Travel Alert Status
Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions
Safety and Security
Visitors traveling to Cabo Verde who wish to participate in water sports, swimming, boating, and fishing should exercise extreme caution since the tides and currents around the islands are very strong. Several small fishing boats have been lost at sea in recent years, an inter-island ferry sank in 2009, and drownings occur each year on the beaches in Praia.
Cabo Verde, similar to Hawaii, is an archipelago of volcanic islands. Although volcanoes on most of the islands are now inactive, seismologists still consider the entire island of Fogo to be an active volcano; its last eruption occurred in 1995. Future eruptions remain a threat, as do earth tremors throughout the islands, especially on Fogo, Brava, and Santo Antão, and beneath the ocean channels that separate them. General information about natural disaster preparedness is available via the Internet from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency.
National parliamentary and presidential elections in 2011 and municipal elections in 2012, including campaign rallies and demonstrations, were peaceful. However, the Embassy advises you to avoid crowds at local festivals, cultural events, and similar settings to reduce the risk of pick-pockets or involvement in disturbances caused by the widespread consumption of alcohol.