There is usually one main road on each island, which is no more than a few dozen kilometres long. Apart from a few minibuses, there are only taxis on the island for tourists, so the best way to get around is to rent your own car or motorbike/scooter.
Don't have a holiday booked yet?
- Holidays to Salu
- Holidays to Boa Vista
Rent a car / scooter
The density of good quality roads and paths is low in Cape Verde and you should expect unpaved rather than tarmac roads. For this reason, we recommend renting a car rather than a 4x4. We strongly advise against renting a scooter.
When driving on the main artery, be aware of any potholes and holes in the road. Drive carefully.
Traffic is minimal on the islands and local drivers obey traffic laws. Signage is similar to European and domestic signage.
How much does it cost to rent a car or scooter for the day?
- Larger jeep (Nissan Navara, Suzuki Vitara) 70 eur
- 4x4 car (Dacia Duster, Suzuki Jimmy) 55 eur to 60 eur
- acar with normal drive (Fiat Panda, Renault Kwid) 46 eur
- four-wheel drive 40 eur
- scooter 30 eur
When renting, please expect a mandatory cash deposit of 200 eur to 400 eur depending on the type of car.
The car can be rented by persons with a valid driving licence and over 21 years of age. We recommend that you bring an international driving licence with you, although you will not need one when renting a car.
Rentals cannot be booked online, but only on the spot.
Petrol stations can be found near major cities and the price of a litre of petrol was around 135 cve in 2022.
Public transport
Public transport on the islands takes the form of minibuses. In large towns such as Praia or Mindelo, public transport also runs.
In addition to minibuses, taxis operate on the islands. Prices from the airport to the city start at 10 eur and above.
Transport between islands
Transport between the islands of Cape Verde is served by sea ferries or by air.
By boat around Cape Verde
There are regular ferries (ferryboats) between the islands operated by the Cape Verdean company CV Interilhas on 6 different routes connecting the islands in different ways, including the most visited Sal and Boa Vista.
However, the boat service is not frequent and may be cancelled depending on bad weather. For example, there are 2 sailings a week between Sal and Boa Vista. The 50-kilometre route takes between 3 and 3,5 hours.
Available routes:
- L1: Santo Antão - São Vicente
- L2: São Vicente - São Nicolau - Sal - Boa Vista
- L3: São Vicente - Praia / Fogo / Brava
- L4: Brava - Fogo - Praia
- L5: Sal - Boa Vista - Praia
- L6: São Nicolau - Praia / Fogo / Brava
For a specific map of the routes, including times of connections, please visit the shipping company's website.
Tickets must be purchased at least 2 hours before departure and only VISA is accepted for online payment. For more information visit cvinterilhas.cv.
Cape Verde by air
Cape Verde has a main airline , Cabo Verde Airlines, but they fly from each island to Lisbon. If you want to fly domestic, you'll need to go to the website of the smaller Bestfly Cabo Verde airline.
The airlines connect the major islands to each other, otherwise all flights head to Praia airport. Flights between Boa Vista and Salem are not available, you have to buy two one-way tickets just via Praia.
One-way tickets cost around 8 000 cve. You can buy them at bestflycaboverde.com.