Overview
Our 8-day holiday on Cape Verde’s Santiago is a wonderful fusion of historical, cultural, and geographic highlights.
One of the best ways to experience an authentic Cape Verdean holiday is to explore the island of Santiago. Praia is the capital of Cape Verde and a good portion of the population live on this island. This bustling and vibrant city is built over several plateaus and is very pretty. Whilst in Praia, you will spend three nights at the Hotel Atlantico Praiamar, a modern clifftop hotel. From here, you will enjoy a guided tour of the city’s highlights, including a visit to cathedral and presidential palace, and time at Sukopira market. You will spend a day at Cidade Velha, the first European colonial outpost in the tropics and Cape Verde’s oldest settlement. This UNESCO World Heritage site stands as a testament to the dark past of slavery. During the 15th and 16th centuries Cape Verde was a strategically important location between Africa, the Americas, and Europe and slavery was a large part of this trade. Nowadays Cidade Velha’s reputation has changed and it’s evolved into a charming coastal village. You will visit the fort that overlooks the village, the churches, and the pelourinho -a 16th-century pillory used to punish slaves.
Heading off into the interior, you’ll be taken on a guided tour of the island on your way to the golden sands of Tarrafal beach. You’ll find jagged mountain peaks and fertile valleys of manioc and banana. Enjoy bartering for some fruit at the market is Assoumada, the island’s second largest city. On a Saturday and Wednesday Assomada’s African market attracts a throng of locals and visitors alike. Here you can buy anything from chickens (alive or dead) to furniture, herbal remedies, and colourful spices. The city is built on a plateau between deeply cut valleys, and is nestled below some of the island’s highest peaks.
At the northern tip of Santiago, lovely Tarrafal has the best sandy beaches of the island. Stay at the Oasis Tarrafal Alfandega Suites and enjoy a beach holiday away from the crowds. Tarrafal beach is in a sheltered bay, so is safe for swimming and snorkelling. This is the ideal base to relax or perhaps go out with the diving school. A guide will collect you for tour of the Serra Malagueta natural park. We can arrange for a guided day of walking, or you might prefer to visit some of the nicest viewpoints by car. The views are simply breath-taking.
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Itinerary
Guide price £2,200 per person
We can create a tailor-made holiday to suit your budget.
INCLUDED: International flights (guide price only), accommodation in twin share B&B basis, in en-suite rooms at the Oasis Tarrafal Alfandega Suits and the Hotel Oasis Atlantico Praiamar . Return airport transfers on Santiago. A guided tour of the Serra Malagueta Mountain range, with lunch and walk. A guided day around the island, visiting Assomada Market. One half day orientation tour of Praia. EXCLUDED: Meals not specified above and insurance. Additional excursions on free days.
Accommodation
The combination of accommodation we have chosen for this trip is part of the key to an unforgettable holiday. From the attractive Hotel Oasis Atlantico Praiamar located on a promontory overlooking the bay below, to the Oasis Tarrafal Alfandega Suites, located at Santiago's best beach. Accommodation will be on B&B basis.
Activities
We have included a fantastic range of activities on Santiago. Most are suitable for all ages, but many can be adapted to your abilities and experience and if you especially love diving then you'll love Santiago with its dark historical past and a coast littered with ship wrecks.
Location
Santiago is one of the southern islands of Cape Verde and has so much to offer from two volcanic mountain ranges which dominate the island to Tarrafal with its pretty sandy cove; great for snorkelling, cycling, relaxing and diving.
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