Travel Guide > Africa > Cape Verde
Cape Verdeans are descendant of Portuguese and African lines and both cultures infuse the islands' lively but relaxed way of life. The balance between late-night parties at the bars and clubs in Mindelo, and the day time activities of hiking or diving to enjoy Cape Verde's natural beauty is what makes the archipelago such an enthralling destination.
Cape Verde consists of 10 islands and a handful of small islets.
The northern island group (Barlavento) consists of the following islands.
The southern island group (Sotavento) is made up of the remaining isalnds.
The main reason for visiting Cape Verde is to see the spectacular natural scenery:
Conditions in Cape Verde are excellent for a variety of watersports, particularly Sailing and Windsurfing. Most watersports activities are based on the island of Sal.
A Portuguese colony for nearly 500 years, the islands are home to a number of significant historic sites. These are in clearest evidence at the Cidade Velha, a site which is on the Unesco World Heritage List and located on the island of Santiago, where some 17th Century buildings remain. From here you can go up a steep hill to Fortaleza Real de São Filipe.
Cape Verde has a very pleasant climate, with warm and sunny conditions year round. It's mostly dry throughout the year as well, except for the short August to October 'rainy' season. Note that much of the islands, especially the flatter ones like Sal, can be a little windy, but that's good for watersports. Temperatures are mainly in the 25 to 30 degrees Celcius range during the day and nights are warm with 19 to 23 degrees. May to November is slightly warmer than the December to March period.
TACV Cabo Verde Airlines is the national airline of Cape Verde and is based at Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID) at the island of Sal and at Praia International Airport (RAI) near the capital Praia on Santiago Island. Banjul, Boston, Dakar, Fortaleza, Lisbon and London are served from Praia. From Sal, there are considerably more cities in Europe served with several dozens of airlines. Destinations include London, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, Paris, Amsterdam, Milan, Rome and Helsinki.
TACV Cabo Verde Airlines provides flights between the islands like Mindelo and Sal. Brava has no services though.
The best islands to rent a car are Santiago, Boa Vista and Fogo as they are a bit larger. Still, it can also be pleasant on the other smaller islands if you want to be independent. As some roads might be a bit bumpy, a 4wd is recommended, but an ordinary saloon car is possible as well. Both international as well as local agencies have rental cars.
The only public transport is by so-called aluguers which basically are minibuses where you can hop on or off wherever you like. Taxis are only good value within the main cities and towns and between airports and your place to stay.
With such an extensive system of internal flights (although a bit pricy), taking a boat is only for the enthusiasts.
Although if you want to go to Brava you will need to get a ferry, which takes about 3 hours from Fogo. STM Lines and the Moura Company are the main carriers. For detailed information about routes and schedules you can check this website.
This is version 7. Last edited at 14:30 on Jul 25, 08 by Utrecht (+2689). 7 articles link to this page.
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