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Travel and Tourism in Cape Verde
Travel alerts, currency, climate, transit, health, and safety information for visitors to Cape Verde.
Practical Information
Travel alert status, currency, climate, and transit details.
- Travel Alert Status
- Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions
- Time Difference
- UTC-1 (4 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- Currency
- 101.8
- Climate
- In terms of climate, Cape Verde is part of the Sahel region. Annual dust storms, originating in the Sahara, tend to erode the windward side of the islands and bring seasonal harmattan or smog-like dust. The climate otherwise is superb, with sub-tropical temperatures mediated by the surrounding water and the prevailing north-westerly winds. The average temperature in Praia is 75 degrees F (24.4°C), but summers are hot and humid. The range of monthly averages is from 72°F to 79°F. Rainfall is almost absent even in normal year-average precipitation is less than 10 inches. In addition, Cape Verde suffers periodically from drought. For 10 years, from 1989 until 1999, Cape Verde suffered severe drought, receiving less than half the average amount. In 1999 and 2000, the drought was relieved by a normal wet season (August to October.)
- Ethnic Groups
- Creole (mulatto) 71%, African 28%, European 1%
- National Holiday
- Independence Day, 5 July (1975)
- Geographic Coordinates
- 16 00 N, 24 00 W
- Location
- Western Africa, a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Senegal
- Airports
- 7
Health and Safety
Medical facilities, vaccinations, disease risk, and sanitation conditions.
Medical facilities in Cabo Verde are limited, and, despite an extensive network of local pharmacies, some medications are in short supply or otherwise unavailable. The country’s largest hospitals (all public) are in Praia and Mindelo, but smaller public health centers and private medical clinics, of variable quality in both personnel and equipment, are located throughout the country.