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Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

Cape Verde?

27 replies

PumpkinP · 20/01/2020 11:55

I want to take my children on holiday this summer, I have 4 so will be travelling with my sister also. She wants to go to Cape Verde but I would prefer to go to Spain. Has anyone been to Cape Verde and have anything positive to say about it? Looking at September.

OP posts:
pinksparkly · 20/01/2020 12:06

I went to Cape Verde last year and stayed in a very large TUI hotel in Boa Vista. There is very little to do outside the hotels and you feel like you have landed on the moon when you get there as its so barren and uninhabited. If you like just relaxing around the pool and eating good food at night its great. There is a constant warm breeze so you don't feel too hot. The beaches are stunning but the waves are very high so the chances of going in the sea are minimal as there were constant red flags most days. I did hear from others visitors there that there is more to do on the other island Sal.

Original poster
PumpkinP · 20/01/2020 12:12

I think it was Sal I was looking at but could be wrong. The hotel was called sol Dunas. I not 100% wanting to go there tbh as I do like to do things outside of them hotel and would like the kids to have a chance to splash in the sea. But then my sister doesn’t want to go to Spain 😩 I think I will get bored stuck in a hotel for 7 days.

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pinksparkly · 20/01/2020 12:20

PumpkinP, just something else to bear in mind which I forgot is the flight time its quite long depending on the age of the kids you are taking. If you like going out and about perhaps not the best place to go.
Fuerteventura is one of my favourite places which could be a good compromise yes its Spain but less commercialised than some areas.
Good luck.

Chardonnay73 · 20/01/2020 12:24

Nooooo!! Not the Sol Dunas!! Worst holiday of my life there, food awful, water slides shut half the time, rude staff, things being stolen from balconies and just unrelenting grey cloud for 2 weeks. In August. Very warm but it’s not the same cloudbathing! 🤦‍♀️
Absolutely nothing to do outside the hotel, felt hassled and intimidated the one time we did venture out. I would not go to that hotel again if you paid me 🙁

chocolatesaltyballs22 · 20/01/2020 12:27

I'm going at Easter but have never been before. Like someone said already, there's nothing to do outside of the hotels (have done my research). I'm only going for the weather as it can be dodgy elsewhere at Easter. Given the choice in the summer I would choose Spain every time.

littlewoollypervert · 20/01/2020 12:27

Am just back from Malaga and would go again in the morning. The town is a €3 bus fare from the airport, and it's the cleanest city centre I've ever been in. Beach is 10 mins walk from main shopping/going out area, and there's a lovely harbour with many waterfront shops and restaurants. Didn't get one taxi as everything was so close together. We stayed in an apartment but there are hotels (I'm sure with pools) beside the beach.

WellTidy · 20/01/2020 12:28

PIL have visited and enjoyed the hotel they stayed at, but said that it was very windy, huge waves and didn't think there was much to do out of the hotel.

littlewoollypervert · 20/01/2020 12:28

oh, we got 18 degrees sunny weather every day in January so in Sept it would be 24/25 I think.

Original poster
PumpkinP · 20/01/2020 12:37

Some good advice, I will check out Malaga that sounds much more up my street tbh. I would start to get annoyed being stuck in a hotel the whole time as I like to walk around and see things, sounds like there is literally nothing outside of the hotel in sol Dunas.

Oh no that’s putting me off even more Chardonnay73 there are so very mixed reviews on trip advisor but one thing they mainly all agree with is that the food is terrible! And apparently there is a real noticeable difference between the way Dunas and melia guest are treated. I don’t know whether I’m just being fussy though and a holidays a holiday Confused but it’s the kids first holiday so I want to enjoy it

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chocolatesaltyballs22 · 20/01/2020 12:45

In my opinion if you're all inclusive the quality of the hotel and food is extremely important. You're stuck there for a week/2 weeks or whatever and especially with Cape Verde there are limited options to eat out. I've paid more for our hotel and gone on the recommendation of friends.

Original poster
PumpkinP · 20/01/2020 12:51

That is very true! They also don’t have a snack bar so the only meals are at breakfast lunch and dinner which might be a pain as kids like a snack between, which seems unusual for AI. And not really anywhere outside out the hotel to go.

