Cruising the Cape Verde Islands

Cruising the Cape Verde Islands

Neither Senegal nor Portugal, the Cape Verde Islands march to the beat of their own drum. This incredible archipelago might just be the ultimate adventure cruise destination, a land whose particular brand of exotic defies classification. Set off from Praia to San Tiago and discover the history of the old Portugese capital of Cidade Velha, from the slave trade to the shipwrecks. Head north to Fogo to walk through lava landscapes and scale its volcanic peak. Move on the rich green of San Antao’s valleys and peaks, a land of sugarcane and heady ‘grogue’, before a rendezvous in the cultural capital of Mindelo. With all shore activities optional, you have the flexibility and freedom of making this Cape Verde getaway as leisurely or as active as you please.

Activities

Highlights

• Gaze in awe at landscapes like that of Fogo, aka the ‘Island of Fire’, and Santo Antao, the cape’s crown jewel of lush valleys, gorges and craters
• Be charmed by the well preserved colonial towns of Cidade Velha and, San Felipe
• There’s no place quite like Mindelo. As well as galleries and restaurants, this cobblestoned heartthrob of a town is abuzz with music, especially ‘morna’, the style unique to the cape
• Sample the aptly named ‘grogue’, the potent national drink of Cape Verde