In
Cape VerdeThe Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago located in the Macaronesia ecoregion of the North Atlantic Ocean, off the western coast of Africa, opposite Mauritania and Senegal....
, most of the transportation between islands is done by plane. There are regular flights to and from the major islands (Santiago, Sal and São Vicente), with less frequent flights to the other islands. Boat transportation is also available, though not widely used nor dependable. In the major cities, public bus transport runs periodically and taxis are common. In smaller towns, there are mostly hiaces and/or taxis.
Types of transport
Railways:
0 km - There are no railways in Cape Verde, although there was a short overhead conveyor system for salt from the open salt lake on Sal to the port at Pedro de Lume and a short stretch of rail track to the pier at
Santa MariaSanta María or Santa Maria may refer to:*The name of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Blessed Virgin Mary or Mary, the mother of Jesus, in various languages such as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and CatalanIn nautical transport:...
used for a similar purpose. Both are now disused.
Roadways:
total:
10,000 km including unpaved tracks accessible only to four wheel drive vehicles
asphalt:
360 km
cobbled:
5,000 km (2007 estimates)
The majority of Cape Verdean roads are paved with cobblestones cut from local
basaltBasalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey.On Earth, most...
. Recent international aid has allowed the asphalting of a few roads, such as part of the highway between
TarrafalTarrafal is the name for some locations in Cape Verde:Towns and villages:*For the town in the island of Santiago, see Tarrafal, Cape Verde.*For the town in the island of São Nicolau, see Tarrafal de São Nicolau, Cape Verde....
and
PraiaPraia , is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde, an island nation in the Atlantic Ocean west of Senegal. It lies on the southern coast of Santiago island in the Sotavento group. It is the island's ferry port and is home to one of the nation’s three international airports...
on
SantiagoSantiago , or Santiagu in Cape Verdean Creole, is the largest island of Cape Verde, its most important agricultural centre and home to half the nation’s population. At the time of Darwin's voyage it was called St...
and the dual carriageway between
Santa MariaSanta Maria is a fishing town situated in the southern part of the island municipality of Sal, Cape Verde. The town is the third largest in Cape Verde and is one of the few that it is larger than the the municipal capital...
and
EspargosEspargos is the seat town of the island municipality of Sal, Cape Verde and is also in the heart of the island. Espargos means "asparagus" and refers to the wild vegetable asparagus stalk with its bright yellow flowers which grows in sandy areas around the island...
on Sal. A new ring road is under construction from
Praia International AirportPraia International Airport is an airport located on Santiago Island in Cape Verde. It was opened in late 2005, replacing the old Francisco Mendes International Airport. It is located about 3 km northeast of central Praia in the southeastern part of the island of Santiago.The first flight to the...
around the city of Praia.
The primary method of intercity and inter-village transport for Cape Verdeans is by aluguer shared taxis, commonly called
Iass. Few Cape Verdeans own cars, but ownership is rising rapidly with increasing prosperity, particularly on
Santiago IslandSantiago , or Santiagu in Cape Verdean Creole, is the largest island of Cape Verde, its most important agricultural centre and home to half the nation’s population. At the time of Darwin's voyage it was called St...
.
Ports and harborA harbor or harbour , or haven, is a place where ships may shelter from the weather or are stored. Harbors can be man-made or natural. A man-made harbor will have sea walls or breakwaters and may require dredging. A natural harbor is surrounded on most sides by land.Harbors and ports are often...
s:
MindeloFor the parish in Portugal, see Mindelo, PortugalMindelo , is a port city on the Cape Verde in the northern part of the island of São Vicente. Mindelo is also the seat of the parish of Nossa Senhora da Luz, and this island's municipality...
on
São VicenteSão Vicente , also Son Visent or Son Sent in Cape Verdean Creole, is one of the Barlavento islands of Cape Verde. It is located between the islands of Santo Antão and Santa Luzia, with the Canal de São Vicente separating it from Santo Antão.The island is composed by a single administrative...
is the main port for cruise liners and the terminus for the ferry service to Santo Antão. A marina for yachts is undergoing enlargement (2007).
PraiaPraia , is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde, an island nation in the Atlantic Ocean west of Senegal. It lies on the southern coast of Santiago island in the Sotavento group. It is the island's ferry port and is home to one of the nation’s three international airports...
on
SantiagoSantiago , or Santiagu in Cape Verdean Creole, is the largest island of Cape Verde, its most important agricultural centre and home to half the nation’s population. At the time of Darwin's voyage it was called St...
is a main hub for local ferry services to other islands.
