📱 Essential Travel Apps for Cabo Verde

Book inter-island flights, check schedules and get mobile boarding passes. All flights between islands go through the national carrier or Best Fly. Book early — flights fill up and prices rise significantly close to departure. Routes: Sal–Santiago, Sal–São Vicente, Santiago–Fogo and more.

💡 Book at least 2–3 weeks ahead for best prices

The primary communication platform in Cabo Verde. Tour operators, guesthouses, tour guides, taxi drivers and island ferry companies all communicate via WhatsApp. If you want to book a local guide for Fogo volcano or arrange a fishing trip, WhatsApp is the way. Download before you land.

💡 Save your guesthouse and guide WhatsApp numbers from confirmation emails

Download offline maps for all islands before you travel. Santo Antão hiking trails, Fogo crater roads and Boa Vista desert tracks are NOT well covered by Google Maps. Maps.me has better hiking trail detail and works completely offline — essential in remote areas where signal is non-existent.

💡 Download all 10 islands offline before you leave home

Cape Verdean Escudo (CVE) — 1 EUR = 110.265 CVE (fixed rate, pegged to Euro). Use XE to check live rates and quickly convert prices. Useful when haggling at markets or checking if restaurant prices are reasonable. Works offline after last rate sync.

Best overall flight search for international routes to Cabo Verde. Use the calendar view to find cheapest dates to Sal (SID), São Vicente (VXE) or Praia (RAI). Set price alerts for your dates — Cabo Verde flight prices fluctuate significantly.

"Everywhere" search is useful for finding the cheapest month to fly to Cabo Verde. Also good for comparing charter vs scheduled flight prices to Sal. Check both before booking.

Useful for building multi-island itineraries combining international and domestic flights. Can sometimes find combinations that standard search engines miss for Cabo Verde island-hopping.

Works well on Sal, Boa Vista and in Praia and Mindelo. Download offline maps for each island you’ll visit. Less reliable on Santo Antão and Fogo for trails — use Maps.me for those. Good for finding restaurants and services in tourist areas.

💡 Download each island separately before you travel

Plans complex multi-island routes including flights, ferries and aluguers. Useful for planning your overall island-hopping itinerary and seeing all options with approximate costs and journey times.

Best for planning hiking routes on Santo Antão and Fogo. Turn-by-turn navigation with offline capability. Community-contributed trail data covers the main Cabo Verde hiking routes including Cova crater descent and north coast trails.

Largest selection for Cabo Verde including Sal, Boa Vista, Mindelo, Praia and smaller islands. Free cancellation on most bookings. Screenshot confirmations — connectivity in remote areas is unreliable.

Good selection of apartments and local guesthouses — often the best way to find accommodation on less touristy islands like Santo Antão, Fogo and Santiago beyond Praia. Monthly stays available for longer trips.

Book hotel rooms for daytime use only — useful between inter-island flight connections. Better than sitting in an airport for 6 hours between a morning arrival and an evening domestic flight.

Download Portuguese offline. Cabo Verde’s official language is Portuguese and many locals — especially on smaller islands and in local restaurants — speak little English. Camera mode instantly translates menus and signs. Essential in Fogo, Santo Antão and rural Santiago.

💡 Download Portuguese language pack before leaving home

Already mentioned above — but worth repeating. Every local business, guide and guesthouse in Cabo Verde communicates via WhatsApp. It is not optional.

Best for booking island tours on Sal (Blue Eye, Salt Lake, Shark Bay) and activities in Mindelo (sea turtle snorkelling, island tours, Cesária Évora experience). Instant confirmation and easy cancellation.

Enter Cabo Verde, your dates and activities — it generates a packing list. Essential for getting the right mix of beach gear, hiking kit (Santo Antão, Fogo) and light layers for evening temperatures.

Recent reviews help identify which restaurants and tours are still operating well. Helpful in Santa Maria and Mindelo where businesses change. Filter by “Recently reviewed” for current accuracy.

Multi-currency card. Load euros before travel (CVE is pegged to EUR at 110.265 — a fixed rate, so no surprises). Better rates than airport exchange. Works at ATMs on all main islands. Smaller guesthouses and local restaurants are still mostly cash-only.

💡 Carry cash for local restaurants, aluguers and markets — cards not always accepted

Track shared expenses across island-hopping groups. Useful when splitting 4x4 rentals, boat trips and villa accommodation between travel companions.

132: Police (Pícua)
130: Fire brigade
131: Ambulance
128: Search and rescue (for hiking emergencies)
Fogo volcano emergency: Contact your guesthouse — there is no formal rescue service in the crater

Before travelling:
• Your guesthouse WhatsApp number
• Your local guide’s number (Fogo, Santo Antão)
• Your country’s embassy in Praia
• Travel insurance emergency number