Safety Tips in Cape Verde

whilst recently in cape verde i was mugged on my way back to the sab sab hotel - beware don't walk down the dark road - when the lights go out we were attacked. if you are staying that side of town walk down the light road where the irish bar is.

also be careful of seduction from any men claiming to be rhastas, baille fall or muslims. these men are not practicing and sleep with up to three or four women a week and most are also married the worst is omar - a great seductor just don't fall for him - i saw him sleep with four women in the one week i was there.

and then it was finally my turn to enter the tender and we went ashore and I realized, my last film was finished and I had just a very short time ashore, before I had to be back onboard.
And of course there was no shop, selling films - and so I had a little walk of maybe 20 minutes, I saw colorful houses, nice and friendly people, who obviously will not see tourists every day...

Cape Verde is still an almost unspoilt groupe of islands - just have a look that not a lot of VT-members yet saw it at all !

well, at least for a portuguese girl like me, or even for portuguese wallet. 100 escudos cabo-verdianos is around 1€, and things like bottled water are expensive. I was quite chocked with the thought that how do people who live there and work there get around with those prices... and i found out the don't easily... People told me that, for a start, they have different (cheaper) eating habbits, and they count a lot with the help of family living abroad. Wich is one of the most important sources of incoming currency.

Airport in the capital city - Praia: There are aggresive boys who want to carry your luggage in or off the airport (for the tip). Be prepared! It is very short distance from arrival/departure hall to the taxi stand and you can use for free baggage carts... It was the only bad experience from Cabo Verde for me...

DO NOT drink the water! They say it's purified but if I were you, I wouldn't drink it anyway.
I didn't drink it and still was sick in the end. I guess that it was the water that I used to wash my teeth :)

If you feel like buying some truly African gifts for your family and/or friends, do not forget that all of those you can buy on Cabo Verde were imported from other parts of Africa and therefore are not only unoriginal, but also very expensive. If you insist on buying some though, go to the port in Santa Maria.

Take care of your belongings in the towns. Pickpocketing and thieving is a problem, it is often carried out by children. Tourists are especially targeted so keep your wits about you and keep your wallet somewhere safe.

Be extremely careful on internal flights since they carefully check your baggage weight; check for allowance before reaching the airport !!!!!!
You can get info from local hotel/resort managers.