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on
SalSal is an island in Cape Verde. It belongs to the northern group of islands, called Barlavento. The island is composed by a single administrative division, the Sal municipality...
supplies fuel for the main airport on the island,
Amílcar Cabral International AirportAmílcar Cabral International Airport , also known as Sal International Airport or Amílcar Cabral Airport, is the principal international airport of Cape Verde. The airport is named after the revolutionary leader Amílcar Cabral....
, and is important for the hotel construction taking place on the island.
Porto NovoPorto Novo is the westernmost municipality in Cape Verde and all of Africa but not the mainland. It is a town and a municipality in the island of Santo Antão of Barlavento. It covers two-thirds of the island and home to one-third of the population...
on Santo Antão is the only source for imports and exports of produce from the island as well as passenger traffic since the closure of the airstrip at Ponta do Sol. There are smaller harbors, essentially single jetties at Tarrafal on São Nicolau,
Sal ReiSal Rei is a town on the northwestern coast of the island of Boa Vista in eastern Cape Verde. Sal Rei is the island's main urban settlement, and the 18th largest community in Cape Verde after Cidade Velha...
on
Boa VistaBoa Vista is the easternmost island of Cape Verde. It is located in the Barlavento group of the archipelago...
, Vila do Maio (Porto Inglês) on Maio, São Filipe on
FogoFogo is an island in the Sotavento group of Cape Verde. It is the most prominent of the group, rising to nearly 3,000 m above sea level at Mount Fogo.-Geography:...
and
Furna{| border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right" width="300px" style="font-size: 98%; border: gray solid 1px; border-collapse: collapse;"|---- bgcolor="#FFFFFF"efefef| align="center" colspan="2" bgcolor="#d3d3d3"|Furna...
on
BravaBrava is an island in Cape Verde. It is the smallest inhabited island of Cape Verde, in the Sotavento group. First settled in the 1540s, its population grew after Mount Fogo on neighbouring Fogo erupted in 1675...
. These act as terminals for the inter island ferry services which carry both freight and passengers. There are very small harbors, with protective breakwaters, essentially used by fishing boats at Tarrafal on Santiago, Pedra de Lume on Sal and Ponta do Sol on Santo Antão. Some offer suitable protection for small yachts on passage. The pier at Santa Maria on Sal used by both fishing and dive boats is under repair (2007).
Merchant marine:
total:
10
ships by type:
chemical tankerA chemical tanker is a type of tanker designed to transport chemicals in bulk.Ocean-going chemical tankers generally range from to in size, which is considerably smaller than the average size of other tanker types due to the specialised nature of their cargoes and the size restrictions of the...
1, trawler/
cargo shipA cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
5, passenger/cargo 5
foreign-owned: 2 (Spain 1, UK 1) (2008)
AirportAn airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
s:
- 8 operational (2007) of which 3 international and 4 national.
- 2 inoperational, one on Brava and the other on Santo Antão, closed for safety reasons.
- Over 3,047 m: 1
- 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
- 914 to 1,523 m: 3
- Under 914 m: 2 (2008)
Main International Airports:
- Amílcar Cabral International Airport
Amílcar Cabral International Airport , also known as Sal International Airport or Amílcar Cabral Airport, is the principal international airport of Cape Verde. The airport is named after the revolutionary leader Amílcar Cabral....
, Sal IslandSal is an island in Cape Verde. It belongs to the northern group of islands, called Barlavento. The island is composed by a single administrative division, the Sal municipality...
- Praia International Airport
Praia International Airport is an airport located on Santiago Island in Cape Verde. It was opened in late 2005, replacing the old Francisco Mendes International Airport. It is located about 3 km northeast of central Praia in the southeastern part of the island of Santiago.The first flight to the...
, Santiago IslandSantiago , or Santiagu in Cape Verdean Creole, is the largest island of Cape Verde, its most important agricultural centre and home to half the nation’s population. At the time of Darwin's voyage it was called St...
- Rabil Airport
The Rabil Airport is an airport in Cape Verde located in the island of Boa Vista, about 5 km southeast of the island capital Sal Rei. Its IATA code means Boa Vista, Cape Verde, and the last two letters of the ICAO code is Boa Vista. The airport was inaugurated in the late-20th century. It was...
, Boa Vista IslandBoa Vista is the easternmost island of Cape Verde. It is located in the Barlavento group of the archipelago...
In addition to the main international airports another is under conversion to accept long-haul aircraft at São Pedro on São Vicente.
