visa Cape Verde visa rules
No visa neededup to 30 days
No visa, but every visitor must register on the EASE portal and pay the airport security tax before travelling — about 3,400 escudos. Children under two are exempt.
Other passports
e-Visa requiredup to 30 daysEUR 36
Entry rules change often and depend on your passport, not where you live — the official page above is the authority, and the airline checks before you board.
Health & emergencies all of Cape Verde
LimitedRequired to enter
- Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present
Jabs worth having, and what happens if you need a doctor
Worth having
- Hepatitis A
- Typhoid
- Tetanus up to date
- Rabies for a long or rural stay
Getting treated
Thin outside the two main islands. Praia and Mindelo have hospitals; Sal and Boa Vista have private clinics used to resort visitors and to charging them accordingly. Anything serious is flown to Praia or to Portugal, so evacuation cover is the clause that matters. There is no recompression chamber on the islands.
Dengue has flared in the past and mosquitoes are present on the wetter islands. Tap water is desalinated and better avoided for drinking. The Atlantic swell is the real hazard: beaches with no flags, no lifeguards and a serious undertow.
Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.
Food tip
GoodCachupa — a slow corn and bean stew — is the national dish and is eaten fried for breakfast the next day. The tuna is caught that morning, the grogue is fierce, and the morna played in Mindelo bars is the reason many people come back.
Nightlife
Live morna and funaná in bars that do not start playing until midnight — Mindelo is the musical capital of the islands.
- Mindelo — on São Vicente, and the live music
- Santa Maria, Sal — the resort strip and its bars
- Praia — the capital, and the city clubs
Closing: 04:00, and the band goes on at 23:00 or later.
Cesária Évora came from Mindelo and the bars there take that seriously — the music is the event, not the background.
Getting around
Limited- UberNot here
- BoltNot here
- From the airport
- Sal airport to Santa Maria €12–18 by taxi
No ride-hailing. Taxis are cheap and mostly honest, and the aluguer shared minibuses are cheaper still.
Time zone and your working day
Atlantic/Cape Verde — 3 hours ahead of you
5 hours of overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are — 09:00–14:00 your time, 12:00–17:00 theirs.
No overlap with a 09:00–17:00 day where you are. Working from here means one of you keeps odd hours — their day starts at 06:00 on your clock.
office hours both at once night
Their 09:00–17:00 is 06:00–14:00 on yours.
The difference from the UK, Europe, the US and ten more
Worked out against America/New York, which is where this request looks like it came from.
Getting online
Getting online: Airalo — a data eSIM for Cape Verde, installed before you fly and working the moment you land.
Source: Ookla Speedtest Global Index · measured June 2026
Must-see
Nearby day trips
Say a few words
Cape Verdean Kriolu
- HelloOi / Bon diaoy / bon DEE-a
- PleasePur favorpoor fa-VOR
- Thank youObrigadu / Obrigadao-bri-GA-du
- Yes / NoSin / Nauseeng / now
5 more phrases
- Excuse meDiskulpadish-KOOL-pa
- How much is it?Kantu ki e?KAN-too kee eh
- The bill, pleaseKonta, pur favorKON-ta
- No stressNu stressnoo stress
- GoodbyeTe loguteh LO-goo
Portuguese is the official language and what you will see written; Kriolu is what is spoken, and it changes noticeably from island to island. Portuguese is understood everywhere.
Religion
Roman Catholic, with a Protestant minority
Church is a social anchor as much as a religious one, and the island saints’ days are the biggest events of the year. Music is not separate from it — the same voices sing in both places.
Do's and don'ts
Do
- Greet with bom dia and a handshake; Cape Verdeans are formal on first meeting
- Learn that "no stress" is not a slogan but a schedule — buses and boats leave when they leave
- Ask before photographing people, especially in the smaller villages
- Dress modestly away from the resort beaches on Sal and Boa Vista
Don't
- Do not assume Portuguese will be answered in Portuguese — Kriolu is what is spoken at home
- Do not swim where locals do not; the Atlantic here has undertow that has drowned strong swimmers
- Do not take the last aluguer of the day for granted; there may not be one
- Do not photograph inside churches during a service
Where to stay in Cape Verde
No Holistay rentals in Cape Verde yet — the platform is just opening up. Every listing here will have a video tour and the option to negotiate the nightly price directly with the host.
In the meantime, here is Cape Verde on the sites that do have the inventory — each search is already filled in:
- Booking.com hotels, guesthouses and apartments — the widest coverage almost everywhere
- Airbnb whole homes and apartments, and the better option for a week or more
How to get there
Fly into Amilcar Cabral, Sal SID
20 minfrom the airport· 16 km as the crow flies
20 min to Santa Maria, and a domestic flight to any other island.
Also worth pricing: Praia, Santiago RAI — the capital, and the better arrival for the mountainous islands.
Google Flights · Rome2Rio for the trains, buses and ferries as well as the flights
