Flights & Island Hopping.
Nine islands, but no continuous bridge or tunnel network - flying and ferries are the only ways to move between them. Here's how to plan your route realistically.
Getting there at a glance.
- Main airports
- Sal (SID), Praia (RAI), Boa Vista (BVC)
- National airline (international)
- Cabo Verde Airlines (formerly TACV)
- National airline (inter-island)
- CVsky, since March 29, 2026, state-owned
- Direct flights from Europe
- Incl. from Germany seasonally/weekly, varies by airline
- From the Canary Islands
- Binter Canarias serves several islands
- Domestic flights
- Via CVsky (currently 2x ATR 72-600 + 1 leased ATR 72-500, growing to 4x ATR 72-600 by early 2027), all islands with an airport
- Ferries
- Cheaper, but slower and weather-dependent
- Main ferry operator
- Incl. CV Interilhas
- Booking lead time
- Book domestic flights early - limited capacity
How to get to Cape Verde.
The main international gateways are Amílcar Cabral Airport on Sal (SID) and Nelson Mandela Airport in Praia (RAI) on Santiago, supplemented by the airport on Boa Vista (BVC). From Germany, there are direct or connecting flights from various airlines depending on the season - route networks and frequencies change frequently, so check current connections directly with the airlines or via a flight search service rather than relying on outdated lists.
The national carrier Cabo Verde Airlines (known as TACV until 2021) serves international routes. A popular alternative for travelers from Europe is connecting via the Canary Islands, from where Binter Canarias flies to several Cape Verdean islands. Besides Lisbon, Porto has also established itself as a gateway since October 2024: easyJet now flies to four Cape Verdean islands from there (Sal since October 2024, Boa Vista and Praia added October 2025, São Vicente added March 30, 2026), and since July 2, 2026, TAP Air Portugal has additionally served the Porto-Praia route with three weekly flights (Tue/Thu/Sun Porto→Praia, Mon/Wed/Fri Praia→Porto) - often the cheaper gateway for travelers from northern and central Germany.
The airline is currently expanding noticeably: since May 2026, a weekly route has connected Praia with Recife (Brazil), with a further weekly connection from Sal to Recife added from December 2026, and the return to the US market (Rhode Island) after almost five years away has already happened: Cabo Verde Airlines has flown the Praia-Sal-Providence route since May 4, 2026, twice weekly since June 5, 2026 - a sign of economic stability rather than the crisis signals circulating in some older reports.
Fly or ferry?
Both options have clear pros and cons - the right choice depends on your time budget and route.
✈ Domestic Flight
Fast (usually under an hour), but pricier and with limited capacity - book early, especially in the main season. Ideal if you have little travel time or want to combine more distant islands. Since March 29, 2026, the newly founded, state-owned airline CVsky (two ATR 72-600, tickets sold via cvsky.cv) has handled inter-island connections to all islands with a commercial airport - after the private operator Bestfly had already lost its domestic operating license in 2024, and the national carrier Cabo Verde Airlines had taken over inter-island flights on a transitional basis for roughly two years until CVsky's launch, CVsky is now the central domestic carrier.
⛴ Ferry
Cheaper, but significantly slower and weather-dependent - connections between neighboring islands (e.g. São Vicente-Santo Antão) are often more practical than between more distant islands. Swells can make the crossing unpleasant for sensitive stomachs.
Popular Combination
São Vicente and Santo Antão lie close to each other - the Mindelo-Porto Novo ferry route is one of the country's most-used routes and well suited for day trips or a multi-day hiking route.
Important Note
Ferry and flight schedules change more often than on well-connected European routes - don't book key connections (especially onward/return flights) too tightly, and build in a time buffer in case a ferry is cancelled due to weather.
Build In Generous Buffer Times
If you're combining several islands in one trip, plan a buffer of at least half a day to a full day for each transition - delays and cancellations are significantly more common on inter-island connections than on international scheduled flights.
Sources & status of this page
- Porto as a gateway added and corrected, flight days corrected (Oct 27, 2026): easyJet has served Porto-Cape Verde since October 2024 (initially only Sal), expanded in October 2025 to include Boa Vista and Praia, and added São Vicente from March 30, 2026 (previously incorrectly dated here to October 2025 as well - Porto-São Vicente launched separately half a year later; only the Lisbon-São Vicente route started as early as October 2025); TAP Air Portugal additionally joined the Porto-Praia route on July 2, 2026 (three weekly flights). Correction Oct 27, 2026: the TAP weekdays were also swapped - correct is Tue/Thu/Sun Porto→Praia (evening departure) and Mon/Wed/Fri Praia→Porto (departure just after midnight, directly following the previous arrival), not Mon/Wed/Sat and Tue/Thu/Sun as previously stated. Confirmed via flightradar24.com flight data for TP1545/TP1546 as well as several independent Portuguese aviation/travel portals (incl. publituris.pt, echoboomer.pt, easyjet.com/news, forbespt.com, theportugalnews.com); a single conflicting secondary report (passageirodeprimeira.com) was thereby disproven.
- TACV → Cabo Verde Airlines: renamed/restructured in 2021.
- New route developments (US route updated Oct 15, 2026): Praia-Recife since May 2026, Sal-Recife from December 2026. The return to the Rhode Island US market was still marked "planned" at the last check - meanwhile confirmed launched: Cabo Verde Airlines has flown the Praia-Sal-Providence (PVD) route since May 4, 2026 (initially weekly, twice weekly since June 5, 2026) using a Boeing 737 MAX, the first US connection after about 5 years' pause - sources: aeroroutes.com, onemileatatime.com, aeroxplorer.com.
- Most important correction: Inter-island flights have run via the newly founded, state-owned airline CVsky rather than Cabo Verde Airlines since March 29, 2026 - sources: travelnews.africa, plataformamedia.com, thetraveler.org. Added Oct 27, 2026: the private predecessor Bestfly had already lost its domestic operating license in 2024; in between, the national carrier Cabo Verde Airlines took over inter-island flights on a transitional basis for roughly two years before CVsky launched in March 2026 - not a direct Bestfly-to-CVsky handover.
- CVsky fleet expansion (new Oct 15, 2026, refined Oct 27, 2026): according to ch-aviation.com, CVsky is leasing two additional ATR 72-600 over 12 years from leasing company Avation (Singapore). The $3.7 million state guarantee (approved by the Cape Verdean government on Sept 29, 2026, 8-year term) covers, per ch-aviation.com, only the first of the two new aircraft - a separate, not yet specified state guarantee is still pending for the second. The first new aircraft was handed over in Toulouse on Oct 7, 2026 and was expected to arrive in Cape Verde by late October 2026, the second from early 2027 - after that, the fleet will total 4 ATR 72-600 (currently: 2 owned plus 1 ATR 72-500 leased from Global Aviation, per forbesafricalusofona.com).
Questions about Flights & Ferries.
Which airline flies to Cape Verde?
The national Cabo Verde Airlines (formerly TACV) as well as various European airlines - routes and frequencies change frequently, check current connections directly.
How do you get between the islands?
By domestic flight (fast, pricier, limited capacity) or ferry (cheaper, slower, weather-dependent).
Which ferry route is used the most?
The Mindelo (São Vicente) - Porto Novo (Santo Antão) route, one of the country's most practical combinations.
How early should you book domestic flights?
As early as possible - capacity is limited, especially in the main season.
Can you also fly to Cape Verde from the Canary Islands?
Yes, Binter Canarias serves several Cape Verdean islands from the Canary Islands.
Flight and ferry schedules, prices, and routes change frequently - this page does not replace current booking research directly with the airline or ferry operator.
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