Hi Paulina, thank you for such a cool blogpost. I was wondering if you've had any experience with ferries? We've read online that it could be a total nightmare. In particular we'd like to get to Sao Nicolau form Sal but it's very difficult to find information/booking online.
Best regards

Hey! Many thanks for writing in! I just took the ferries from Sao Vicente to Santo Antao and the one from Fogo to Brava. If you want to get from Sal to Sao Nicolau I highly recommend getting to Sao Vicente by plane and take the ferry from there. The schedules are much more reliable...all the rest is, like you say, a nightmare. Pleas elet me know how it went :)

Hi Paulina,
I just want to say this is a very detailed blog. I have saved this page and I'd read it when I get off work, I just scrolled through it and it was so informative. I should be travelling in September/October as a solo traveler. This post would help me in planning my travel, thank you so much.

Hello, thanks for all the info. We heard about an annual music festival in Praia (Gamboa?) in May but can't find any more info about it other than that it's usually around the 17th/18th. Do you know if it's going to be on this year?

Thanks

Hello, you are most welcome! I am sorry, but I have no idea :( Reach out to the guy behind Praiatur (http://www.praiatur.cv/) , they are experts on Santiago island. Feel free to tell him that you come from my side, he's a friedd <3 Enjoy!

Thank you, I have contacted him. We're planning to spend 4-5 days on Santo Antao for hikes and sight-seeing. Do you recommend renting a car in Santo Antao? I'm aware some roads would be quite scary for a tourist to drive! Or is it easy to use Aluguer to get to the smaller villages? We are also wondering whether it's best to base ourselves in one location (e.g. Ribeira Grande or Ponto do Sol), or change location every night and stay in hotels in some of smaller villages. Thank you

Hello! Yes sure you can rent a car in Santo Antao, driving is safe! Here I recommend the car rental company: https://paulinaontheroad.co... We discovered the island with a driver / a different aluguer every day and that was great too. I preferred to stay in one location only (Ribeira Grande) in order to have a more laid-back experience. However if you are motivated and really want to get an insight, staying in smaller villages is great. I also recommend Edson the guide, he can organize hikes to smaller/remote villages while you're still based in Ribeira Grande or Ponta do Sol :)

Hello pualinea avery informative artificial Im thinking of a 3 month holiday In Cape verde next winter from the UK December to February spending 2 weeks in each location What islands do you recommend to be reached by ferry and what sequence to do them in many thanks

Hey John, many thanks for writing in. Wow, 3 months!! That's a lot. You can visit Sal or Boa Vista in order to get an idea of beach holidays, however I wouldn t spend too much time here. From here to Sao Vicente to Santo Antao (I could stay a month here) then to Praia and explore Santiago, head to Fogo and Brava and last Maio to relax on the beach (the best beach island on Cape Verde). You can find all the info on the respective islands on the blog here. Please let me know how it went. Enjoy, CV is wonderful!

Thanks Paulina is it easy to catch ferries between the islands or best to catch local internal flights if so what are the airlines
Regards john

Hey! The ferry between Santo Antao and Sao Vicente is very good. Brava- Fogo is more irregular and I recommend going via one of the recommended agencies in the posts (https://paulinaontheroad.co... -
Sal- other islands: airline
Praia -Maio: Binter airline
Praia - Fogo: Binter airline
Praia - Sao Vicente: Binter airline

I hope that helped :) Let me know :)

Hi, how easy is it to get from island to island and how long would you recommend in most islands? I would love about a week of beach relaxing and maybe another week of some hiking and maybe a bit of city? What is the best middle island easy enough to reach those things without wasting too much time travelling?

Hey! Many thanks for your message. My absolute favorite for beaches in Cape Verde is Maio. So there are 2 options:
1) Beaches in Maio + hiking in Santiago with city vibes in Praia
2) Beaches in Sao Vicente + city vibes in Mindelo and hiking in Santo Antao

All of them are easy to reach. Please let me know how it went.

Hi there Paulina, Cornelia from South Africa. I have read your comments and reviews on islands and resorts in Cape Verde. I’m investigating options for a family beach week in Cape Verde. We will have a 6 month baby with us. Water supply will be very important. Where would you recommend?

Dear Cornelia, many thanks for your comment. I would suggest rather stay on the safe side and visit then Boa Vista or Sal. However the most quiet, authentic island for beach holidays is definitely Maio. I stayed at Big Game and it was great. Anyway, you can get bottled water everywhere. Enjoy a lot!

Hi Paulina! Thank you for a great blog! It has helped me a lot on my planning for a short backpack trip in late october. I'll hope the sky will stay clear when I arrive i Santo Antao. I went to Fogo and Brava 1 week i 2013 and had a wonderful experience. I arrived in Sao Filipe from Praia by air and stayed there one night. Then took aleguer to Monte Largo. From there i walket all the way up to the crater and stayed 2 nights at Josè(Pensao Josè Dose). It was like going back in time. Sleeping in a stone house, rainwater in a barrel for cleaning and the clearest milky way I have ever seen at night. Off the grid! :) 5 in the morning his cousin and I hiked up to the top of the vulcano. We slided down the slopes over the same spot that erupted some years later. The last morning in the caldeira I started early and hiked down the wally to Mosteiros. No tourist. Only lokals, coffee bushes, suculents and banana plantations, So green and moist and a gorgeous view. I took the aleguer back to Sao Filipe and then the speedboat to Brava. Sintra was a wonderful and peaceful colonial town. very autentic. I stayed at a pousada one night and walked a trail to Faià do Àgua and then the road back. Beautiful green landscape and...again almost no tourists. Cape Verde holds so much more than the desert islands Sal and Boa Vista. Thank you again for your blog. Geir, Norway

Thank you so much for your kind comment. Oh you have seen quite a few islands! Which one was your favorite? You are absolutely right, there is so much more on CV than only Sal and Boa Vista. And once you visit, you'll always wanna go back :) Have you been in Maio?

Hi Paulina, we have found your blog and would like to ask you some questions. We love to hike and are in particular interested in visiting Santo Antao, Fogo and Brava. Nevertheless our travel book/guide says that the best season to go hiking is August to December or January - but at the same time it says that in January and February temperatures in Santo Antao (Paul Ribeiras) can drop down to 10 degrees only during the day, which is very cold and it doesn't seem cold on your pictures though. So we would like to know when you were hiking there and which month you recommend to have good hiking whether (around 20-25 degrees) in Cap Verde. Thank you very much in advance! All the best, Cornelia

Dear Cornelia, thank you so much for your kind comment and for reaching out. Oh lucky you that you're planning to visit Santo Antao, it is one of the most beautiful places I've seen so far (I'll visit Fogo and Brava in September and hope to be able to give more detailed advice than the one mentioned in the post). I traveled to Santo Antao in January and it was nicely warm (~25 degrees). The good thing about traveling in December - February is that the rain season is already over. (On top it will allow you to fuel up on sunshine if you're based in Europe and you want to escape grey winter days) During our visit we were told that rain season lasted that year until October/November and that it was particularly intense. Several hiking trails had been damaged. So, to wrap it up, I would recommend to visit late November - February (maybe include carnival in Mindelo? https://www.paulinaontheroa... and https://www.paulinaontheroa..., as temperatures are perfect for hiking, no rain, and welcome escape form European winter. I am looking forward to hear more about your travel plans :)

Oh wow, it looks stunning!! You very rarely (if ever??) read blog posts on this part of the world, so thank you for sharing!

Thank you so much Rebecca for your kind comment. Indeed Cape Verde is still not very known but it is such a gem! I would love t go back