Cape Verde

Fruity1

Hi, I'm looking for week away in the sun at the end of October. I've had a quick look at the usual web pages and came across Cape Verde. It currently appears to be about the same price as Egypt for a week AI 4*. Has anybody been, got any recommendations or seen any bargains please?

Thanks Fruity.

blue_haddock

What do you want to know about it? If your looking at Sal then its ok if you want to lie on a lounger in the hotel complex for a week. If you want to get out and do things then forget it. The 'town' of santa maria is no more than a village with little to see or do and there are only a handful of bars and restaurants outside the main hotels.

Its mainly thompson that fly there and stay at the Rui hotel which if you look on trip advisor does get mixed reviews. I went independantly last year and stayed at Hotel Sab Sab which i virtually had to myself.

Weather wise its warm and sunny but often with a fair breeze to cool things down. The breeze also causes the sea to be quite rough and is not ideal for swimming in.

Anything else you want to know?

Fruity1

blue_haddock wrote: »

What do you want to know about it? If your looking at Sal then its ok if you want to lie on a lounger in the hotel complex for a week. If you want to get out and do things then forget it. The 'town' of santa maria is no more than a village with little to see or do and there are only a handful of bars and restaurants outside the main hotels.

Its mainly thompson that fly there and stay at the Rui hotel which if you look on trip advisor does get mixed reviews. I went independantly last year and stayed at Hotel Sab Sab which i virtually had to myself.

Weather wise its warm and sunny but often with a fair breeze to cool things down. The breeze also causes the sea to be quite rough and is not ideal for swimming in.

Anything else you want to know?

Wow thanks for the quick reply. After the year we've had I think we are just looking for a week by the pool, tho OH may correct me and I'll be posting another thread. I've stayed in Riu hotels before and found them very comfortable. Having stayed in Egypt twice and found their 4* hotels rather lacking can you say if those in Cape Verde are of a higher standard? Are the hotel staff generally friendly? I notice there are several Riu Hotels I don't suppose you'd know if one is much better than the others? Many thanks.

stw48

Hi, we stayed at the Riu Garopa which shares its extensive grounds with the Riu Funana. The hotel was full but never seemed it. Each hotel has it's own buffet restaurant, I found the food to be excellent. There are two speciality restaurants on each property and you can book a sitting for any of these, the oriental was really nice, if you cannot get a booking then you will be happy with the main restaurant anyway.

Yes it is really lounging by the pools or outside the Riu Funana there is access to the beach.

There are some international brand spirits as part of the all inclusive.

If you want to see the island then do the half day jeep tour but expect to get rather dusty, it is a good trip though.

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed my stay but it was two years ago so I'm not up to date.

HTH.

JohnFB

I have been to Sal twice - first time to the Sab Sab, which is a bit basic and second time to the Riu Funana for a week at Xmas time. The Riu was very comfortable with plenty of swimming pools, good access to nice beach etc., good and varied food.
The Sab Sab end of the island is more for wind surfers etc.

On our first time there we did an island tour which included a trip to the salt mine (lakes) where you can float around in very salty water.
There's not a lot else to do in Sal apart from this and go to the beach.
The town of Santa Maria is a long walk (half hour) from Riu, its nearer to Sab Sab and is very basic and un-developed. Most people don't like it but we did, but it is mainly for local people.
There's not a lot to buy there and anything is very expensive. We had to buy some new beach towels when ours we stolen from outside the Sab Sab hotel.

If I had more time (and money) I would try and visit a few of the other islands - Fogo and some of the others, can't remember all the names now - as I think they are all a lot more scenic than Sal.

Hope this helps

richardw

Fruity1 wrote: »

Hi, I'm looking for week away in the sun at the end of October.

That is the half term school holidays, can get expensive.

Fruity1

richardw wrote: »

That is the half term school holidays, can get expensive.

Thanks I'm aware it's half term. DDs are having a week away with their dad and its just a case of how it falls with my OH shifts. So I'm just trying to find the best price.

blue_haddock

Regarding the standard of hotel what i gather from trip advisor is that its not to the same standard as other rui hotels in places like mexico and egypt.

Realistically once you have visited the pier in santa maria and had a brief wander around there is little to do there.The cafe bar on the old harbour is a really nice place to eat.

If you want peace and quiet walk over towards the far side of santa maria past Hotel Sab Sab and you will have the beaches to yourself although they are not as 'manicured' as the beaches by the big hotels.

socawarrior

Not sure if you have already found something but we visited Sal earlier this year with a company based in London www . gotosal . com that were really good and the price wasn't bad at all. Would easily say it worked out cheaper than an all in package deal from a big company.

I haven't been to the other island but Sal was lovely and not that quiet though i would agree its not the best place if your looking for clubs are bars as there are not that many. Perfect beach holiday though the sea and beach is beautiful

PM me with any questions i have loads of photos too