If you want to escape winter and a guarantee of nice weather, Cape Verde is the ideal destination at the beginning of the year. These African islands are located off Senegal and it is about 26 degrees all year round. The perfect temperature, if you ask me. Previously I went to the island of Sal, this time I went island hopping (with laptop) in the lesser known São Vicente and Santo Antão.
Discovering the island of São Vicente
São Vicente is not too big and not overrun by tourism (yet). You’ll find some digital nomads there, but most foreigners are just tourists going on vacation. In the capital Mindelo there is the most to do, so that’s where I went. I had mainly asked at the accommodation if the wifi was stable, which turned out to be so. There are not really nice coworking spaces yet where you can work nicely, so I worked mostly from my apartment and cafes. The wifi is generally not there as we are used to at home. I therefore asked the accommodations in advance about the quality of the Internet connection and explained that I work remotely and that good wifi is therefore crucial. Even then, in a country like Cape Verde, you don’t get any guarantees, but it works well enough. As a backup, I had already bought an eSim online at home via Airalo specifically for Cape Verde, so that I would also be reachable by phone and could rely on this connection. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown, it did not work on this island.
Carnival in Cape Verde
I had heard a lot about celebrating carnival in São Vicente, so I went to investigate in February. That worked out pretty well. Last year I was in Bonaire around the same time, but didn’t time my trip right and went home just before Carnival, such a shame. That wasn’t going to happen to me a second time. For Cape Verdeans, Carnival is the party of the year. Everyone is engaged in it and already days before the parade you regularly see and hear loud music and see people dressed up. On Monday evening is the practice parade and on Tuesday evening is the big moment. Then the streets are filled with spectators and beautiful large carnival floats drive through the city. This involves a lot of music, dancing and tropical costumes.
Although it really is fun to see, I think my expectations were too high. Not of the parade, but the whole party around it and the days before. Where I was hoping for a nice atmosphere with lots of musicians on the streets, that was not there. After the parade we (2 Dutch girls) went home almost immediately and didn’t linger on the streets, that didn’t feel quite comfortable.
Remote working in Sao Vicente and Santo Antão
Even though I work remote anytime, anywhere, this trip was deliberate for me to take a breather. As an entrepreneur, it’s tempting to always be working, but sometimes you also need to take a breather. Given that the wifi in Cape Verde, especially on these islands, is not entirely reliable, I had therefore planned less work during my stay. That was just as well. There are certainly places where the wifi was just fine, but it was also frequently unstable or even absent.
Read more about the best places to work on Sao Vicente here.
Travel to São Vicente and Santo Antão
From the Netherlands there is a direct flight to Mindelo in São Vicente. From there you catch the ferry to Santo Antão. It goes twice a day and the crossing takes about an hour. It costs €30 for a return trip. Beforehand I had heard and read stories about many people getting sick on the boat. And even before departure they hand out bags, just in case. Despite the fact that I am quite seasick (and carsick, etc.) and have actually done this trip 4 times, with me it went fine and there was little to worry about. One exception got sick, but that was only on 1 trip when there were a lot of waves due to high winds.
This is how transportation works on the islands
Like anywhere in the world, you can easily take a cab here. That is also the most expensive option. What is nice is that they have the same rates everywhere. So you don’t have to negotiate because everyone has to charge the same price. This is set by the government and everyone sticks to it. Personally, I do find it charming to use local transportation. That is also the way locals get around and is often very cheap. You can use an aluguer or collective. These are minivans that drive around and stop everywhere to pick people up. Where a cab, for example, costs €10, such a form of public transportation is sometimes as little as €2. Taking a local bus is another adventure, because it only starts running when it is full enough. So you can’t plan what time you take the bus.
By the way, sometimes you think “well now the van is full, along no, still it picks up new people. Just cram, stuff on the roof and go.”
Island hopping in Cape Verde
If you want to travel from São Vicente to another island, it can be quite a challenge. This is because the distance is relatively long and direct connections are not everywhere. And boats are unfortunately not always reliable. So a tight travel schedule here is not useful. A domestic flight is also possible, but not very cheap. At least not in my case. My plane ticket from São Vicente to Sal was €100. Are you excited about the Cape Verde Islands? Then check out more information about remote working in São Vicente in this blog and here about the beautiful green island of Santo Antão.
