eSIM for Cape Verde

In Cape Verde your eSIM connects to CVMOVEL, the mobile network of CV Telecom, which carries about two-thirds of the country's active SIM cards. You need internet before you arrive, too. Every visitor must pre-register on the government's EASE platform and pay the airport security fee at least five days before landing.

A week for walkers and music lovers who want more than a beach: a night on Sal, two days in Mindelo on São Vicente, and three days hiking the green valleys of Santo Antão. It needs two domestic flights and the inter-island ferry.

Length

7 days

Bases

3

When to go November to June is dry and suits hiking, though December to March brings strong winds that can disrupt the Mindelo–Porto Novo ferry; the short rainy season from August to October turns Santo Antão greenest but can bring heavy downpours.

1. 01

   Day 1 Santa Maria, Sal

   Sal: Santa Maria and Pedra de Lume

   → Amílcar Cabral airport (SID) is about 20 minutes from Pedra de Lume and 20 minutes from Santa Maria by road.

   Most international flights land on Sal. Head to the salt pans of Pedra de Lume in an old volcanic crater, where you can float in the brine pools, then drive south to Santa Maria. Walk out along the pier, where fishermen land and clean tuna in the late morning, and spend the rest of the day on the long white beach. If you have energy, watch kitesurfers at Kite Beach on the east coast.

   Signal CVMOVEL 4G is reliable in Santa Maria and Espargos; coverage is fine at Pedra de Lume, though weaker inside the crater.

2. 02

   Day 2 Mindelo, São Vicente

   Fly to São Vicente: Mindelo

   → Domestic flight Sal–São Vicente takes about 50 minutes; book directly with the airline and check for schedule changes.

   Take a domestic flight to São Vicente and spend the afternoon in Mindelo, Cape Verde's cultural capital. Walk the Avenida Marginal along Porto Grande bay, visit the fish market and the produce market in the old Praça Estrela area, and see the Torre de Belém replica on the waterfront. In the evening, listen to live morna and coladeira, the music Cesária Évora made famous, which you can hear in bars around the centre most nights.

   Signal Mindelo's centre has good 4G; make sure your flight booking emails reach the phone you are carrying.

3. 03

   Day 3 Ribeira Grande or Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão

   Ferry to Santo Antão and the Cova crater

   → Ferry Mindelo–Porto Novo takes about 1 hour, with two or three sailings a day; Porto Novo to Cova is about 45 minutes by road.

   Take the morning ferry to Porto Novo on Santo Antão. From there, take an aluguer or hire a driver up the old mountain road (Estrada da Corda) to the Cova crater, a farmed volcanic bowl high on the ridge. Walk from the crater rim down into the Paul valley, a descent of about three hours past terraces of sugar cane, bananas and small grog distilleries. Arrange transport from the bottom of the valley to your base on the north coast.

   Signal Expect weak or no signal on the ferry's mid-channel crossing and on the upper Paul trail; 4G returns in the lower valley villages.

4. 04

   Day 4 Ribeira Grande or Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão

   Ponta do Sol to Fontainhas and Cruzinha

   Start in Ponta do Sol and climb the cliff path to Fontainhas, a village of coloured houses perched on a narrow ridge above a gorge. Continue along the coastal path through Corvo and Formiguinhas to Cruzinha da Garça, a walk of several hours with drops to the sea, so set off early with water and sun protection. Arrange an aluguer back from Cruzinha with your guesthouse in advance.

   Signal Ponta do Sol has 4G, but the coastal path has long sections with no signal; message your guesthouse your plan before you start.

5. 05

   Day 5 Ribeira Grande or Ponta do Sol, Santo Antão

   Ribeira Grande and the Ribeira Torre valley

   Take a gentler day. Walk up the Ribeira Torre valley from Ribeira Grande, following a path through farmed terraces to the village of Xôxô, then return the same way. In the afternoon, explore Ribeira Grande, the island's largest town, and its small churches and lanes, or rest in Ponta do Sol's harbour. If you want one more viewpoint, drive up to the pass at Delgadinho, where the road runs along a knife-edge ridge.

   Signal 4G in Ribeira Grande and Ponta do Sol; the Ribeira Torre valley is narrow and steep-sided, so signal is unreliable once you are inside.

6. 06

   Day 6 Mindelo, São Vicente

   Back to São Vicente: Monte Verde and Baía das Gatas

   → About 45 minutes by road from Ribeira Grande to Porto Novo, then the 1-hour ferry; check sailings that morning, as winter winds can cause delays.

   Return to Porto Novo along the coastal road and take the ferry back to Mindelo. In the afternoon, drive up Monte Verde, the island's highest point at about 750 metres, for views over Mindelo and towards Santo Antão on a clear day. Continue east to Baía das Gatas, where a natural rock barrier makes a calm lagoon for swimming, or go south to São Pedro beach, known for its wind and turtles in season.

   Signal 4G in Mindelo and at Baía das Gatas; the summit of Monte Verde has masts nearby, so coverage is usually good there.

7. 07

   Day 7 Mindelo, São Vicente

   Mindelo morning and departure

   → São Vicente airport (VXE) is about 15 minutes from Mindelo by road; Sal is about 50 minutes by air.

   Spend the morning around Mindelo's centre: the colonial Palácio do Povo, the Centro Nacional de Artesanato e Design, and the Praça Nova square where locals gather. Buy grogue or local coffee from Fogo at the market, then fly back to Sal for your international connection, or out directly from São Vicente if your airline flies there.

   Signal Good 4G in Mindelo and at both airports for checking in and confirming your onward flight.