Africa
Ten volcanic islands off West Africa: resort beaches on Sal and Boa Vista, walking on Santo Antão, live music in Mindelo and direct flights from the UK.
The FCDO has no advisory against travel to Cabo Verde.
Source: UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office — the definitive source. Check it close to your travel dates.
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Ten volcanic islands off West Africa: resort beaches on Sal and Boa Vista, walking on Santo Antão, live music in Mindelo and direct flights from the UK.
Cabo Verde is a chain of volcanic islands in the Atlantic off West Africa, a little over six hours' flying from London and only an hour behind UK time. Most British visitors come for the beaches of Sal and Boa Vista, but the islands differ more than the brochures suggest: green mountain valleys on Santo Antão, a live volcano on Fogo, a music city in Mindelo and the oldest colonial town in the tropics on Santiago. We think it rewards a second island, even on a first trip.
flat, dry and sandy, and the islands with direct UK flights and the big resorts. Sal has the long beach at Santa Maria and the trade winds that make it a kitesurfing base; Boa Vista is quieter, with dunes inland, the small town of Sal Rei and loggerhead turtles nesting on its beaches in summer.
the largest island and home to the capital, Praia. A short drive west, Cidade Velha, the old Ribeira Grande, was the first European colonial town in the tropics and is a UNESCO World Heritage site; its fort, ruined cathedral and pillory tell the story of the Atlantic slave trade plainly.
Mindelo is the cultural capital, a harbour town of colonial-era streets, bars and live music, and the base for crossing to Santo Antão.
the walking island. Steep valleys, terraced fields and cobbled paths run down to villages such as Ponta do Sol. There is no working airport, so it is reached by ferry from Mindelo.
a single volcano rising out of the sea, its wide crater and the summit climb draw fit walkers. The FCDO notes a risk of altitude sickness on Fogo and occasional tremors on Fogo and Brava.
the quiet ones. Maio has long empty beaches close to Santiago; Brava, the smallest inhabited island, is green and reached by boat via Fogo; São Nicolau is mountainous and little visited, with a ferry link from São Vicente.
The single reason many travellers come back — the food culture worth reshaping a trip around, and the dishes to seek out region by region.
Creole island cooking: slow-simmered cachupa, grilled tuna off the boat, and sugarcane grogue to finish.
Cabo Verde's cooking is Creole and unhurried, and it all comes back to one pot: cachupa, a slow stew of hominy corn and beans simmered for hours with fish, or with pork, sausage and morcela blood sausage when there's more to go round. Whatever's left is refried next morning as cachupa guisada, arguably the better breakfast — a small ritual of island thrift.
Around the cachupa: superb fish straight off the boat — tuna and wahoo grilled simply — plus lobster, garlicky lapas limpets, and the deep-fried pastel stuffed with spicy tuna. To drink there's ice-cold Strela lager, volcanic Fogo wine, and above all grogue, the fierce sugarcane spirit of the Santo Antão valleys, sweetened into ponche. Eaten with a big helping of morabeza — that untranslatable Cabo Verdean warmth.
Sal
Sal's long beach at Santa Maria, and the trade winds that make the island a kitesurfing base. Sal has direct flights from the UK.
Boa Vista
The quieter resort island, with dunes inland, the small town of Sal Rei and loggerhead turtles nesting on its beaches in summer.
Santiago
The old Ribeira Grande, the first European colonial town in the tropics and a UNESCO World Heritage site; its fort, ruined cathedral and pillory tell the story of the Atlantic slave trade plainly.
São Vicente
The cultural capital: a harbour town of colonial-era streets, bars and live music. Morna is on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage.
Santo Antão
Steep valleys, terraced fields and cobbled paths down to villages such as Ponta do Sol. No working airport: the ferry runs from Mindelo.
Fogo
A single volcano rising out of the sea, with a wide crater and a summit climb for fit walkers. The FCDO notes a risk of altitude sickness on Fogo.
TUI flies to Sal and Boa Vista, and says the flight from its London airports takes just over six hours. easyJet flies direct to Sal from Bristol, London Gatwick and Manchester. Search flights to Sal or flights to Boa Vista. For Santiago and the northern islands, we fly to Sal and connect.
