The 15 Best Local Life & Culture Experiences in Cape Verde

1.Santiago Island Tour: Meet with a Local Family & Tarrafal Beach

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 127 reviews · from $103Our pick

Explore Santiago from Praia with a local cooking lesson, Assomada Market, Serra de Malagueta, and free time at Tarrafal Beach.

“I had a fantastic time with this day tour. They fit in lots of things and the cooking workshop and market visit are particular highlights. Ivana and Nilton were really friendly and knowledgeable guides. Would recommend to anyone looking to visit Santiago island.”

Check availability →Read our full review

2.From Praia: Banana Plantation Tour and Cuscuz Workshop

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 75 reviews · 4 hours · from $88

Visit Santiago’s largest banana plantation, cook cuscuz with a local family, and enjoy Monte Txota scenery on this four-hour tour from Praia.

“This was so much fun! I was the only one attending the trip (as it’s off season) and I had 2 guides and 1 driver with me. Everyone was super nice and fun to talk to. Always ensuring that everything was fine, helping me walk through the plantation. Highly recommended, one of the best trips I have been on, mainly due to the guides.”

Check availability →Read our full review

3.Sal Island: Catxupa Cooking Class with a local family

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 72 reviews · 2 hours · from $41Best value

Cook Cape Verde’s famous Catxupa with a local family on Sal, enjoy a home-cooked meal, cultural stories, and hotel transfers.

“Incroyablement surprise par cette belle expérience. Nous avons pu nous glissé dans la culture cap verdienne, on a même eu droit à un petit cours de danse, le partage de l’histoire et le plat typique qui était excellent. Je recommande cette activité et obrigada🤗”

Check availability →Read our full review

4.Serra Malagueta: Principal Valley Hike & Lunch with Locals

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 64 reviews · 7 hours · from $111

Hike from Serra Malagueta to Principal Valley, share a Cape Verdean lunch with locals, and enjoy east-coast views from Praia.

“I really enjoyed this tour if you want to see the locals life closer and enjoy the very tasty meal of a local family and the beautiful nature and animals and plantations you get to book this hike plus Peter the Guide was the cherry on top making everything so smooth, helping in every detail and gave so much information about the whole country and history and fauna and Flora, it was overall perfect!! Thank you :)”

Check availability →Read our full review

5.Santa Maria City Tour & Cuscuz Tasting with a Local Family

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 50 reviews · 2 hours · from $41

Explore Santa Maria, taste homemade cuscuz and fidjos, see salt pans and Shells Beach, and finish with a swim at Ponta Preta.

“Ik heb genoten van de tour. Heb nog plekken gezien die wat verder gelegen lagen. De Cuzcuz en fidjos waren heerlijk!!! Top gids en chauffeur hele vriendelijke mensen.”

Check availability →Read our full review

6.Boa Vista Reef Snorkeling in Gatas Bay / Aperitif with Locals

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 46 reviews · 4 hours · from $67

Snorkel Boa Vista’s calm Gatas Bay reef, see tropical fish and lemon sharks, then share goat cheese and Cape Verdean drinks with locals.

Check availability →Read our full review

7.From Tarrafal: Serra to Principal Hike & Lunch with locals

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 41 reviews · 5 hours · from $70

Hike from Serra Malagueta to Principal, then share a home-cooked Cape Verdean lunch with a local family for $70.

“Luìs est un super guide !! Il nous a permis d'en apprendre beaucoup sur l'histoire de son magnifique pays et particulièrement de Santiago. Grâce à lui nous avons pu faire la rencontre d'habitants très chaleureux et généreux. La randonnée est incroyable. Et le petit plus de Luìs au-delà de sa gentillesse et son authenticité est son niveau de français ! Mille mercis Luìs !”

Check availability →Read our full review

8.From Tarrafal: Verdant Valley Hike & Lunch With Locals

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 17 reviews · 5 hours · from $82

Hike Serra Malagueta from Tarrafal, spot endemic birds, meet a local family, and enjoy a Cape Verdean lunch in Principal Valley.

“It was a very fun excursion. You start at the top and the hike is walking down into the valley. While receiving information about: plants, animals, culture and also rum. It was very interesting. The meal at the locals house was really good. My husband and I are vegetarian which was not a problem at all. They made the meal vegan. Absolutely amazing! We took a “bus” / local taxi with multiple people, which was very interesting, entertaining and gave insight into the culture and commutation. I recommend bringing hiking boots or some shoes with a good grip as some stones on the way down are slippery.”

Check availability →Read our full review

9.Full-Day São Vicente Island Experience with a Local Guide

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 16 reviews · from $104

Review São Vicente’s Mindelo, Monte Verde, fishing villages, markets, and beaches on a flexible private tour with local pickup.

“Not really a guide, more like a driver that talked a bit. Either he didn’t understand our questions or didn’t really know the answers.”

Check availability →Read our full review

10.Santiago Island: Banana Plantation, Natural Park & Workshop with a local family

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 10 reviews · from $87

Explore Santiago Island’s banana plantation, taste fresh coconut water, and cook Cape Verdean dishes with a local family near Praia.

“Las guias fueron encantadoras. Muy atentas y colaboradoras en casa de mama luisa. Nosotros hicimos el tour en español con Katia y fue maravilloso. Recomendable 100%”

Check availability →Read our full review

11.Praia: Guided Historic Walking Tour & Lunch with Locals

★★★★★★★★★★3.8 · 9 reviews · 3 - 4 hours · from $88

Explore Praia’s Plateau, lighthouse, markets, and colonial streets, then share a traditional Cape Verdean lunch with local hosts.

“Toller informativer Ausflug mit super Guides. Leckeres landestypisches Essen. Lebendige kurzweilige Stadtführung mit viel Engagement, Wissen und Leidenschaft. Sehr empfehlenswert.”

Check availability →Read our full review

12.Praia: Guided Historic Walking Tour & Lunch with Locals

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 8 reviews · from $88

Explore Praia’s lighthouse, markets, monuments, and local lunch on a small-group walking tour with pickup and a guide.

“Was sold as a private tour according to my booking voucher. Under the "Additional info" section of both this tour and the Cidade Velha tour, it was indicated that "This is a private tour. Only your group will participate". It seems that they have changed it now but their duplicity on this stance was uncalled for.”

Check availability →Read our full review

13.Day with locals people

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 6 reviews · 8 hours · from $106

Spend a day with Eloisa and her family on Santiago, shop at Assomada Market, cook Cape Verdean dishes, crush sugar cane, and dance.

“We had an amazing day with Eloise and her family. All of them are very welcoming und fun. After making some delicious food for lunch, we did some traditional dancing with Eloise and her kids. We had loads of fun and learned a lot. We didn’t want the day to end.”

Check availability →Read our full review

14.Like Locals: Banana Plantation, and Cuscuz with locals

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 6 reviews · from $76

Explore Cape Verde’s banana fields, rum-making traditions, and home cooking with a local family on a small-group tour from Praia.

“It was a great tour. We enjoyed cooking with a local family. Visiting a banana plantation was also nice, but I wish we had an opportunity to talk with a farmer at the plantation. On the whole, it was a great experience, and highly recommended.”

Check availability →Read our full review

15.Airport Transfer Cesária Évora Int (VXE) to Mindelo or Vise Versa

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 5 reviews

Private VXE airport transfer to Mindelo or the harbor with flight tracking, nameplate pickup, professional drivers, and free cancellation.

“This is an excellent choice for both airport transfers and tours around the island. Their guides are top notch, friendly and professional. They do their best with customer service. You will be pleased.”

Check availability →Read our full review