Miscellaneous information - Cape Verde

This section contains information on:

Travel getting to Cape Verde
Getting around once you're there
Passport and visa requirements
Geography and time zone
Weather
Electricity

Getting there

Cabo Verde Airlines (TACV) is the national airline. They fly direct from several European locations including Amsterdam, Lisbon, Madrid, Milan, Munich and Paris with interconnecting flights from the UK. They also operate services from Boston Logan, Dakar, Fortaleza and Las Palmas.

In addition to TACV, Air Portugal (TAP) operates daily flights from London Heathrow and London Gatwick via Lisbon to Cape Verde. Twice a week direct flights from Gatwick, Birmingham and Manchester (Thomsonfly) to Sal/Boa Vista are starting in summer 2008.

Flight time is around five and a half hours for these direct flights with Thomsonfly.

For flights that connect via Lisbon, Amsterdam, Madrid etc, the flight time will be longer.

At least for the moment travellers from ROI will need to come into UK or Lisbon and pick up a connecting flight to Sal or Boa Vista.

As always, the best thing is to check via the internet – searching for, for example, “Flights Cape Verde” brings up many possibilities as do many of the flight booking web sites such as Opodo.

International Airports:

Amílcar Cabral (SID) on Sal, is about one mile (2 km) south of Espargos. (Flights from Heathrow, Gatwick, Lisbon, etc.) Taxis run to the city centre and to the resort areas. (Check all taxi journey prices before you travel or make sure the meter is going to be used!) The airport has limited facilities but they include a few bank branches, duty-free shopping, refreshments, left luggage and car rental.

Praia International Airport, Santiago (RAI) - has flights from London Gatwick, Amsterdam, Lisbon and Paris.

New international airports are being constructed on the islands of Boa Vista and St Vincent – for completion in 2008.

Departure Tax: None.

Getting there by sea

Probably not recommended due to infrequency and cost but check sailings to the primary ports of Mindelo and Praia… with São Vicente taking both cargo and passenger ships.

Getting around

For inter-island travel your main choices are plane or ferry. Some of the ferries are in reality cargo ships that may take passengers. Services are sporadic and you may have to squeeze past the odd goat or two! Daily ferry services operate between Mindelo, São Vincente and Santo Antao.

There are inter-island flight services operated by TACV to all the islands except for San Antao and Brava. Or use the 19-seater air taxi service (from Cape Verde Express) to those islands that have air strips.

Air Passes

If you book your international flights to the islands via TACV (or one of their agents), they offer the chance to buy an Air Pass – valid for 21 days and offering discounted inter-island travel. At least two flights must be booked to qualify. These tickets have to be booked at the time of booking your trans-Atlantic flights although it’s possible also to get other deals once you are in Cape Verde.

Getting Around by Road

There are around 1,500 miles (2,500 km) of roads across all the islands. About 500 miles (840 km) of these are cobbled which are slowly being converted to asphalt and extra care at night is advisable – in some areas the road improvement programmes leave holes that you may not notice due to the low levels - or absence - of street lighting.

Some of the roads outside of towns can be quite bumpy with not too many directions signs… so a map would be a good idea before you set off, too. Especially in some of the mountainous areas, the roads can be quite narrow and winding.

The locals drive on the right and you must always wear a seatbelt. In addition, don’t allow children under twelve to sit in the front of the car.

Book your car hire - on the main islands – in advance. You’ll need an International Driving Permit and proof of insurance which must be displayed prominently on the car windscreen. You can hire drivers to show you around if you’d prefer or hire a taxi or use the local bus service.

A further alternative is to use an “Aluguer” – normally a pickup truck or minibus. You’ll see them driving through town picking up passengers.

Hail them in the street… and just shout when you want to get off! They are a great way to meet the locals. Note that Aluguers often don’t operate in the evening/night time.

Passports and Visas

Passports (valid for at least six months), visas and a return ticket are required for British and other EU passport holders, Canadian, US and Australian citizens who are visiting the islands.

Single entry visas (valid for six months from issue for visits of up to ninety days) cost approx 45€ and multiple entry (business visas only – valid for one year) are approx 80€.

You can obtain the visa on arrival at the airport in Cape Verde but there will no doubt be a queue. Having said that, you may find this the easier option as there are very few consulates around the world and the UK or ROI has no embassy or consulate. You will be expected to pay cash when you buy your visa at the airport.

In the UK there is just an "honourary consul" who holds the position in a voluntary capacity and is unable to offer a full time service. He is based in Liverpool and the contact details are 18-20 Stanley Street, Liverpool L1 6AF.
Tel No: 0151 236 0206

Electricity

220 volts AC, 50Hz. Standard, continental-style 2 pin plugs are in use.

Geography

The Cape Verde Islands sit in the Atlantic Ocean, 450 miles west-northwest of Senegal. The 10 islands and five islets are volcanic although only the island of Fogo has an active volcano.

The islands are mountainous in the interior with sandy beaches. They vary from lush and verdant to rocky and volcanic. Bananas, maize, sugar cane and coffee are the islands main crops.

The seas around the islands offer some spectacular diving and Cape Verde is set to make tourism its main industry.

Cape verde’s culture is a mix of African and European and there is still a strong Portuguese influence in the architecture, the customs and the cuisine, which blends perfectly with its African influences.

Time is GMT minus one hour.

Weather

Cape Verde experiences the best of all worlds, weather-wise. If you visit other locations on the same line of latitude, you’ll find it blisteringly hot in summer time… but not here.

Surrounded by miles of open sea and almost permanently bathed in the northeast trade winds, Cape Verde’s temperature range is quite moderate (about 10 °C) – it’s neither too hot nor too cold – at any time of year.

Cape Verde has its summer high temperatures cooled by the trade winds and, beginning in January/February, the warm easterly wind blowing from Africa keeps the temperatures higher than would otherwise be the case.