Cape Verde 7 Day Itinerary
7-Day Itinerary for Exploring Cape Verde
Cape Verde sits 570 kilometres off the West African coast in the Atlantic, and the islands feel like nothing else in the world: Saharan desert and volcanic peaks within sight of white-sand beaches, with a Portuguese-Creole culture and a music tradition (morna) that UNESCO inscribed on its heritage list in 2019. Seven days is enough to visit two or three islands properly, which is more satisfying than rushing across five.
Visa Requirements
Most nationalities do not require a visa to enter Cape Verde for stays up to 30 days. Confirm with your local embassy or the Cape Verde consulate website before travelling. The official currency is the Cape Verdean Escudo (CVE), pegged to the Euro; euros are accepted in many tourist-facing places on Sal and Boa Vista, but escudos get better rates in local markets. Portuguese is the official language; Cape Verdean Creole (Kriolu) is what people actually speak.
Inter-Island Transport
Cabo Verde Airlines (formerly TACV) operates all domestic routes using ATR 72 turboprop aircraft. Most inter-island hops take under an hour; the Sal to Boa Vista run is under 30 minutes. One-way fares average 50 to 80 euros. Book well in advance during peak season (November to March) as seats sell out and schedules change without much warning. Ferries between some islands exist but are slow and can be rough. Inter-island air is the right choice for a 7-day trip.
Day 1: Arrival on Sal Island
Most international flights land at Amilcar Cabral International Airport on Sal. The airport is 15 minutes from Santa Maria, the main tourist town.
Santa Maria has an 8-kilometre beach of calm turquoise water considered one of the finest in the Atlantic. The old town around Praça Marcelo Leitão has low-rise buildings, fishing boats pulled up on the waterfront, and bars where morna musicians play in the early evening. This is not a manufactured atmosphere: the same fishermen who sell fresh tuna at the morning market are in the square at night. Walk the pier at sunset and eat at one of the seafood restaurants along the waterfront: grilled wahoo or barracuda with catchupa (the national stew of corn, beans and meat or fish) is the standard first-night meal and costs around 800 to 1,200 CVE.
Accommodation: Santa Maria has everything from large resort complexes to small guesthouses. The centre of the old town is more interesting than the hotel strip north of the beach.
Day 2: Sal Island Activities
Sal is the kite and wind sports capital of Cape Verde. Kite Beach at Ponta Preta and the waters off Santa Maria are consistently among the best kitesurfing conditions in the world, with reliable trade winds from November through June. Five beach centres offer lessons and equipment hire.
For non-surfers, Murdeira Bay on the northwest coast is the best snorkelling spot: calm, clear water with parrotfish, rays and turtles, and very little tourist traffic compared to the beach in Santa Maria. A taxi or rental car gets you there in 20 minutes.
Pedra de Lume, on the east coast, is a crater salt lake where the saltwater is so dense you float without effort. It has been commercially harvested since the colonial period; the old industrial infrastructure around the lake is part of what makes it interesting.
Day 3: Fly to Boa Vista
Morning flight to Boa Vista (under 30 minutes). Boa Vista is the flattest and most desert-like of the inhabited islands, with Saharan sand dunes that extend to the coast and the rusted hull of the Cabo Santa Maria shipwreck half-buried at the edge of the sea near Sal Rei.
The Viana Desert, a white-sand dune system in the interior of the island, is the place most visitors do not get to on their own. A 4WD tour from Sal Rei takes about 3 hours and covers the dunes, the shipwreck, and the lagoon at Curral Velho, where flamingos feed in the shallows. Between March and May, humpback whales pass close to Boa Vista’s shores; a whale-watching boat from Sal Rei is a half-day trip.
Check into accommodation in Sal Rei, the island’s main town, which is more authentic and considerably cheaper than the large resort hotels on the north beach.
Day 4: Boa Vista at Pace
The beach at Chaves, north of Sal Rei, is one of the longest and least developed beaches in Cape Verde, with no vendors, no infrastructure and consistent surf. Walk as far along it as you want. The beach at Santa Monica on the south coast is even more remote and requires a 4WD.
Afternoon: Rabil village, the oldest settlement on the island, has a modest but genuine historic centre with a Portuguese colonial church and a small pottery tradition. Camel treks through the dunes at sunset are available from several operators in Sal Rei and are unhurried and reasonably priced.
Day 5: Fly to Santiago Island
Morning flight to Santiago (Santiago’s Praia airport, about 40 minutes). Santiago is the largest island and the seat of the capital, Praia, but the most historically significant site is Ribeira Grande de Santiago (also called Cidade Velha), a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the southwest coast.
Ribeira Grande was the first European colonial city in the tropics, founded in the 1460s. The cobbled streets, the Portuguese fort above the valley, and the cathedral ruins constitute the most layered history in Cape Verde. The Pillory (Pelourinho) in the main square is one of the oldest Portuguese colonial monuments in the tropics. It takes about two hours to walk through properly and is best visited mid-morning before the heat.
Praia itself has a decent restaurant scene in the Plateau district (the old colonial centre on the hilltop). The fish market near the waterfront is busy in the morning and worth a look.
Day 6: Santiago Interior
Rent a car in Praia and drive north into the island’s mountainous interior. The Serra Malagueta natural park sits at around 1,000 metres elevation, with a microclimate dramatically different from the coast: green valleys, terraced farming and cool air. The contrast with the desert beaches below is striking.
Assomada is the market town of the interior, with a daily market that draws people from across the island. The agricultural market sells local cheeses, fruit and dried goods; it is a working market rather than a tourist attraction.
Return to Praia for the evening. Dinner in the Plateau district at one of the restaurants serving cachupa rica, the richer version of the national stew, which is worth trying before you leave.
Day 7: Return
Spend the morning in Praia or take the ferry or flight to whichever island your departure is from (most international flights leave from Sal or Santiago). Allow extra time: inter-island connections occasionally run late. Souvenir shopping: grogue (Cape Verdean sugarcane rum aged in oak), locally produced ceramic pieces and woven baskets are the things worth bringing home. The duty-free shops at the airports stock packaged grogue, but the bottles from local distilleries in Santiago are better.
Practical Notes
The best months are November through June for reliable sun and manageable wind. July to October is the harmattan season, when Saharan dust clouds can reduce visibility and make beach days uncomfortable. Malaria is not present in Cape Verde. Apply strong sun protection year-round: the latitude and sea reflection mean the UV index is higher than it feels. English is spoken in tourist areas; basic Portuguese is useful everywhere else. Mobile connectivity is reasonable on Sal, Boa Vista and Santiago; the interior of Santiago and smaller islands have patchy coverage.