The island of São Vicente is a fantastic place for a vacation. The island, and especially the city of Mindelo, are known for their cultural activities and events. The cultural side is very often mentioned, but the island definitely has more to offer.
São Vicente has a few amazing beaches. City beach Laginha is incredible, but there are other outside the city that also deserve a visit. Beaches such as Salamansa and São Pedro also offer watersport activities.
To help you with planning your stay, I've created a vacation package that you can book or simply just choose from to create the Mindelo vacation you've been dreaming about.
Here are the 'building blocks' I'm happy to set you up with:
Transfer
Our transfer service is the easiest way to start your vacation in Mindelo and the island of São Vicente. We work with a small group of drivers, with who we discuss your arrival time and final destination. Upon arrival, just look for a sign with your name on it, and you can head out to your accommodation without anything to worry about.
Accommodation Mindelo
Vannilla Residencial is one of the top rated accommodations on Booking.com. With only 2,5 years of existence, it scores an 8.9 out of almost 350 reviews! This makes the residencial the accommodation in Mindelo with the second highest number of reviews on the Booking platform.
Owner Katy is a young hospitality professional who has managed to turn her B&B into one of the most popular accommodations within a competitive landscape. She has been able to do this by always giving her all to her guests, because she understands the importance of having a good host.
For example, when Katy's guests need to take the 07:00 ferry to Santo Antão, breakfast can be served as soon as 05:30 (!) so that no guest is forced to leave her B&B without having breakfast. Speaking about the breakfast she serves, it is one of the highest rated features of Vannilla.
Excursions/Tours
One of the excursions we offer is an island tour. During our island we'll take you around the island of São Vicente in a couple of hours to see what else the island has to offer outside of Mindelo. Our island tour takes you to (and up) Monte Verde, Salamansa, Baía das Gatas, Calhau and then back to the city of Mindelo.
Other excursions to choose from are:
Swimming with Turtles in São Pedro
Lunch & Street Art
Stand Up Paddle
*Other options also available, just let me know!
A great way to get to Mindelo right upon arrival is a walking tour around the city. One of our guides, Elzo (licensed), has many years of experience and an incredible amount of knowledge about 'his' city. Especially valuable if you don't have a lot of time to discover Mindelo alone.
Scooter Rental
An amazing way to get around the city and island. Our partners scooters are new and safe. Thanks to our partner we can also offer a scooter tour, but you can also head out alone without any issues. Traffic in and around the city is not very busy, and even when it is, in general people have a relaxed attitude. It is advised to be cautious outside the city, where some roads can be a little difficult due to unexpected turns.
Day trip Santo Antão
Just an hour away by ferry from Mindelo is the harbour city of Porto Novo. Upon arrival you can clearly see that the island has a different landscape when compared to São Vicente. But it really starts to get interesting when you start to drive along the coast, or up into the mountains.
Santo Antão probably is Cape Verde's most beautiful island, and you need to experience it, even if only for a day. The island is four of five times larger than São Vicente, but has half the population. For a day trip, we can book you a driver who takes you around the best parts of Santo Antão for a few hours.
Other Services
Tickets for the ferry to Santo Antão can be bought on the same day of departure, but it is advised to do this at least a day earlier. If you are looking to take the 07:00 ferry, you can buy tickets from 06:00 in the morning. Arriving late at the harbour means you could risk not buying your tickets in time to make the 07:00 ferry if there is a line at the ticket offfice.
To make things easier, especially if you're planning on going to Santo Antão directly from the Airport on São Vicente, we can purchase your tickets for you.
Accommodation Santo Antão
In case you wish to spend the night on the island of Santo Antão, something that I would definitely recommend, I suggest staying at my friend Sissi's B&B. Her B&B is located in Ponta do Sol, a charming town with many bars and restaurants. The B&B is located in the main street of the town, and is part of her home. Sissi and her family live on the first floor, while the rooms of the B&B are located on the bottom floor and on the second floor of the building.
Sissi's B&B scores a 9.2 on Booking.com with around 150 reviews from prior guests!
Price
As an example, here's a 4 day Mindelo vacation package, including:
Transfer
Accommodation Mindelo, 2 nights
Scooter rental (1) / half day
Accommodation Santo Antão, 1 night
Ferry tickets, bought for you
Starting at only € 165 for 2 people
Hi, I'm Freddy, the creator of the MindeloCaboVerde.com blog. Thank you so much for reading! If you're looking to book a Mindelo Vacation, don't look any further. Feel free to message me to discuss the details!