18 days in Cape Verde in January 2025 (page 3 of 3)

Thanks! Actually, I had seen it but thought this airline had gone out of business! Do you think it's modifiable after booking? For an extra fee, I suppose?

I changed a flight once—it cost me 35 € for 2. But that was in July, so there were seats available on the flights.

I’d quite like to do Santiago/Fogo by ferry if it’s not more unpredictable than the plane... but in that case, I’d need to go back through Praia by plane: Fogo/Praia/São Vicente...

I don’t have any info on Fogo—you’ll have to ask Marie. But in the travel journals, a lot of people do take the round-trip ferry.

Hello, I just booked our flight tickets for January, departing from Marseille. Direct round-trip flights. Outbound Marseille/Praia and return Sal/Marseille with Transavia, fare 378 € per person including 1 checked bag. I just realized that domestic flights aren’t cheap, though! Can you confirm that overnight ferries no longer exist? That used to be such a great solution for us... No time wasted. Otherwise, have you ever taken these ferries other than São Vicente/Santo Antão? They seem to run normally, don’t they? They list the schedules and fares on their website...

Hi Jean Michel, Yep, internal flights aren’t cheap at all. For ferries, check the CV Interilhas website. They don’t always run at night (often rescheduled, delayed, or canceled...), and even when they do, you don’t really sleep on them!! So it’s a bit of a time and energy drain, especially since I get seasick!! They don’t run too badly, but it’s a bit unpredictable: rough seas, ferry breakdowns, etc.... So you always need some wiggle room and, most importantly, flexibility! ;O) And January/February is when the sea is roughest. On the bright side, it’s also the time when we might get the "Bruma Seca," the haze from Sahara sand, which can even prevent planes from landing or taking off!!! Hahahaha!!! Anyway, you’ve got to stay flexible no matter what!! To answer your question: yes, I’ve taken these ferries several times (SV-SN or Santiago-Fogo, Fogo-Maio...), and I’ll admit that now, unless there’s no flight option (SV-SA or Fogo-Brava), I’d rather fly!! Marie

But I really recommend getting (if it’s not out of stock) the official hiking map—it really helps you get your bearings and see the big picture of the hikes.

I usually use apps (Komoot, Wikiloc, etc.) on my phone, but yeah, a map does give a better overview. So which one do you recommend? What brand or edition? What’s the "8" about? Otherwise, is it this one: AB Karten hiking map for Cape Verde – Santo Antão 2024?

I don’t use any apps—I’m old-school! ;O) Yep, that’s the right map. Beyond giving a good overview, it makes a great souvenir! ;O)

No, 4 weeks! Departure January 10th, return February 7th.😉 By the way, did you book your domestic flights directly with the Cape Verdean airline (which one, by the way?) because I could only find them through intermediaries like eDreams, and I’m not too keen on that!

I’d like to do Santiago / Fogo / São Vicente / Santo Antão / Sal, where I have my return flight to Marseille.

Book directly with Cabo Verde Airlines—don’t go through intermediaries, it’s already complicated enough as it is. You can run all your simulations on their site, flight by flight. It’s a long story, the history of this airline and, for that matter, all the airlines that have operated here to handle flights (Binter, Best Fly, etc.). The inter-island transfers here are a real mess!!!

On Fogo, I don’t have any info—you’ll have to ask Marie. But in the travel journals, a lot of people do take the round-trip ferry.

Let’s just say it’s one of the more reliable connections. Though the sea conditions are often the most unpredictable part! ;O)

Thanks for your replies. For my part, the ferry isn’t an issue except for the trip duration if it’s during the day and if they cancel too often. At night, I sleep fine, but I haven’t seen any nighttime schedules—that’s what worries me. Actually, I thought there was less risk of cancellation with the ferry than with the plane, precisely because of poor visibility. I’ll think about all this.

Thanks for your replies. For my part, the ferry doesn’t bother me except for the trip duration if it’s during the day and if they cancel too often. At night I sleep fine, but I haven’t seen any nighttime schedules—that’s what worries me. Actually, I also thought there was less risk of cancellation with the ferry than with the plane, precisely because of poor visibility. I’ll think about all this.

hmm... well... both are a bit unpredictable... and the sea is pretty un-pre-dict-able. Night trips are rare unless you’re really doing Santiago-BV-Sal-SN-SV!!!! I took the Brava-Fogo ferry at 3 AM in June because of delays. We were supposed to leave at 2 PM, then pushed back to 11 PM... and finally left at 3 AM!!! hahaha! Awesome arriving in Fogo at 4 AM!!![;]

Hi there, I’ve got another little question about hikes on Santo Antão. Looking at different routes saved on apps like Wikiloc, I’ve noticed some crazy elevation gains. It seems like GPS devices go a bit haywire on the island—probably due to Santo Antão’s terrain (canyons, peaks, etc.). For example, the coastal route from Ponta do Sol to Cruzinhas shows over 2,000 m of elevation gain, even though the highest point doesn’t exceed 200 m… Sure, it’s constantly up and down, but that still seems like a lot! Personally, I’d estimate around 700 m—what do you think? I’ve even seen some day hikes listed with 3,000 m of elevation gain! I’m up for 1,200 m, but 3,000 m? No way!😏

Hi there, I have no experience with apps and such. But I can confirm that the Ponta do Sol-Cruzinha hike is roughly 700-800 m ascent/700-800 m descent.

As for the 3,000 m of elevation gain, that seems like a lot, but maybe experienced hikers combine several stages in one? It all depends on the route. Marie