SherryStay Destination Guide
Cape Verde
A ten-island Atlantic archipelago off West Africa — Saharan dunes, kitesurf lagoons and morna music, all in year-round warmth.
About Cape Verde
Cape Verde floats 600 kilometres off West Africa, a scatter of ten volcanic islands where the Sahara's wind meets the Atlantic's blue. There is no single Cape Verde: Sal and Boa Vista are flat, dune-swept and built for the beach, their turquoise shallows among the best kitesurfing water on earth; Santo Antão rises into green ribbon valleys made for hiking; and São Vicente's port town, Mindelo, is the soul of it all — the birthplace of morna, the aching, bluesy music Cesária Évora carried to the world. This is a Creole nation, Portuguese and African at once, unhurried in a way it calls "no stress, no pressure." Days drift between long empty beaches, plates of cachupa stew and grilled fresh tuna, and evenings that end with live music and a glass of grogue, the local sugarcane rum. Come for the year-round warmth and the world-class wind and water; stay for a gentleness that is harder to find every year. Few island escapes feel this genuinely far from everything.
Sal and Boa Vista are the beach-resort islands; Santiago and São Vicente are the cultural ones. Don't expect lush green — these are dry, wind-swept islands, and that's exactly why the beaches and kitesurfing are world-class. Fly in via Sal (SID) and island-hop from there.
Best For
Where to Stay
Santa Maria (Sal)
Resort strip, white sand, kitesurf schools
Sal Rei (Boa Vista)
Dunes, turtle beaches, quieter resorts
Mindelo (São Vicente)
Music, nightlife, colonial harbour town
Praia (Santiago)
Capital, markets, African-Creole culture
Money-Saving Tips
- 1Eat cachupa and grilled fish at local "restaurantes" off the resort strip for a fraction of hotel prices.
- 2All-inclusive board pays off on Sal and Boa Vista — dining options outside the resorts are limited.
Getting Around
- 1Inter-island hops run on TACV / Bestfly turboprops; book ahead as flights are small and fill up.
- 2On Sal and Boa Vista an aluguer (shared minibus) or a short taxi covers the whole island cheaply.
Most Common Mistake
Booking Sal expecting tropical greenery — it's a flat desert island. Come for the beach, wind and water, not rainforest.
5–7 nights
- • Boa Vista (20 min flight)
- • São Vicente / Mindelo (40 min flight)
- • Santiago (45 min flight)
Cape Verde at a glance
- Sherry suggests 5–7 nights in Cape Verde.
- Cape Verde is a ten-island archipelago, and inter-island hops run on TACV and Bestfly turboprops. Book ahead, because the flights are small and fill up.
- On Sal and Boa Vista an aluguer, the shared minibus, or a short taxi covers the whole island cheaply.
Common questions
- What is the common mistake booking Cape Verde?
- Booking Sal expecting tropical greenery. It is a flat desert island, so come for the beach, the wind and the water.
- Is all-inclusive worth it in Cape Verde?
- On Sal and Boa Vista it pays off, because dining options outside the resorts are limited.
- How do you eat cheaply in Cape Verde?
- Cachupa and grilled fish at local restaurantes off the resort strip, for a fraction of hotel prices.
- How do you move between the Cape Verde islands?
- TACV and Bestfly turboprops. The aircraft are small and fill up, so book the hops ahead of the trip.
Where to stay in Cape Verde
Looking for hotels in Cape Verde? It helps to decide on an area first — our guide to where to stay in Cape Verde sets out which neighbourhoods suit which kind of trip.
Around Vista the options include Casa Vista Para O Mar, Occidental Boa Vista Beach, Robinson Boa Vista Hotel and Exclusive Villa Praia Chaves Boa Vista 24a.
Around Beach the options include Occidental Boa Vista Beach, Beach House Deluxe and The flat Close To Estoril Beach.
Around Praia the options include Vilas Praia de Chaves, VOI Praia de Chaves Resort and VOI Praia de Chaves Resort.
Elsewhere in the city you will also find Iberostar Club Boa Vista Hotel, Parque das Dunas Village, Hotel Riu Palace Boavista - All Inclusive, Great House to Relax, Valenzi Villa, Casa Velha Resort, Oásis White Hotel, Ca Madeira, Estoril beach residence, TERRAMAR, Apart-Hotel Ca Elsa, Cágreta, Ca Madeira and BookingBoavista - Coral.