Sailnboat
Cape Verde

Cape Verde

Yacht charter in Cape Verde

Choose from 10 yachts across Cape Verde. Spread over 1 sailing regions. Prices from €3,005 per week.

  • 10
    Yachts available
  • 5
    On campaign
  • €3,005
    From / week
  • 1
    Charter regions
  • 1
    Marinas

Why this country

Sailing in Cape Verde

Cape Verde is the windiest destination in this guide, and that is the first thing to settle. The north-east trades blow across these ten volcanic islands all year, and in the strong months they run from force 4 to near gale. The channels between the islands are open Atlantic with nothing upwind of them for three thousand miles. None of the gentle, line-of-sight, learn-to-sail language that fits the Virgin Islands applies here. If you want wind, this is the best value for it anywhere in our catalogue — ten boats, weekly rates between roughly €3,000 and €5,700.

The season is also inverted relative to the Mediterranean. The dry season runs from November to June and December to March is the peak, when the trades are most consistent and air temperatures sit between 22 and 29 °C. July to October is the wet half: warmer, occasional rain and lighter wind, which makes it the off-season for sailing rather than the high season.

All ten of our boats are at Sal, which is where the international airport is. That is convenient and it is also the one thing to plan around: Sal sits in the eastern, flatter, drier group, while the dramatic sailing and the archipelago's real yachting centre — Mindelo on São Vicente — are about 150 nautical miles west. That is a passage, not a day sail, and doing it out and back inside a week leaves no time for anything else. A week from Sal is the eastern islands; the western group needs a one-way charter or a longer booking.

The fleet averages 14.7 metres with 5.2 cabins, which is a cabin-charter configuration — worth confirming whether you are buying the boat or a berth.

On the water

Sailing conditions in Cape Verde

Prevailing wind
North-east trades, force 4 to near gale

Strong and constant. This is a destination for crews who want breeze, not a sheltered-bay week.

Season
November – June, peak December – March

The dry season, 22–29 °C, with the most reliable trades in the peak months. July to October is wetter and lighter — the off-season here.

Sea state
Open Atlantic between the islands

The inter-island channels carry full ocean swell and the wind funnels between the high islands. Passages are real passages.

Where the fleet is
Sal Harbour — all 10 boats

Sal has the international airport. Mindelo, the archipelago's yachting centre, is about 150 nm west — not a week's round trip from here.

How the boats are configured
14.7 m with 5.2 cabins

A high cabin count for the length, typical of cabin charter. Five sailing yachts and five catamarans; none is skipper-only.

Worth the detour

Where to drop anchor in Cape Verde

  • 1

    Sal — Palmeira and Santa Maria

    The base island: flat, dry and salt-mined, with Palmeira as the working harbour on the west coast and Santa Maria's long beach at the southern tip. Not the prettiest island, but the one with the flights.

  • 2

    Boa Vista

    South-east of Sal and the closest real destination — dunes, a shipwreck on the beach at Santa Mónica, and loggerhead turtles nesting from roughly June to October. A comfortable reach in the trades.

  • 3

    Sal Rei and Ilhéu de Sal Rei

    Boa Vista's town and the islet that shelters its anchorage. The standard overnight in the eastern group.

  • 4

    Maio

    The least developed of the eastern islands, south-west of Boa Vista. Empty beaches and almost no yachts; a genuine off-the-map stop.

  • 5

    Santiago — Praia and Cidade Velha

    The largest island and the capital. Cidade Velha was the first European colonial town in the tropics and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A longer leg south-west from Sal.

  • 6

    Mindelo, São Vicente

    The archipelago's yachting capital and an Atlantic crossing waypoint, with real marina facilities and the best music in the country. About 150 nm west of Sal — plan for it rather than hoping.

  • 7

    Santo Antão

    A short channel from Mindelo and the most spectacular island in Cape Verde: green valleys cut into volcanic ridges that rise to nearly 2,000 metres. The reason people make the trip west.

  • 8

    Whale season

    Humpbacks pass through between roughly March and May, which overlaps the end of the strong-wind season. A reason to pick the spring over midwinter.

Suggested routes

Where a week in Cape Verde could take you

The eastern islands from Sal

7 days

The realistic week from this base: Sal, Boa Vista and Maio, with the trades behind you going south and a harder leg coming back. Expect real sailing rather than anchorage-hopping.

