Cape Verde

[Empress13]

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

sounds boring as hell with added risk of death or severe illness. No thanks!

I know this would mean a longer flight, but if it is a very special holiday have you considered the Maldives?

It is like paradise, so beautiful, the white sand and warm sea unreal, the Maldivian people are so lovely and friendly. We were bowled over by the place, the accommodation, the sunshine, the food and people. It’s so worth the long flight times and cost.

It’s probably one of the last places I would go. Smacks of food poisoning and “celebs” like Katie Price getting free holidays in return for “papped” photo ops.

We went in 2019
Me, DH and 2 early teens. We had a brilliant time, nobody was ill and we were never bored
The hotel food was generally pretty good and the Italian Resturant on site was brilliant, we also had an incredible lobster pasta dish in a tiny restaurant our guide took us to while on a day trip followed by delicious home made ice cream. We also found a brilliant Portuguese bakery not far from our hotel
We snorkelled, paddled with sharks,saw baby turtles being released, swam in a salt lake, took a buggy over sand dunes
I know some people have had a bad experience there and we were in a small hotel rather than one of the huge ones but we loved it

We've been twice to Boa Visa, last year and the year before. We went mainly because we had a close friend working out there. Whilst we enjoyed ourselves, and the locals were lovely people, it's not on my list of places to return to.

There is almost nothing to do outside the hotel unless you go on excursions which obviously rack up the costs.

The sea where we were was almost always red flagged and for good reason. It doesn't look exceptionally rough to the untrained eye but the waves have a lot of energy in them. We learned from speaking to the hotel reps that injuries are quite common with people ignoring the red flags.

We didn't experience any food poisoning or other health issues ourselves but our friend suffered quite a few bouts. I'm not surprised about the reports in the news. This is a small developing African nation and It has very basic infrastructure and healthcare. Seems to me to be the worst scenario for an all you can eat buffet, as is standard in the all inclusive hotels. Anything you eat has had hundreds of other diners breathing, coughing and sneezing over it so germs and diseases are bound to spread.

So as a HCP interestingly I had an alert today from two of our professional travel health training providers warning of outbreaks of shigella and salmonella in Cape Verde.

Personally for a special holiday I’d suck up the hundred quid rebooking fee and holiday elsewhere. Even in a 5 star hotel the sanitation and infrastructure are the same as everywhere else on the islands, and food and water hygiene may be lacking.

Do you not think that the problems on Cape Verde are wider than at Riu hotels? I’ve not been to CV but have stayed in Riu hotels other places and I thought they were good quality and very clean.

It definitely is. Shigella is the leading cause of diarrhoea in Africa. Cape Verde is only a few hundred miles off the coast of Senegal, which I don’t think people realise, tbh.

The Riu hotel we stayed in on Boa Vista was spotless, and we’ve since stayed in more across the Canary Islands. We’d not go back to Cape Verde because of this illness, I’m not particularly well so it’s too much of a risk, but it wouldn’t put us off going to a Riu hotel again.

We went a few years ago and liked it but not sure about the current situation. We thought Sal was pretty dire - arid, sandy, boring but other islands were much nicer - lush, mountainous with some colonial old town feel e.g. Sao Vincente, Santo Antao. Depends what you want and what you're used to I suppose. We don't do AI and were there for walking, scenery, culture.
Check out 'Archipelago Choice' for info and inspiration, a reliable UK travel company which does trips there.

I was reading the Tripadvisor reviews from hundreds of people who became ill in October. To be blunt, to the extent that people said the plane home stank.

How do you keep safe, moving into a room possibly vacated that morning by a family using the toilet 30 times a day? Touching the light switches, everything? Infected People using the toilets by the pool and bars. And those facilities not properly sanitised between users. Mass buffets. Picking up a serving spoon used by 100 others, including those who have not washed hands. Reports of vomit by the pool. Who cleans it up and how - and what do they then touch? Using a tiny plane toilet amongst infected passengers.

