Travelling Tips

Climate:

Those who visit the Cape Verde Islands will experience an ideal climate throughout the entire year. 350 Days of sun and temperatures almost constantly ranging between 20° and 30° C accompanied by a pleasant sea breeze make the Cape Verde Islands to one of the vacation destinations that make all travellers excited who are searching for places where summer is a year-round experience.

As opposed to the Canaries, where the climate is very inconsistent during the winter months, the sun shines daily on the Cape Verde Islands, even from October to July during the "Season of wind". The Atlantic also tends to feature water temperatures and 22° and 27 ° C.

Travel tip: visitors should bring light clothing, except for Santo Antão, where at a height of over 1'500 m, nights can be a bit on the cool side. Otherwise, sun cream and head protection should not be forgot because the constantly blowing Harmattan winds can easily fool visitors into believing the UV rays are less powerful than they are.

Eating & Drinking:

The Cape Verdean cuisine is based on simple, good traditional dishes that are prepared with the few materials and basic foods available on the islands. The Cape Verde cuisine is basically a less rich cuisine with its roots in both European and African dishes. Especially cherished are the stew dishes which most often feature corn, beans, beats, manioc and potatoes. Fish and meat dishes are offered in all preparatory variations in good restaurants on Sal, Santiago, Fogo and São Vicente.

National dishes are the "cachupa" – a thick stew made of corn, beans, green bananas, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and tomatoes, refined with garlic, bay leafs and onions.

For those who enjoy low-priced alcoholic pleasures, the Santo Antão "Grogue" made of sugar cane is a must.

Travel Tip: for the price of ECV 800 (app. € 8.00), a substantial lunch or dinner can be purchased in simple but clean family-oriented restaurants (with the exception of Sal). Should your budget be small, imported fish and drinks should be avoided.

Hotels & Recidentials:

There is still no real hotel infrastructure on the Cape Verde Islands. There are huge differences between Sal and Boavista, where vacation villages, clubs and club hotels have been established in recent years.

On the neighbouring islands, the hotel standards are rather humble. Good 3-4-5 star hotels are, with the exception of Sal and Boavista, only located on Santiago, São Vicente and Santo Antão in the form of the new SANTANTAO ART RESORT. Otherwise, the offers of a "recidentials" (residentials) are similar to those of small pensions in southern Europe.

Travel tip: overnights with breakfast in simple but usually clean "recidentials" cost per double room/stay over: ECV 2.500 (ca € 23,00). In good 4 star hotels, a double room incl. breakfast costs ECV 7000 – 7500 ( ca € 64,00 – 68,00)
Lunch and Dinner (dish served on a plate + dessert + drinks): ECV 1.600 – 2.200 (ca € 15,00- 20,00)