Cape Verde Islands Guide
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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.
Further Information - Getting
There
Region Information - Boavista
| Fogo
| Maio
| Sal
| Santa
Antao | Santiago
| Sao
Nicolau | Sao
Vicente