Why Cape Verde for a Honeymoon
The honest pitch is sunshine plus personality. Sal averages around 350 sunny days a year and almost no rain, so a December or March trip is a safe bet in a way that the Caribbean in hurricane season is not. The water runs cooler than the Caribbean, roughly 72 to 79 degrees Fahrenheit through the year, which suits couples who want to swim and snorkel without feeling like they are in a bath.
What lifts it above a generic beach week is the culture. Morna, the slow, aching song style that Cesária Évora carried to the world from Mindelo, is played live in small bars most nights. Grogue, a sugarcane spirit distilled in old mills on Santo Antão, gets mixed into ponche with honey. The country has a strong record of stable democracy and feels relaxed to move around in. Combining a beach island with a mountain island gives you two very different honeymoons in one ten-day trip.
Best Time to Visit
November through June is the safest window. Rain is rare on every island in these months and temperatures sit in the mid-70s to low 80s Fahrenheit. December through March brings the strongest trade winds, which is wonderful for kitesurfers and less wonderful for anyone hoping for a glassy sea. Winter can also bring a dusty haze off the Sahara that softens the light and occasionally delays flights.
The short rainy season runs roughly August to October. On Sal and Boa Vista it barely registers beyond hotter, stickier days and the odd downpour. On the mountainous islands, especially Santo Antão, Santiago and Fogo, it greens the valleys beautifully but can make trails slippery and close roads with rockfall.
Two seasonal extras are worth timing for. Loggerhead turtles nest on Sal and Boa Vista from about July to October, with hatchlings later in the season. Mindelo throws Carnival in February or March, before Lent, with parades that the whole city turns out for.
Where to Go
Sal is the easy start. Santa Maria, on its southern tip, has the island's best beach, a fishing pier where the day's tuna comes ashore and most of the hotels. Our Sal guide covers where to stay and how to fill the days beyond the sand, from floating in the salt crater at Pedra de Lume to wading with young lemon sharks.
Santo Antão is the counterweight. Reached by ferry from Mindelo, it has the dramatic ridges, terraced valleys and cliff paths that make the country famous among hikers. Our Santo Antão guide explains which walks suit couples and where to sleep in the Paul valley or Ponta do Sol.
Other islands to consider: Boa Vista for emptier dunes and big all-inclusive resorts, São Vicente for a night or two of music in Mindelo, Fogo for a climb up a 9,281-foot volcano and a glass of crater wine. Santiago is worth it for Cidade Velha, a UNESCO-listed old town a short drive from Praia.
Sample 10-Day Itinerary
Days 1 to 4: Fly into Sal and settle in Santa Maria. Give yourselves a slow first day on the beach, then spend one morning on an island tour that takes in the Pedra de Lume salt crater and the Buracona rock pool, timing Buracona for around midday when the sun lights the blue eye cave. Keep one afternoon for a catamaran trip or a surf lesson.
Days 5 and 6: Take a short domestic flight to São Vicente and spend two nights in Mindelo. Eat seafood near the harbor, walk the colorful old center and find live morna after dinner.
Days 7 to 9: Ferry across to Santo Antão in about an hour. Base yourselves in Ponta do Sol or the Paul valley and hike two of the classic routes, such as the descent from the Cova crater into Paul and the cliff path to Fontainhas. Visit a grogue mill on the way.
Day 10: Ferry back to Mindelo and fly to Sal or Praia for your flight home, ideally with a spare night in hand.
Budget and Costs
Cape Verde is cheaper than most Caribbean islands but not a bargain, because nearly everything is imported. These figures are rough guides for two people and will move with season and exchange rates.
On Sal and Boa Vista, comfortable beachfront hotels and all-inclusives often run somewhere around $150 to $400 a night, with a handful of higher-end resorts above that. Guesthouses on Santo Antão and in Mindelo are far cheaper, often under $100 a night with breakfast. Family-run places tend to be the most charming.
A good dinner for two with local wine or grogue cocktails might cost $40 to $80 in Santa Maria and less on the other islands. Inter-island flights are the big variable; booking them together with your international ticket on Cabo Verde Airlines can help, as can booking early. Ferries are inexpensive. Budget for taxis or a private driver on Santo Antão, where hiking point to point means arranging pickups at the trail end.
Getting There and Around
From the US, the simplest option when it is running is the Cabo Verde Airlines nonstop from Providence, which serves Praia and Sal. Schedules have been thin and the route has stopped before, so check the current timetable before you plan around it. The reliable alternative is TAP Air Portugal through Lisbon, which also lets you add a couple of nights in Portugal. Other European carriers fly into Sal and Boa Vista, mostly on holiday routes.
There are international airports on Sal, Boa Vista, Santiago and São Vicente. Cabo Verde Airlines runs inter-island hops. Fast ferries link several islands, including the busy one hour crossing between Mindelo and Porto Novo on Santo Antão. Santo Antão has no working airport, so the ferry is the only way in.
On the islands, taxis are not metered, so agree a price first. Shared minivans called aluguers cover rural routes cheaply. Renting a car is possible, though roads on the mountain islands are steep, narrow and sometimes cobbled.
Culture and Etiquette
Cape Verdeans are warm, unhurried and quietly proud of how their country has turned out. A greeting goes a long way: bom dia in the morning, boa tarde after lunch and boa noite in the evening. Learning to say obrigado or obrigada will be noticed.
The pace is slower than Americans expect. Service in restaurants can be leisurely and ferries leave when they leave. The local phrase no stress is half joke and half philosophy. It helps to adopt it early.
Beachwear belongs at the beach. In town and in villages on Santo Antão, cover up a little more and ask before photographing people, especially older residents. Music is central to life. If you find a bar with a live band, staying for a second set is the respectful move. Tipping is appreciated rather than expected; rounding up or leaving around ten percent for good service is plenty.
Quick tips
- Carry cash in escudos or euros for Santo Antão and small guesthouses, where cards are patchy.
- Inter-island flights and ferries run late or get cancelled; leave a buffer night before your flight home.
- Bring a light layer for evenings, since the trade winds keep Sal and Boa Vista breezy most of the year.