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Hoppinggreen · 20/01/2020 13:06

We went at the end of August last year and really enjoyed it. We did hear negative things about the Sol Dunas from people at the airport, some of the hotels are huge and not great - ours was 5* but I would say it was only 4 really
There isn’t much to do outside the hotel, there are some good trips, which we really loved but I wouldn’t do them with young dc - ours were 10 and 15 at the time.
We also found the lack of snacks an issue, we didn’t want 3 large meals a day but because everything has to be imported it’s expensive (6 E for a large bag of crisps) so buying snacks was pricey. I was ill one evening from eating in the hotel and one lady ended up in hospital on a drip due to food poisoning.
We did find the heat an issue too, the suite had brilliant air con but I did burn a bit one day, which I never usually do and DD fainted by the pool one day. We found the people friendly in general, DD is blond and gorgeous so she got a lot of attention but it never felt threatening
Remember too, you are in Africa and it’s very different to somewhere like Spain if that’s what you are used to - the poor lady who ended up in hospital said it was awful, the ambulance broke down in the way there and when they arrived she said it was absolute chaos and not very clean
On reflection it was a great holiday and I would go again but not a woman on my own and not with young children (and probably not the sil dunas)

ElfAndSafety1 · 20/01/2020 13:10

We looked at Cape Verde last summer but like others have mentioned, there wasn't a lot around to do and we didn't want to be confined to a hotel.
We opted for Kos in Greece instead, the hotel we stayed at was bloody fantastic. Several pools, private beach with free bar and snacks, onsite water park, several restaurants. We never did actually leave the hotel Grin

NewYearNewJobNewHome · 20/01/2020 13:13

I went a few years ago and stayed at the same hotel as @pinksparkly.

There's lots of good things I could say, BUT I ended up with horrendous food poisoning, the last half of my holiday I spent in bed and my GP told me on my return that it was so bad I could be left with IBS.

I would have returned if that hadn't happened, but never again.

whatnow40 · 20/01/2020 13:19

I've been to Sal twice and loved it. The beach was perfect for swimming in the sea, not too busy either. The hotel and facilities were excellent and plenty of tours available. But there isn't much to do in terms of unorganised activities. If you like staying in the resort then it's perfect.

BarbaraofSeville · 20/01/2020 13:21

Compromise/meet in the middle and go to the Canaries instead? Or Spain or Balerics will be lovely at that time of year.

What's her reasons for wanting Cape Verde and not wanting to go to Spain?

Original poster
PumpkinP · 20/01/2020 13:23

I looked at another hotel which is slightly cheaper but a higher star ratinng the Rui funana but it didn’t look as child friendly

OP posts:
Original poster
PumpkinP · 20/01/2020 13:26

What's her reasons for wanting Cape Verde and not wanting to go to Spain?

She’s use to more exotic holidays like the Caribbean etc (which I can’t afford with 4 to pay for) so I think she finds Spain boring and not as hot but I think it will still be hot early September.

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BarbaraofSeville · 20/01/2020 13:39

I think she finds Spain boring and not as hot but I think it will still be hot early September

I've been to Spain in early September and it was 40+ and the glue in our books melted Shock.

I'm not sure how a few barren islands with little to do outside a few AI hotels is more interesting than a large country with a wide variety of landscapes, activities, fascinating cultural history, great food, watersports and with warmer and calmer sea is more interesting or attractive, but each to their own.

Hoppinggreen · 20/01/2020 13:50

We went to The Caribbean a few times Pre dc, if she thinks Cape Verde will be like that she will be very disappointed
As I said, we had a great time there but it’s very different to The Caribbean

Original poster
PumpkinP · 20/01/2020 14:07

She seems to think it will be the closest thing to it.

I agree about Spain. I like that it’s still relatively close to the uk aswell but she doesn’t like the whole “brits abroad” thing.

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chocolatesaltyballs22 · 20/01/2020 14:08

Not all of Spain is Brits abroad, some parts are beautiful and unspoilt. We have been going in the summer for 13 years - love Spain.

Hoppinggreen · 20/01/2020 14:20

Well she’s wrong
Look at the Costa De la Luz in Spain (also known as the Spanish Algarve)
If she insists on going to Cape Verde you risk both of you being unhappy, there really is nothing outside the hotels, especially with young dc (you don’t say how old yours are)

Original poster
PumpkinP · 20/01/2020 14:26

I will mention it to her again see what she thinks. Children ages 2-5-7-8

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Hoppinggreen · 20/01/2020 14:42

Absolutely no way I would take children that young. The trips are all completely unsuitable and there’s not much at the hotels beyond the pool. The sea is pretty wild as well so not safe for young dc if there isn’t a protected cove. You would spend most of your time keeping them out of the sun - I’m quiet dark skinned and used sunblock but even I burnt a bit.
We will probably go again this year, Dd loved it in particular but I probably wouldn’t take under 10s