Cape Verde

[Empress13]

Thinking of going to Cape Verde in November. Has anyone been and is the weather good then ? Thank you

Yes been twice! One to Sal and the other to Boa Vista. Both hotels were Riu, you don’t need to leave the hotel really, only to go to the beach or for an excursion. Both times we went in November, beautiful weather about 28 degrees, sunny every day. The sea is quite choppy and I did have a big wave over my head at one point but otherwise it was lovely. I’d highly recommend going. The hotels have a lovely buffet main restaurant, and you can go to the themed ones for a night, I remember one was Chinese cuisine and it was tasty! Can’t remember the others. Hardly any kids, a good couples holiday (if that’s what you’re looking for). Only 4 hours on tbe plane but when you’re there feels like you flew more like 12 hours. The local area is quite poor, and sparse, but this was 9 years ago I first went so it may have built up a bit more now.
Go for it!

Wow thank you that’s really helpful

@exercisedoutwe have booked the Rui Palace in Sal for November so looking forward to it. Thanks again 😁

Amazing!!! You’ll love it 😁

Hi all. We have booked to go to Cape Verde Boa Vista to the Riu Karamboa on May. This is for my 40th birthday and also our 10yr wedding anniversary. Me and OH haven’t been abroad or away without our kids since our honeymoon 10yrs ago (DD turned up a year after) so this is a really really special holiday for us. I was really looking forward to it but have seen the headlines today and after further investigation can see that there are ALOT of cases of people being really poorly. My mind is now spinning! I don’t know what to do. Part of me thinks no it’ll be fine and the other part is screaming DONT GO! speak to TUI and change the destination. I was wondering if anyone can help me with their recent experiences? Or have any suggestions of another destination that isn’t more than 6hrs on a plane and will be hot in May?

I have no personal opinion but I've literally just seen this on the BBC News.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3015q8jqero

Yes, I saw that earlier. Put me right off.

I think a lot of people might be cancelling their holidays to Cape Verde now.

Rather tasteless comment but I did think Death in Paradise. I don’t know anything about the deaths or when they happened, but you’d think the hotels would be working hard to improve standards?

Also an article in The Sunday Times about the chaos at the hospitals and the deaths due to stomach bugs. You couldn’t pay me to go there.

After reading the articles about Cape Verde today I would never go there. Sounds awful!

Went in July. You can see it’s a developing country outside but the hotel is nice. We were in Karamboa. Six adults, all fine. Some of the drinks weren’t great but lots of food choice. We used sense with hygiene and nobody was ill.

i visited Cape Verde last June. It was a Riu hotel! In Sal. Hotel was classed as a 4/5 star. Although the hotel was ok, and the weather was lovely. It was definitely not a 4/5 star.

Thank goodness we only stayed for a week, just for a cheap break. There is nothing there apart from hotels.
i won’t be returning, their is lots of lovely places to visit. Cape Verde isn’t one of them.

This . I was thinking of here for the winter but not now

I went to Sal a few times between 2019 and 2021 and I absolutely love it there. It’s got a Caribbean vibe about it, though the land itself is quite sparse and dry. The beaches are gorgeous. There was a lot of talk at those times of people being ill but I never even experienced an upset stomach. You have to be careful; frequent hand washing, using bottled water to brush teeth etc and there are a lot of flies and mosquitoes.

Resources are quite poor; I wouldn’t want to end up needing medical attention there to be honest. That said, I’d go again in a heartbeat because I know how much I love it. If I’d never been before I’d probably think it isn’t worth the risk.

The last thing I read about Cape Verde was an article on the bbc website about a man who got sick there and the hospital was really really bad. There is no way I’d go there. (Not related to today’s news)

Canaries Cyprus Southern Greece

I have considered Cape Verde before but now? No way would I risk it, they don’t even have a decent hospital. If someone is seriously ill they have fly them to a Tenerife hospital - which I was unaware of till I read the report regarding the deaths there.

The hospitals in Cape Verde are really poor, so you have to hope you don’t get ill. Not worth taking the risk imo.

UK government warns of risk of shigella and dengue fever. There has been a rise in the numbers of people with shigella who have recently returned from Cape Verde. It also warns of very limited health care.
One of the tourists who died went to a local clinic with gastro symptoms and they diagnosed appendicitis. She died while they were trying to remove her appendix. It turned out later she had shigella and a healthy appendix.

What puzzles me about these threads is the number of people who say they weren't ill therefore it's fine. As if there's a suggestion that those who catch these illnesses are somehow responsible or weak?

It's awful.. might be anywhere run down.. .. really cant go out of hotel so might as well be anywhere.. nothing to explore or see.. food is yuk. Cant swim in sea.. l was so ill after 4th day.. paid to come home early..

The point of saying “I went and didn’t get poorly” isn’t to say that those that got poorly or sadly died were weak or responsible. It’s to demonstrate that most people who go will be absolutely fine.

It can be alarming to read that 4 people died last year; however, an estimated 300,000-350,000 Brits visited CV last year. That makes the risk very slim. Some of the headlines are very alarmist.

I got shigella when I lived in Africa and I have never been so ill. I had 6 weeks of vomiting and diarrhoea - I slept in the bathroom for 3 of those weeks so I could get my arse on the pot and my head in a bucket.

Reading the articles, it appears as though they have a nationwide problem with the bacteria. Given the lack of hospitals, I just wouldn’t risk it. I was a previously 100% healthy person and it nearly did me in. It’s seriously unpleasant. And if you get it and need a hospital, they have to fly you to Tenerife and I can’t even imagine what flying is like with an illness like that.

You are also only hearing about those who died - there are many many others who got sick! Just doesn’t seem worth it for a holiday.

I think there will be some bargains to be had given the recent publicity. Given that if demand falls dramatically standards are likely to drop even further I’d give it a miss.

Been twice, stayed in Riu hotels. Got food poisoning twice, never again. I'm sure other hotels are lovely.