Health & safety
Cape Verde Health & Safety: Water, Currents and Sun
Cape Verde is a genuinely stable, welcoming archipelago for visitors, and most trips pass without any real safety concern. A handful of practical points are still worth knowing before you go.
Updated 2026-08-16
Tap Water and Food
Tap water in Cape Verde is generally not recommended for drinking, even on the more developed islands — water quality varies between islands and municipalities, and much of what reaches taps has been desalinated rather than drawn from natural freshwater sources, which affects taste more than safety but is still worth avoiding for drinking. Bottled or filtered water is the standard, easy choice throughout the archipelago, widely available even on the quieter islands, and street food and market seafood are widely eaten and generally safe at busy, high-turnover stalls, the usual traveller's rule of thumb for judging freshness anywhere.
Ocean Currents on Atlantic-Facing Beaches
Several of Cape Verde's beaches, particularly those facing the open Atlantic on islands like Boa Vista and Sal's less sheltered stretches, can carry genuinely strong currents and undertows that aren't always obvious from the shore — swimming at beaches with visible lifeguard presence or a local reputation for calm water, and respecting posted flags or local advice where they exist, is worth doing rather than assuming every stretch of golden sand is equally safe for casual swimming. Sheltered spots like Sal's own Santa Maria and São Vicente's calm Baía das Gatas lagoon are considerably safer default choices than an unfamiliar, exposed beach.
Strong Sun Close to the Equator
Cape Verde sits close enough to the equator, combined with near-constant sunshine and the trade winds' cooling effect that can mask how much sun exposure is actually happening, that sunburn catches out visitors who underestimate the strength of the sun because the breeze keeps them from feeling overheated. High-factor sunscreen, a hat and shade during the middle of the day are worth taking seriously regardless of which island you're on, including on overcast or windy days when the UV level can still be high.
Emergency Numbers
In an emergency, dial 132 for police, 131 for fire services, or 130 for medical emergencies — Cape Verde runs separate numbers for each service rather than a single unified line. On the quieter islands with limited medical infrastructure, a serious medical issue may require transfer to a larger island's hospital, so travel insurance covering medical evacuation between islands is worth having in place before you go.