ON THE ROAD
1, The Ecolodge's paradise location : "On The Road"
Palmeira Da Cruz Eco-Lodge is located on the island of Santo Antão.
Santo Antão is located north of the Cape Verde archipelago near the island of São Vicente. Santo Antão does not have its own airport. São Vicente does have an airport with several destinations.
From Mindelo, the metropolis and port on São Vicente, take a ferry to Santo Antão. A direct flight on Santo Antão would be more practical but the ferry crossing is attraction in itself that should definitely not be missed. It's part of your holiday and you'll enjoy stunning views.
The explanation below is also for travellers departing from other countries. In this case, look for the appropriate flight from your country to São Vicente.
Domestic flights
Booking one or more domestic flights is not easy these days.
If you are sure to only come to São Vicente/Santo Antão on holiday, we strongly recommend booking directly on São Vicente. Even though the flights from your home country to São Vicente might be a bit more expensive than the other islands, the final amount always comes down to the same.
For domestic flights, contact TACV (https://www.caboverdeairlines.com) This airline currently flies between the islands.
Belgium-Netherlands-(Luxembourg) -> São Vicente (we give this as an example, obviously there are also flights from other European countries and continents)
Which flights fly to São Vicente from Airport Brussels and Schiphol Amsterdam?
TAP and Tui are two airlines that fly to São Vicente Cape Verde. Tui flies on Mondays and Thursdays, twice a week.
Depending on the season, LUX Air also flies directly to São Vicente.
TAP flies from Brussels and Amsterdam and has a stopover in Lisbon or Porto. The flight takes approximately between 7 and 10 hours with stopovers included.
Tui flies direct from Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam. This flight takes about 6 hours. Sometimes Tui lands briefly on Sal or Boã Vista to drop off or pick up travellers. This may increase the travel time by 45 minutes.
Airfare prices can vary widely. Outside school holidays, the price drops. So keep in mind the school holidays in Belgium and the Netherlands. Sometimes you can get interesting bargains because these holidays are not aligned.
São Vicente -> Santo Antão
A ferry will take you from Mindelo to Porto-Novo. This boat trip takes about 60 minutes.
There are two different ferries that go out.
1, cvinterilhas.com. you can book online.
2, Ferry Armas (https://nosferry.cv). The website is online but you can't book online yet. You can buy tickets for the ferry locally at a ticket office. The price is 1500 CVE (15€) per person.
If you can't combine your arrival at São Vicente with the ferry, you will have to book a night in Mindelo. Here we can also provide you with interesting tailor-made information.
Porto Novo -> Palmeira Da Cruz (Cruzinha)
How do you travel from Porto Novo, the port where you arrive by ferry, to Palmeira Da Cruz?
The drive to Palmeira Da Cruz is fairytale-like. During the 1.5- to 2-hour drive, the scenery is very varied and spectacular. You drive along the coastline through a rocky colourful mountain range, past an oasis of greenery, right through the mountains to the other side of Santo Antão.
There are three different ways to get to Palmeira Da Cruz.
- There are local vans (Colectivo) that travel cheaply to Cruzinha. The driver will drop you off at Palmeira da Cruz. You pay per person and luggage is strapped on the roof.
- You can hire the taxi or Aluguer privately for about 80€. The taxi can also be ordered by us and the driver will wait for you at the ferry.
- You hire a car and explore the island's roads by yourself at your own pace.
TIP: If you spend more than 3 days on Palmeira Da Cruz, we recommend renting a car. Rent-a-car Vale & Montanha or Novalinha; both companies are located in Porto Novo. Contact us for proper directions.
2, Travel documents :
- To travel to Cape Verde, you need a valid travel passport that is still valid for at least 6 months.
- Visa : EASE is now the name for registration: You can register online at https://www.ease.gov.cv. For this, you pay around 30€ and your stay is valid for 30 days. If registration fails, you can buy an EASE at the airport on arrival. Make sure you are among the first to leave the plane and get to the purchase counter as soon as possible. Long queues cannot be avoided here.
- Check the airlines' website if you need to fill in additional documents to enter Portugal and/or Cape Verde.
3, Currency :
The Cape Verdean currency is Escudo. 110.265 Escudo is 1€.
On arrival in Cape Verde, you can withdraw money in Escudo using your debit card. You can pay with Euros in many shops.
We accept both Escudos and Euros in cash and we also have a payment system for Credit Cards.
4, Golden tips :
Communication :
- Always say Ola, bom dia ... and nod politely to the people you cross or meet. This is a very important custom here in Cape Verde.
- We have Wifi both in the room and in Villa G, the main building, but sometimes it is convenient to use a phone card while on the island. Two providers are available: Unitel or CVMovel. You can recharge your card for as little as 1 week and use 3G. The phone card is valid for 3 months. The vendor will take care of it for you. On the other hand, you can install a digital SIM card from home these days.
Health :
- The African sun burns briskly, provide sun products with high factor to protect you properly. Also bring a headgear.
- Ask the family doctor for a medicine, antibiotics, against diarrhoea. The water on Palmeira Da Cruz is drinkable for locals but Palmeira Da Cruz uses bottled water to make coffee and tea, make ice cubes and rinse raw vegetables. We also recommend using bottled water to brush your teeth.
- At Palmeira Da Cruz, we sometimes suffer from mosquitoes. It is best to provide a product against mosquitoes. We recommend buying DEET from the pharmacy.
Walking and hiking on the island :
- A hiking map is available with us. We recommend downloading an offline App Organic Maps on your smartphone. It is a handy App that you can also consult at home to plan walks in advance.
- Hiking maps can be bought on arrival in Porto Novo (in the souvenir shop in the arrival/departure hall)