Flying from other cities

Flying from places other than Paris, Amsterdam, Lisbon or cities in Spain is difficult because there are no direct flights and because for the indirect flights the connections are not ideal so you have to stay overnight in a connecting city on you way out and/or on your way back.
So be prepared to “loose” a day when travelling form elsewhere

Click on the tabs to find some practical tips to avoid the inconvenient flights.

Avoid flight connections in Cape Verde (such as Sal)

The reasons

• Cost (the local flight is expensive + you will be charged for luggage again)
• The risk of missing flights and having to buy another ticket
• The risk of your luggage arriving late

Your first choice should be to get regular airline flight connecting in Lisbon for a flight from Lisbon to Sao Vicente

Making a connection in Lisbon and having one ticket minimizes the risk of missing flights and luggage arriving late

Here are the Lisbon-Sao Vicente flights to aim to connect with:

OUTWARDS

Saturdays: 09:25 Lisbon – 12:45 Sao Vicente

Sundays: 09:25 Lisbon – 12:45 Sao Vicente

Wednesdays: 09:25 Lisbon – 12:45 Sao Vicente

RETURN

Saturdays: 13:35 Sao Vicente – 18:35 Lisbon

Sundays: 13:35 Sao Vicente – 18:35 Lisbon

Wednesdays: 13:35 Sao Vicente – 18:35 Lisbon

Your second choice (first choice = connection in Lisbon) is to connect with the TACV flight from Amsterdam to Sao Vicente.

This is a viable option, but you should be aware of the following :

• Your local agency or airline will not be able to issue you a flight ticket with both flights. This is because TACV has no agreements with other airlines (other airlines do not want to take responsibility for delays / luggage problems caused by TACV)
• This means that when you arrive at Amsterdam Schiphol airport you will need to go get your luggage and take the luggage to the TACV desk to check in again.
• TACV flight times are quite unpredictable. Sometimes they are late and sometime they are even ….. early (without notifying all passengers).
• This year (2015) TACV has not always been in financial control. On at least 2 occasions, this has resulted in major flight disruptions.
• For the abovementioned reasons it is best to stay overnight in Amsterdam to take the
• TACV flight the next day (or on the way back , stay overnight and then take your flight home the next day)

Avoid flying with TACV between islands if you only have a short holiday during the Christmas – New Year period. During this time the TACV flight are booked to full capacity by diaspora (Cape Verdeans living abroad) and their luggage. Chances are very high that your luggage will not arrive with you.

Do not be surprised for you flight to Sao Vicente or your flight returning from Sao Vicente to be delayed for up to a week due to sandstorms.

During November – March the sky of the islands can become “hazy”. This is caused by fine sand blowing in from the Sahara. About 5-10% of the time the sand becomes too dense for the aircraft to fly (the engines cannot take it).

When this happens, all flights will be cancelled. This may last for up to a week. With cancellations over many days, a backlog is likely to develop, meaning that even when the air clears it may take more than a day to get on your flight from Sao Vicente back home.

So if you or fellow-travelers have a critical event to attend right after arrival back home, we advice you not to take the risk. Better to plan your holiday for another period.