1

I had a fairly disastrous trip to Cape Verde a couple of years back. Cheap flight to Boa Vista, followed by..... being stuck on Boa Vista.

The problem then was that the inter-island ferries were all ex Greek island boats, which of course sank when they had to face mid Atlantic conditions. As a result, flights were so booked up it wasn't possible to use them either, and I doubt you'd get a bike on them anyway.

As I understand it, aside from one or two very short and popular crossings, inter-island transport has always been very problematic and unreliable, compounded by the distance between some of them being quite large.

Researching the islands shows that some might make interesting cycling destinations, especially the hillier ones, although roads can be rough (cobbled sometimes). You could ride on Boa Vista, and I did see a few lycra clad locals haring up and down, but the scenery is dull and roads few so it's not worth the bother of getting your bike there. Sal would have more roads but be equally dull.

On the up side, when I was there, rumours were circulating that some Chinese made boats were on the way which could cope with Atlantic weather. You need to research the current situation: is there now a reliable boat service around the islands? My guess is that it will have improved since I was there but is probably not that great.

2

Oh and there isn't a "mainland". It's a bunch of islands roughly divided into two groups.

3

Thanks for the tips pq.
I'm talking about the "African mainland" of course.
I will research inter-island ferry routes further. I don't have a schedule and my plans are pretty flexible...I know that boats can be unreliable (even in Greece my friend, especially in the winter !).

4

There have been boats in the past from Guinea-Bissau to Cape Verde, but they stopped running as Guinea-Bissau slid further into chaos. Maybe things have changed, but it seems unlikely - G-B is as dysfunctional as ever, and I don't think I'd want to go on a significant Atlantic journey in a boat from there.

There are quite a lot of guys from Senegal selling tat to tourists in Cape Verde. I doubt they can afford to fly, so maybe there are occasional boats. Also Cape Verde has to import a hell of a lot of stuff, so there will be freight boats I guess.

If you're on the mainland, I don't think I'd bother with Cape Verde. Yes, it's quite an interesting place, but there's no shortage of that where you are.

5

Hi.
This link shows sea passengers connections from Praia to four other islands.
http://www.ferrylines.com/en/ferries/western-mediterranean/
(just browse for Cap Vert in the map)
Sailing with the following companies
http://www.cvfastferry.com/v1/
http://www.bela-vista.net/Ferry.aspx
Sorry I don't know of boats from the african mainland but I can only guess that with much patience and time-not necessarely much money -you can find something.
Enjoy.

6

Thanks for taking the time to post those links Paco ! I also know from experience that there has to be boats that ply the Dakar-Cape Verde route but as you were saying it probably is time consuming. I will start inquiring when I get there.