International passenger traffic is forecast to exceed 250.000 passengers for the year 2007. Annual growth, mostly of tourists from Europe is anticipated to continue at just under 20%. (Source ASA Cape Verde airport authority)
Main Airlines serving the country:
TACV flies daily international flights from Lisbon to Sal or Praia and once a week from Amsterdam, Munich, Paris, Las Palmas, Fortaleza and Boston to one or other of the international airports. It operates on a frequency varying from daily to thrice weekly on inter-island flights to each of the seven islands with operational airports and also to Dakar. It has a fleet of two Boeing 757s and three ATR42s, currently (2007) being replaced by ATR72s. It is currently (2007) undergoing privatization at the insistence of the World Bank. A new Canadian chief executive has been appointed to restructure the airline (2007) (Source: A Semana)
Air Services
TACV Cabo Verde AirlinesTACV Cabo Verde Airlines is a scheduled and charter, passenger and cargo airline based in Cape Verde. It is the national flag carrier of Cape Verde, operating an inter-island service and flights to Europe, North America, South America and the West African mainland...
, the national airline, flies once a week from Boston Logan International Airport to
Praia International AirportPraia International Airport is an airport located on Santiago Island in Cape Verde. It was opened in late 2005, replacing the old Francisco Mendes International Airport. It is located about 3 km northeast of central Praia in the southeastern part of the island of Santiago.The first flight to the...
at
PraiaPraia , is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde, an island nation in the Atlantic Ocean west of Senegal. It lies on the southern coast of Santiago island in the Sotavento group. It is the island's ferry port and is home to one of the nation’s three international airports...
Santiago islandSantiago , or Santiagu in Cape Verdean Creole, is the largest island of Cape Verde, its most important agricultural centre and home to half the nation’s population. At the time of Darwin's voyage it was called St...
. Currently (2007) these flights are on Wednesdays, but schedules vary and are subject to frequent change. It also has flights four times weekly from Lisbon to Francisco Mendes the recently opened airport at Praia on Santiago island and four times weekly from Lisbon to
Amílcar Cabral International AirportAmílcar Cabral International Airport , also known as Sal International Airport or Amílcar Cabral Airport, is the principal international airport of Cape Verde. The airport is named after the revolutionary leader Amílcar Cabral....
on
Sal islandSal is an island in Cape Verde. It belongs to the northern group of islands, called Barlavento. The island is composed by a single administrative division, the Sal municipality...
. There is a flight on Mondays from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Sal and on Thursdays from
Amsterdam Schiphol AirportAmsterdam Airport Schiphol is the Netherlands' main airport, located 20 minutes southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer. The airport's official English name, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, places the words in the Dutch order instead of Amsterdam Schiphol Airport...
via
Munich-Riem AirportMunich-Riem Airport was the main, international airport of Munich until it was closed down on 16 May 1992, the day before the new airport near Freising commenced operation. It was located near the old village of Riem in the Munich borough of Trudering-Riem.- History :Construction on the airport...
to Sal. Return flights are just after midnight on the same day.
From
Las PalmasLas Palmas de Gran Canaria commonly known as Las Palmas is the capital and the most populous city in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the ninth largest city in Spain, with a population of 381,123 in 2008. Nearly half of the people of the island and nearly 1/5 of all inhabitants...
in the
Canary IslandsThe Canary Islands are a Spanish archipelago which, in turn, forms one of the Spanish Autonomous Communities and an Outermost Region of the European Union. The archipelago is located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the disputed border between Morocco and the...
, Spain there are night flights on Mondays and Thursdays, with departures just after midnight. Return flights are the previous day. There is a service from Praia to
FortalezaFortaleza is the state capital of Ceará, located in Northeastern Brazil. With a population of over 3.4 million , Fortaleza has an area of...
, Brazil on Mondays and Thursdays departing early evening and returning at night. All international flights are operated by Boeing 757 aircraft. Most international flights are subject to intermittent delay and sometimes cancellation.
TAP Air Portugal the Portuguese national carrier operates a daily service from Lisbon to Sal with late evening departures returning after midnight and reaching Lisbon in the early morning. Most flights are delayed and onward connections from Lisbon can be missed as a result. TAP and other European carriers provide connections with most European capitals, enabling same day through flights.
