Things to Do in Cape Verde

Hike into a live volcano crater on Fogo

Pico do Fogo (2,829 m) is the highest point in Cape Verde and the country's signature hike: 3–4 hours up loose black scree from the village of Chã das Caldeiras, about 90 minutes back down. Guides are mandatory and are drawn from the caldera community, who rebuilt their homes after the 2014 eruption. Start at 6am, carry two litres of water, and finish with a glass of the local Manecom wine grown in volcanic ash.

Walk the terraces of Santo Antão

Santo Antão is where hikers go. The Ponta do Sol–Fontainhas–Cruzinhas coastal path and the Cova crater descent into the Paúl valley are among the best day walks in West Africa. Reach the island by the one-hour ferry from Mindelo (São Vicente), then take a shared aluguer over the Corda mountain road.

Listen to morna in Mindelo

Mindelo is the cultural capital: Cesária Évora's home town and the birthplace of morna and coladeira. Live music runs most nights around Rua de Lisboa; the Baía das Gatas festival in August and Mindelo's Carnival in February are the two big dates.

See Cidade Velha, a UNESCO World Heritage site

Half an hour from Praia on Santiago, Cidade Velha was the first European colonial town in the tropics. The Fort of São Filipe, the pillory and the Rua Banana form a difficult, essential history lesson about the Atlantic slave trade. Best visited in the morning with a local historian-guide rather than a coach group.

Watch loggerhead turtles nest (June–October)

Boa Vista and Sal host one of the largest loggerhead nesting populations on earth. Only join patrols run by licensed conservation projects: no white lights, no flash photography, no touching. Fees fund night-time beach protection against poaching.

Kitesurf and windsurf on Sal and Boa Vista

Steady 15–25 knot trade winds from November to May make Kite Beach (Sal) and Ponta Preta world-class. Lessons are widely available in Santa Maria; book with schools that employ Cape Verdean instructors.

Eat cachupa with the family that cooked it

Cachupa — slow-cooked corn, beans, cassava and fish or pork — is the national dish, and it tastes best in someone's kitchen. Community cooking workshops in Santiago and São Vicente end with everyone eating together, and the fee goes straight to the household.

Take a community tour in the Santiago interior

Serra Malagueta, Monte Tchota and the Rabelados community near Espinho Branco show a rural Cape Verde that beach resorts never touch: dry-stone farming, grogue distilleries, and mountain trails guided by people who grew up on them.

Swim at Baía das Gatas and Tarrafal

Tarrafal, at the north tip of Santiago, is the country's most beautiful mainland-accessible beach — calm, palm-backed, and free. Baía das Gatas on São Vicente has a natural lagoon protected by a volcanic reef, ideal for children.

Practical planning notes

The four things worth deciding before you book.

Cape Verde is easy to reach from Europe, but inter-island logistics are the part that catches travellers out.

• Flights: fly into Sal (SID) or Praia (RAI) from Lisbon, London, Amsterdam or Paris.
• Inter-island: TICV flights are cheap but change often — leave a buffer day before your return.
• Season: the dry season runs November to June; September and October are hotter with occasional rain.
• Money: the escudo (CVE) is pegged to the euro, and euros are widely accepted.