If you’re looking for your next walking holiday, Cape Verde deserves a serious look.  Having just returned from our self-guided walking holiday in Cape Verde with my husband, I would like to share my top highlights and tips from our experience. I’ve done the Annapurna Sanctuary Trek in Nepal and while I wouldn’t draw direct comparisons to Santo Antao, there’s an opportunity here for a warmer, quieter alternative. Then again, perhaps it’s best kept as KE’s best-kept secret… one I’m only sharing with you!

My husband and I recently returned from KE’s Self-Guided Walking on Cape Verde holiday. It was our first time doing a self-guided holiday rather than a fully guided one and we were a bit nervous about how the KE app and route notes would work. Once you’re there, everything runs seamlessly and it all clicks into place, the flexibility becomes a real plus too.

We chose the longer walking options each day to make the most of our time. I had done a bit of research ahead of time and was curious whether the Paul Valley really was as lush as the photos suggested. Spoiler: it was! It’s amazing how often people assume Cape Verde is just desert islands like Sal and Boa Vista—great for beach breaks, yes, but the scenery front is quite the contrary.

There are 10 islands in the archipelago and this itinerary takes you to ultimately the best one for varied landscapes. Santo Antao is green, terraced, coastal, desert-like and volcanic—all at once. Fogo offers a proper volcanic peak on the guided version, but for a self-guided trip, Santo Antao is unbeatable. It is also one of the quietest hiking destinations I’ve ever visited. We only crossed paths with a small group of French hikers in Paul and a few day-trippers in Fontainhas.

The headline takeaway from this holiday is that Santo Antao is amazing and has so much wonderful scenery to offer. From volcanic peaks poking around the island best seen from Day 3’s walk (balcony path), to the lush green terraced land of the Paul Valley (as well as the Ribeira Grande loops), to the long undulating coastal path along the Atlantic sea from Cruzinha to Ponta do Sol or down the Alto Mira Valley to the sea, there are a lot of awesome views. The Atlantic coast is wild with its large swells but oh so wonderful blue colours. And I can’t forget to add that the only hike on Sao Vicente led us on a trail to an extinct volcanic crater!

Our host, Any and her team were wonderfully welcoming. We really enjoyed the simplicity of Casa D’Any. The positioning and the views were amazing. Home-grown food, mainly from the gardens of the property and also the nearby terraces are a great touch and Any is never too far away to ask if you need anything more.

Transfers between walking points were seamless, averaging 30–60 minutes, except for the longer journey from Ponta do Sol to Tarrafal, which took about three hours. That drive was an experience in itself—winding through the island’s interior on cobbled mountain roads with jaw-dropping views. The craftsmanship behind these roads is impressive and the views across to Sao Vicente were breathtaking! Drivers often offered to stop at the best viewpoints.

The cultural touches added even more depth to the experience. West African music was everywhere; relaxing, rhythmic, and infectious. The street art, often dedicated to famous musicians, was vibrant and easy to find in every town and village. We enjoyed live music in Mindelo and had an almost private performance at Caleta restaurant in Ponta do Sol. By chance, we were in Paul during a harvest festival and witnessed an hours-long parade with drums, dancing and local flair—an unexpected and unforgettable highlight. I have so many images!

From fishermen to farmers, to local people going about their business, everyone is just wonderfully helpful. One woman in Dominguinhas pointed us past a school when we were unsure of a turn and another man and his donkey guided us into Aguada on the Day 7 loop. The route notes and app worked well, but these small interactions made the experience even more special. This then brings me onto language. Portuguese and creole are the most widely spoken, but when that faltered, our basic French came in handy. So if you couldn’t quite get ‘Bom Dia’ the first time around, ‘Bonjour’ would follow! However Google Translate is a brilliant tool and you should definitely download if not confident in either of those.

Weather-wise, Cape Verde is wonderfully warm year-round. The evenings were clear, perfect for sunsets. We enjoyed some incredible ones, three of our favourites were from a terrace in Mindelo, a balcony in Ponta do Sol and from the beach in Tarrafal — oh and with a beer (on average bottles are 200-250ml at 170-220 CVE each).

• Bring trekking poles! The landscape is undulating and you'll find many paths curving up, along and down are cobbled, occasionally with gravel and dust. The path from the summit on Day 3 is a prime example of this, amazing but definitely hard on the knees!

• Bring some Euros to begin with. The CVE is a closed currency so we took Euros to be exchanged in Mindelo to get us off on the right foot.

• Bring some cash with you. While there are lots of ATMs and we used our debit card in a few places, in Tarrafal - a remote fishing village - they are less reliant on cards so cash is definitely a good idea here!

• Get a Water2Go bottle (a cycle type of bottle with an in built filter). Taking one of these bottles massively reduced our reliance on buying plastic bottles.

• Take some water purification tablets. On reflection, taking some water purification tablets in addition to the Water2Go may have made the job slightly easier.

• Do try and compete at EASE form (Traveller Entry Form) prior to arrival, it will make your time move quicker!