From the UK, direct routes by
AstraeusIn Greek mythology, Astraeus or Astraeos or Astraeos was an astrological deity and the Titan-god of the dusk. His original Greek name, Astraios , translates as "dawn of the stars" , the time when the stars come out, or simply dusk...
from London Gatwick and Manchester Airport to Sal ceased in April 2008, their website has not been taking reservations since May 2008. TACV Cabo Verde Airlines opened a route from London Stansted in October 2008 though it was rumoured that flights were being cancelled due to minimum take up though with effect from May 2008, TACV now fly direct from London Gatwick every Thursday to Sal and Praia. Outbound times depart LGW 12.45pm and arrive SID 17.05pm with return flights to the UK departing SID 03.25am and arriving 11.25am LGW. Indicative prices are £688.40 per adult and £566.60 per child aged 11 and under inclusive of inflight meals and 20KG checked luggage. There is a
Fly TACV website, though as June 2008 no bookings can be made. Reservations should be made via the UK TACV office on 0870 774 7338.
ThomsonFly have opened additional routes from Manchester Airport and London Gatwick on Mondays and Fridays. Various options and bookings can be made via
Thomsonfly to both Sal and Boa Vista.
Hamburg InternationalHamburg International Luftverkehrsgesellschaft mbH is an independent passenger airline based in Hamburg, Germany. It operates scheduled charter services for European tour operators. It also undertakes specialised ad hoc charters and subservices...
provides a charter service from Hamburg via Duesseldorf on Thursdays and Condor operatus from
Frankfurt Rhein MainFrankfurt Airport may refer to:Airports of Frankfurt, Germany:*Frankfurt Airport , the largest airport in Germany*Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport, a general aviation airport*Frankfurt-Hahn Airport , a converted U.S...
on Tuesdays returning on Wednesday.
NeosNeos S.p.A. is an airline based in Milan in Italy. It operates leisure flights to southern Europe, Russia, Africa, Middle East, Far East, the Caribbean, Mexico and Brazil. Its main base is Malpensa International Airport, Milan, with hubs at Bologna Airport and Verona Airport.- History :Neos was...
operates charter flights from Milan Malpensa, Rome Fiumcino and
BolognaBologna Airport or Guglielmo Marconi Airport is an international airport serving the city of Bologna in Italy. It is approximately 6 km northwest the town center in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, about 200 km south-east of Milan.The airport is named after Bologna native Guglielmo...
on Wednesdays.
Return fares from European airports are generally around £400 or €600. Fares from North American airports are generally close to $1000 but special offers are often available.
TACV cabo Verde Airines, the national airline has been a monopoly carrier within the island archipelago (2007). It operates services from the main hub airports at Sal and Santiago to Boa Vista, Fogo, Maio, São Nicolau and São Vicente at frequencies ranging from thrice weekly to thrice daily. Air strips on the other islands of Brava and Santo Antão are closed (2007) and can only be reached by ferry services from other islands.
TACV does not publish timetables, but flight times are listed on departure boards, when these are functioning. Tickets can be bought at the TACV shop at each airport by queuing and paying in cash (euros or escudos). Flights are often delayed and sometimes cancelled due to weather or operational conditions. Services are operated by ATR 42 turboprop aircraft, which are currently being replaced (2007) by the enlarged ATR 72 aircraft. Inter island tariffs vary depending on the distance but are generally around €180 return. Air passes are obtainable for multiple flights, when buying an international ticket on TACV.
Halcyonair a private carrier with Portuguese and Cape Verdean shareholders is commenced operations on inter-island flights during 2007. It has obtained the necessary licensing from the Cape Verde Government.
Travel within the islands
There are regular bus services within the urban limits of the cities of Praia on Santiago Island and Mindelo on São Vicente island only. For other destinations the shared bus service known as aluguer is convenient. This operate with fares ranging from €1 to €4 depending on the distance and can be flagged down at the side of the road. They depart once enough passengers have been secured and have no timetable. Generally they operate between outlying villages and the main town on each island. There is usually a service into town in the early morning and a return service in the evening. Services are more frequent on popular routes such as Espargos-Santa Maria. Taxis are available on most islands and generally are available at airports and at ports to meet incoming ferry services. Fares are generally €4-5 according to distance travelled. A supplement applies after nightfall.
Ferries Inter-island Cape Verde
Several ferries operate between the islands with much lower fares than the airline. These are provided by various independent shipping companies and their condition and seaworthiness varies considerably. Many services depart from Praia at about midnight, arriving in outlying islands at breakfast time. Return trips often depart around mid-day. But service schedules are approximate only and delays or cancellations of service are common. Conditions can be very crowded without any space to sit on deck and it is advisable to pre-book a cabin for any but the shortest of trips. Some passages can be rough during the winter.
Departure days vary according to the season and are frequently altered, Enquore at the shipping offices in Praia and other Cape Verdean ports.
External links