Between islands, the state airline CVsky began domestic flights from Praia in March 2026 and is adding routes. CV Interilhas runs the ferries: São Vicente to Santo Antão takes about an hour, and boats link Santiago with Fogo and Brava and São Vicente with São Nicolau. Routes and timetables change, and the FCDO warns that sea crossings, especially to Fogo and Brava, are often disrupted, so we would leave slack in any island-hopping plan. On the islands, use authorised taxis (blue and yellow on Sal and Boa Vista) or the shared minibuses called aluguers. A UK photocard licence is valid for up to six months if you hire a car.
Best Jan–Mar · Shoulder Jul–Aug, Oct
Units
Forecast · Met Office · updated 13 Nov · Powered by Met Office data
Typical · climate data
November – June (driest: February – June)
Units
What to expect — Daytime highs average about 27°C with overnight lows near 20°C, and it stays largely dry.
What's best — Dry season. Mar, Apr and May are among the best months here (dry season, sunny).
What to expect — Daytime highs average about 29°C with overnight lows near 23°C, and it stays largely dry.
What's best — Dry season, then Wet season. Jun is among the best months here (dry season, sunny).
What to expect — Daytime highs average about 29°C with overnight lows near 24°C.
What's best — Wet season, then Dry season. Nov is among the best months here (dry season, sunny).
What to expect — Daytime highs average about 27°C with overnight lows near 21°C, and it stays largely dry.
What's best — Shoulder season, then Dry season. Dec, Jan and Feb are among the best months here (shoulder season, sunny).
It is warm all year. Our climate data for Praia shows average highs of about 26°C from December to March, rising to about 29–30°C from August to November, so the heat is never extreme. The islands are very dry from February to June, with almost no rain recorded. The short rainy season falls in late summer: Praia averages about 70 mm in August and 139 mm in September, and the FCDO puts the rainy season at mid-August to mid-October, when torrential downpours on some islands can cause flooding and landslides. Between December and February the dusty bruma seca haze can blow in from the Sahara and, when it is thick, disrupt flights, especially on Boa Vista. For most people November to June is the best window.
| Area | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Praia | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 29 | 27 |
Colours as on the month tiles above. Bold: hot, 32°C or more (go early or late in the day). Outlined: very hot, 35°C or more. Wet: 150 mm of rain or more.
To read what you're looking at — the empires and eras that shaped Cabo Verde's food, art and streets.
Morna, the slow, sorrowful song form of the islands, was added to UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2019, and Cesária Évora carried it to the world. Mindelo is the place to hear it live, along with the faster coladeira and funaná. The national dish is cachupa, a slow stew of hominy corn and beans, fried up the next morning as cachupa guisada; fresh tuna and grogue, the sugarcane spirit from Santo Antão, are the other constants.
British citizens can visit for up to 30 days without a visa, with a passport valid for at least six months after arrival. At least five days before arriving, you must pre-register and pay the airport security fee (TSA) on the official EASE platform, ease.gov.cv; the consular portal puts the fee at 3,400 escudos (€30.83) for international arrivals. From 1 July 2026, anyone who has not done this pays double at the border. Package holidays often include it, so check with your operator. Children aged one and under are exempt. The currency is the Cabo Verde escudo, pegged to the euro at 110.265 escudos (the Banco de Cabo Verde rate); euros are widely understood, but carry some escudos for taxis and markets.
The FCDO travel advice has no advise-against areas for Cabo Verde. Crime is generally low but includes pickpocketing and bag snatching, mainly in Praia and on Sal and Boa Vista. Currents are strong, so swim only on lifeguarded beaches and follow the flags. Healthcare is basic and the GHIC is not accepted, so travel insurance that covers medical evacuation is essential.
Read the FCDO's travel advice for Cabo Verde travel guide before booking and again before you go; it changes, and it is the official word on safety and entry.
We write this guide from official sources only: GOV.UK, national immigration portals, tourism boards, airports and operators, central banks and met services. Rules change, so check the linked pages before you book.
The practical back-matter — safety, drones and the essentials, in one place.
Official UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office guidance is the definitive source — check it close to your travel dates.
National parks, protected sites and religious/heritage venues often have their own rules and permits — always check the specific site before you fly.