The Cape Verde Islands have
had good flight links for a long time as Charles Lindbergh
made a pioneer flight to Santiago, aiming for South America.
He took six hours from Dakar. But his wife did not like the
island and he returned to Bathurst. Not much has changed there.
Mussolini built the airport a few years later in 1933-44 during
his world tour..
Sal Airport
The main Cape Verde International Airport
is now on Sal . It
has nightly flights linking Atlanta, Lisbon and Johannesburg.
Inter-island flights link Sal to the larger Cape Verde islands
of Sao Vicente
and Santiago,
several times daily, but these are expensive at approximately
£120.00 return and are hard to book, so most tourists
stay on Sal. It is the most European of the Cape Verde islands
and the one with the best tourist potential.
Best Routes to the Cape Verdes
The most convenient routes from the British
Isles, Low Countries and Scandinavia are via Portugal to Sal.
Flights from Amsterdam, Paris and Lisbon serve the extended
airport on Santiago. But TAP,
the main European carrier to the Cape Verdes operates only
to Sal. Portuguese take holidays from mid-July to mid-September
and at Xmas/New Year so flights are full then but there are
budget flight deals at other times. TAP
has high and low season fares in three price bands, with cheap
seats selling to early bookers. Early birds also get the cheaper
seats on linking budget flights on Ryanair,
Aer
Lingus, Easyjet,
Monarch,
PGA,
Virgin,
Sterling
Airlines, Jet2
and Air Berlin.
USA flights to Cape Verdes
There is a nightly non-stop from Atlanta to
Sal on South
African Airways. It gets full in summer and can
cost as much as $4,800 return. It is cheaper to take the overnight
TAP
flight from Newark connecting with charters in Lisbon. Twice
weekly Boston non-stops to Praia on Santiago sometimes offer
$400 deals, for one week only.
Continental Flights
There are direct flights to Santiago once
a week from Amsterdam and Paris and to Sal from Las Palmas,
Madrid, Munich, Paris and Rome. Unless you start from one
of those cities, it is often cheaper and faster to change
at Lisbon.
Canaries and Internal Cape Verde
Flights - Beware
There are flights from the Canaries to Sal,
but this is a very expensive route unless you are starting
in the Canaries. TACV,
the Cape Verde airline has a monopoly on this route and you
run a substantial risk of being stranded.
New Santiago Airport Served by TACV
You can now fly from Lisbon direct to the
new airport on Santiago. It also takes the flights from Boston
twice weekly and flights from Paris and Amsterdam.
Charter Flights Which Can Save up
to 30% of the Cost
The least costly way to get to the Cape Verde
islands (3,000 miles south) is to take a budget airline to
connect with a Continental charter flight for the Cape Verdes.
Charter flight packages with hotel or villa accomodation in
Cape Verde are from approximately £405.00 for a week
per person, including breakfast, hotel transfer bus and Cape
Verde visa. A scheduled flight from London to Cape Verde costs
approximately £400.00 - £700.00 sterling return
depending on when you book and £30.00 for a Cape Verde
visa.
Local Time
Lisbon time is the same as the UK. Local time
in Cape Verdes is one hour behind GMT or two hours behind
BST.
Visas
A visa is needed unless you are on a charter
flight. This is really an airport tax. Passengers departing
from the UK can buy it on arrival at Sal or Santiago, by paying
€45.00 per person in cash or we can help you to arrange
it in advance. There is no need for photographs. A passport
must have six months validity. No proof of innoculation is
required.