No way.

This has been going on for several years and no one seems to have worked out of it is in the water and systems, endemic in the population employed in the hotels, washed up on the beaches, or what.

One would have to be very stupid to go there

DP and I have booked our honeymoon in Boa Vista this June. We’re going into TUI tomorrow to change it.
I didn’t know that there isn’t proper medical facilities on the islands.
Thinking of the Canaries or Cyprus.

So we’ve spoken to TUI and think we’re going to change to Cyprus. Nissi beach which is next to Ayia Napa. Anyone been to this area of Cyprus?

I believe 6 people have died since 2022 and countless others become ill to varying degrees. There are also no proper medical facilities there. I personally wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.

@ginasevern it is unethical that the travel companies have not pulled out completely. Also if it hadn’t been for this site I would never have known, it’s not been well publicised.

Ex Travel agent here, wouldnt recommend it to anyone, it's a shithole and one of the two places we would never go back to and we've been to a lot of places.

I absolutely agree. TUI and others are continuing to denying all responsibility. They shouldn't be sending people there when the place simply isn't yet geared up to standard.

It's been on the news.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy18l59yxxo

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

Hi - went for our honeymoon in Nov just gone - read the same things as you and bit worried - absolutely no problem at all, food was lovely and we were not unwell.

We had a very good time - waves were big, sun was seriously hot (36 on arrival) and I hadn't appreciated how much I'd need to activate 'full hot sun protocol' - hats, cover ups etc.

Best thing we did was go into Santa Maria at night and also hire a quad bike for the day and go all round the island. It's very romantic for couples; pretty lights in trees, warm, fun in the pool sort of thing.

I hope you enjoy it.

Hey! Yes, my DH and I stayed in this area and LOVED it! We stayed just a 15 min walk further down from Nissi beach, stayed at the Asterias Hotel, and went to Nissi beach a few times. Had a great time and hope you have a wonderful hol too :)

From the article, it looks like the issue is with Sal not Boa Vista. My friend was booked for Sal last Oct half term and was contacted by TUI to say they had problems with water pipes and the water would be off for most parts of the day. I suspect the water pipes are causing all the issues. Not heard of such problems on Boa Vista.

Awww thanks for your reply that’s very helpful. We’re looking at the Tasia Maris. I was worried it might be too lively so close to Ayia Napa? So what month did u go? We’re looking at 21st May so I’m hoping it will be hot?

See this article https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/news/876/shigella-and-salmonella-cases-reported-in-travellers-returning-from-cape-verde#:~:text=An%20outbreak%20of%20Shigella%20was,including%20the%20UK%20%5B3%5D.

And the Irwin Michell website www.irwinmitchell.com/news-and-insights/newsandmedia/2025/march/more-than-800-uk-holidaymakers-launch-high-court-legal-action-after-illness-linked-to-cape-verde

Which says “The holidaymakers have contracted serious conditions including E.coli, salmonella and shigella, with some testing positive for the Cryptosporidium parasite, with many holidaymakers hospitalised as a result, either abroad or back in the UK. They include children as young as six-months-old.
The hotels and the numbers who Irwin Mitchell represent in the High Court are:

• Riu Palace Boavista: 57 holidaymakers
• Riu Palace Santa Maria: 300 tourists
• Riu Funana – 183 holidaymakers
• Riu Cabo Verde: 105 tourists
• Riu Touareg: 25 holidaymakers
• Melia Dunas – 70 holidaymakers
• Sol Dunas, now called TUI Suneo Dunas – 64 holidaymakers
• TUI Blue Cabo Verde – 32 tourists “

I've been to Nissi beach. While you can walk into Ayia Napa it's a completely different kind of resort. Fabulous beach and some excellent hotels. There's also a water park. We went to the Olympic Lagoon when DC were teenagers and had a great holiday.

@CollieModdle thank you - that is shocking