Cape Verde walking holidays, South Islands
Highlights
Santiago Island: Praia | Cidade Velha | Pico d’Antonio | Serra Malagueta Natural Park | Fogo Island: São Filipe | Mount PicoDescription of Cape Verde walking holidays, South Islands
This tailor made, eight day walking holiday in the southern islands of Cape Verde can be booked as a guided or self-guided walking holiday, getting around using inter-island flights and shared taxis, ‘Aluguars’, to get to and from the trails and your hotels.Flying in to Sal and on to Praia, or direct to Praia from Lisbon, you’ll start your trip on the island of Santiago. Here you can explore the UNESCO-protected old capital of Cidade Velha and the scenic mountain trails around your hotel. There will be the option to climb Pico d’Antonio, the highest mountain, or take a more leisurely walk through the Serra Malagueta Natural Park.
From São Filipe on the island of Fogo, you can choose the climb to the top of Mount Pico volcano, or take a walk through lava fields, cool forests and banana and coffee plantations.
While the guided walking is graded as moderate, with only a few steep walks and sheer drops, the self-guided walking is graded as moderate to challenging, due to the combination of altitude, lack of infrastructure and the fact that trails are not well marked, making your walking notes essential. As such, it is recommended that only confident walkers book this trip on a self-guided basis. However, less experienced walkers will find that being led by a local guide will only add to the experience, offering a greater insight into island life (you may even be invited in for a cup of Cape Verdian coffee).
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.comDeparture information
Responsible tourism
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your holiday will help support conservation and local people.

We recommend the use of a guide for this holiday. Not only will the clients get to enjoy the beauty of these areas and to enjoy the local wildlife, flora and fauna but the guide is able to give them a greater appreciation of its importance to the islands.
We advise all of our clients to stay to the marked paths. This is to maintain the environment as they pass so that it remains pristine for walkers using the pathways in the future. We also advise that they take all of their rubbish with them until the end of the day and recycle or dispose of it as is appropriate.
Whilst the accommodation which we use is surrounded by the lush greenness of the hillsides and their vegetation they do not impinge on it. They also are in areas where it is possible to enjoy the wonderful vistas of the island.
The Impacts of this Trip
For all of our guided walking we use guides who have been guiding walkers in Cape Verde for a great many years. This enables our clients to benefit from hikes enhanced by our guides' local knowledge on the island's diverse flora, fauna and wildlife as well as in insight into how the islands work and their culture.
Wherever possible we attempt to make the most of local products and services which are available in order to enhance the holiday for our clients. This can include the use of local transport companies or car hire where necessary, as well as the locally owned and run accommodation hotels which we partner with on the islands.
We believe it is important to work with the local community in order to maintain the beauty and splendour of the islands of Cape Verde as it currently is rather than it being spoilt, which could so easily happen were the local community not behind working to keep the island in it's diverse paradise.


We recommend the use of a guide for this holiday. Not only will the clients get to enjoy the beauty of these areas and to enjoy the local wildlife, flora and fauna but the guide is able to give them a greater appreciation of its importance to the islands.
We advise all of our clients to stay to the marked paths. This is to maintain the environment as they pass so that it remains pristine for walkers using the pathways in the future. We also advise that they take all of their rubbish with them until the end of the day and recycle or dispose of it as is appropriate.
Whilst the accommodation which we use is surrounded by the lush greenness of the hillsides and their vegetation they do not impinge on it. They also are in areas where it is possible to enjoy the wonderful vistas of the island.

The Impacts of this Trip
For all of our guided walking we use guides who have been guiding walkers in Cape Verde for a great many years. This enables our clients to benefit from hikes enhanced by our guides' local knowledge on the island's diverse flora, fauna and wildlife as well as in insight into how the islands work and their culture.
Wherever possible we attempt to make the most of local products and services which are available in order to enhance the holiday for our clients. This can include the use of local transport companies or car hire where necessary, as well as the locally owned and run accommodation hotels which we partner with on the islands.
We believe it is important to work with the local community in order to maintain the beauty and splendour of the islands of Cape Verde as it currently is rather than it being spoilt, which could so easily happen were the local community not behind working to keep the island in it's diverse paradise.

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