country
    West Africa

    Cabo Verde

    Ten Atlantic islands of morna, mountains, and beaches — Africa's island nation of saudade, sun, and the world's most musical diaspora.

    Capital

    Praia

    Population

    491.2K

    Languages

    Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole (Kriolu)

    Currency

    Cape Verdean escudo (CVE)

    Timezone

    CVT (UTC−1), no daylight saving

    "Africa's Creole archipelago — where displacement became music."

    Best time to visit
    Genuinely year-round. November–June is dry with steady trade winds (peak kitesurf season Dec–Mar); August–October brings brief tropical rains and the greenest hills. February–March is Carnival in Mindelo; loggerhead turtles nest June–October on Sal and Boa Vista.
    Currency
    Cape Verdean escudo (CVE), pegged to the euro at 110.265 CVE = €1. Euros are widely accepted in tourist zones (often at a flat 100:1 — paying in CVE is slightly cheaper). ATMs on all main islands; cards accepted at hotels and larger restaurants, cash for taxis, aluguers and markets. CVE is non-convertible abroad — change leftovers before departure.
    Language
    Portuguese (official); Cape Verdean Creole / Kriolu is the universal mother tongue.
    Getting around
    Four international airports: Sal (SID, Amílcar Cabral), Praia (RAI, Nelson Mandela), Boa Vista (BVC) and São Vicente (VXE, Cesária Évora). Inter-island: domestic flights (Bestfly/TICV) and CV Interilhas ferries — the Mindelo–Porto Novo (Santo Antão) crossing is the reliable classic. On-island: aluguer shared minibuses, affordable taxis, and rental cars/quads on flat islands.

    About Cabo Verde

    Cabo Verde is an archipelago of ten volcanic islands scattered 600 km off Senegal — Portuguese-speaking, Creole-souled, and unlike anywhere else in Africa. Each island plays a different note: Sal and Boa Vista for wind, waves and resort beaches; Santiago for history and the badiu culture of the interior; São Vicente for Mindelo's music and Carnival; Santo Antão for canyon hikes; Fogo for an active volcano with vineyards in its crater. The country's superpower is culture per capita. Morna — the blues-tinged national song form immortalized by Cesária Évora — is UNESCO-listed intangible heritage; funaná, batuque and coladeira keep every festival dancing; and a diaspora larger than the home population (Boston and Brockton, Lisbon, Rotterdam, Dakar) makes "sodade," the ache of distance, the national emotion. Practicalities are friendly: visa-free entry for most Western visitors (with the mandatory EASE pre-registration), WHO-certified malaria-free status since January 2024, a euro-pegged currency, and safe, small-scale island life.

    Top experiences

    Live morna & coladeira in Mindelo
    Nightly music bars in the old town.
    Santo Antão's Ribeira do Paul
    Canyon and coastal cliff hikes.
    Pico do Fogo
    Summit the volcano and taste crater-grown wine at Chã das Caldeiras.
    Cidade Velha (UNESCO)
    The first European colonial town in the tropics.
    Santa Maria, Sal
    Kitesurf or laze on white sand.
    Mindelo Carnival (Feb/Mar)
    The "Brazilin" of the Atlantic.
    Loggerhead turtle nesting
    Sal or Boa Vista, Jun–Oct, guided.
    Baía das Gatas festival
    São Vicente's August full-moon music festival.

    Local tips

    • Complete EASE pre-registration (ease.gov.cv) before flying — from 1 July 2026, arriving without it means paying double the airport security tax.
    • "No stress" is the archipelago's motto — schedules, ferries included, honour it. Pad your connections.
    • Learn "obrigado/a" and a little Kriolu ("txeu obrigadu") — it lands warmly.
    • Inter-island ferries (CV Interilhas) suit neighbours like São Vicente–Santo Antão; otherwise fly.
    • Grogue (sugar-cane spirit) and pastel com diablo dentro are rites of passage; pace the grogue.
    • Book Fogo and Santo Antão guides locally — it channels money to villages and unlocks the real routes.

    Safety

    One of Africa's safest countries — petty theft in Praia's busier bairros and occasional bag-snatching in tourist zones are the main issues. Ocean safety deserves more respect than crime: currents and surf claim more incidents than theft. Emergency: 132 (police), 130 (ambulance), 131 (fire).

    Frequently asked

    About Cabo Verde

    Atlantic archipelago with volcanic islands, world music heritage, and year-round sunshine.

    Cities & Regions

    Praia

    city

    Mindelo

    city

    Sal

    state

    Quick Facts

    Climate

    Temperate oceanic

    Best Time to Visit

    Genuinely year-round. November–June is dry with steady trade winds (peak kitesurf season Dec–Mar); August–October brings brief tropical rains and the greenest hills. February–March is Carnival in Mindelo; loggerhead turtles nest June–October on Sal and Boa Vista.

    Travel Requirements & Info

    Visa

    Not required

    Currency

    Cape Verdean escudo (CVE)

    Time Zone

    CVT (UTC−1), no DST

    Plug Type

    Type C/F, 220V/50Hz

    Languages

    Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole (Kriolu)

    Weather

    Genuinely year-round. Nov–Jun dry with steady trade winds (peak kitesurf Dec–Mar); Aug–Oct brief tropical rains and the greenest hills; Feb–Mar is Mindelo Carnival; turtles nest Jun–Oct on Sal/Boa Vista.

    Entry Requirements

    Visa-exempt for stays ≤30 days for EU, UK, US, Canadian, ECOWAS and most Western nationals. MANDATORY for ALL air arrivals: EASE pre-registration at the official platform ease.gov.cv (ideally ≥5 days before travel) including payment of the airport security tax (TSA), 3,400 CVE ≈ €31/US$35; under-2s, transit passengers and Cabo Verdean passport holders exempt. From 1 July 2026, arriving WITHOUT pre-registration means DOUBLE TSA at the border. Passport valid 6 months. Verified 2026-07-01.

    Cabo Verde is WHO-certified MALARIA-FREE (January 2024) — no prophylaxis needed; no yellow fever certificate unless arriving from a risk country. Currency is the escudo (CVE), euro-pegged (110.265/€) and NON-CONVERTIBLE abroad — reconvert leftovers before departure; euros widely accepted in tourist zones (usually a rounded 100:1, so paying in escudos is slightly cheaper). One of Africa's safest countries — ocean currents and surf are a bigger risk than crime; swim only at flagged/known beaches. "No stress" applies to ferries too — pad your connections. Emergency 132 (police) / 130 (ambulance) / 131 (fire). Verified 2026-07-01.

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