Compare Cape Verde hotels

With its beach resorts and growing crop of slickly run international-group hotels, the main tourist island of Sal is where most of Cape Verde’s best hotels are based. The vast bulk of visitors head to the south of the island, basing themselves around the tourist village of Santa Maria and focusing on the huge, heavenly and still-spacious beach.

Santa Maria is also decidedly the place if you’re looking for a luxury Cape Verde residence; check out its new, five-star Sensimar Cabo Verde or the independent Hotel Morabeza. Sal is also home to many cheap Cape Verde hotels. But families may prefer Cape Verde’s all-inclusive resorts, such as the Melia Tortuga Beach Resort.

While less developed, Boa Vista offers a similar range of accommodation options to Sal. Most of its best-established beach hotels are found in the southwest near Curralinho or Curral Velho’s gorgeous shores, while the island’s major settlement Sal Rei also boasts some excellent waterside resorts and apartments.

Emptier and less developed than Sal, Boa Vista nonetheless has a number of luxury and all-inclusive Cape Verde hotels – most glamorously in the form of the five-star Hotel Riu Touareg, a resort located close to its southern tip.

Other choices include bijou beach hotels upscale eco-lodges that can only be reached by foot or by 4x4. Think hammocks, homemade jams, lush gardens and limitless serenity.

As the biggest island, Santiago offers the most variety: tourists come here for hiking, history (courtesy of Cidade Velha) or beaches. Cape Verde’s capital, Praia, sits at its southern tip – and many use that as a base for a few days’ exploration.

Hotel Oasis Praiamar is just one of the resort-style seafront places in Praia, which is also home to Cape Verde’s best city hotels. Venture further inland and you’ll unearth tranquil, soulful escapes with sensational views.

The Foya Branca resort hotel has São Vicente’s best swimming shores. To best experience the Morna scene, meanwhile, stay in Mindelo at a faded, colonial-style hotel such as the Oásis Atlântico Porto Grande, where concerts and jamming sessions take place.

Elsewhere in Cape Verde, accommodation is mainly provided in family-run pensions or guesthouses, which tend to be cheap, charming and restful. On Fogo, most guesthouses are located near the eponymous volcano, while the four-star Hotel Xaguate sits handily near the airport.

The small island of Santo Antão is often relegated to a day-trip destination, but some stay longer for its excellent walking trails. Hotels here include the Bluebell on Ponta do Sol, and the luxurious Santantao Art Resort on the east coast.

Cape Verde hotel prices generally drop between April and June and in October. You can also find last-minute summer discounts, but these are not always available.