  1. 1

    Palmeira, Sal

    Saturday handover and provisioning; the harbour is on the west coast.

  2. 2

    Santa Maria, Sal

    Round to the southern tip — a short leg to settle the crew into the breeze.

  3. 3

    Sal Rei, Boa Vista

    South-east across the channel; the islet shelters the anchorage.

  4. 4

    Santa Mónica / Boa Vista south coast

    Along the island; the wreck and the dunes.

  5. 5

    Maio

    The far point south-west; almost no one else out here.

  6. 6

    Back north-east toward Boa Vista

    The upwind leg of the week — allow the whole day.

  7. 7

    Palmeira, Sal

    Final leg back for the Saturday handover.

Find a boat for this route

Before you book

Local rules and paperwork in Cape Verde

Skipper qualification
None of the fleet is skipper-only — but experience matters here. Bareboat is available on all ten boats. Given force 4 to near-gale trades and open-ocean channels, operators will look hard at your recent experience, and this is not a sensible first charter.
Season is inverted
November to June, not the European summer. July to October is the wet season with lighter wind. If you are used to booking a Mediterranean August, the calendar here works the other way round.
Reef the main early
The channels accelerate the wind. The islands are high and close enough together to funnel the trades between them. Wind strength in the channel is routinely more than the forecast for the open sea.
Sal is not the sailing
Mindelo and Santo Antão are 150 nm west. The base is where the airport is. A week from Sal covers the eastern islands; the western group is a one-way charter or a fortnight. Ask the operator about one-way options before you plan a route west.
Cabin charter or whole boat
Check which you are buying. 5.2 cabins at 14.7 metres is a cabin-charter configuration. Some of these boats sell berths individually.
Provisioning and spares
Load up at Sal. The eastern islands have small towns rather than chandleries. Carry what you need; fuel and water are available but not everywhere.

Checked October 2026. Rules change — confirm the detail that matters for your trip when you book.

What is here

The Cape Verde fleet at a glance

The fleet in Cape Verde is made up of 5 sailing yachts and 5 catamarans.

Most boats here are sailing yachts, averaging 15.6 metres.

Weekly prices start in the €3,000 – €6,000 range, where 7 boats are listed.

Boats sleep between 8 and 12 guests, with cabins up to 6.

The most common size band is 13 – 16 m, with 10 boats.

The fullest month on the calendar right now is Dec 2026: 50% of the fleet already has at least one booking, while 5 boats are still completely open.

Budget

Charter prices in Cape Verde

Weekly rate, set by the operator. No booking fee.

Space on board

Boat sizes

Sleeping 8–12 guests

  • 13 – 16 m 10

Availability

How full is the calendar in Cape Verde?

Share of the Cape Verde fleet that already holds at least one reservation, for each of the next twelve months. Taken from the operators' own calendars and refreshed daily — a boat with one week booked can still be chartered in the others.

Months further out look emptier simply because they are further away — most charters are booked a few months ahead, not a year.

Most booked month

Dec 2026

50% of the fleet already booked

Most still open

Oct 2026

9 boats with no booking yet

The fleet

Yachts in Cape Verde

10 yachts available · from €429 / day

Where to sail

The one sailing region in Cape Verde

Every region we have boats in, largest fleet first — with the number of departure bases so you can see where a week actually starts.

Good to know

Frequently asked questions

Weekly prices in our catalogue break down as: €3,000 – €6,000 (7). The lowest published weekly rate is €3,005. These are the operators' own prices — we add no booking fee.
Our Cape Verde catalogue currently lists 5 sailing yachts, 5 catamarans.
Booking pressure is highest in Dec, when 50% of the fleet already holds at least one reservation. May is the quietest month in our calendar. Availability shown on this site is synchronised daily from the operators' own reservation systems.
10 of the 10 boats we list in Cape Verde are available bareboat, meaning you sail them yourself. A recognised licence is required; the listing states which. 0 boats can be chartered with a skipper.
Boats in Cape Verde sleep from 8 up to 12 guests, with the largest offering 6 cabins. Most groups book a boat in the 13 – 16 m size band.

Ready to explore Cape Verde by sea?

10 verified yachts across 1 regions.