Visiting Fogo and Brava – a true story by happy travellers

It’s always nice to hear from people who have travelled with us!

Shona and Andy arranged their tailor-made holiday in the Azores with us in 2018. They had a great time and appreciated our expertise and service – for 2019 they also decided to arrange their tailor made Cape Verde holiday with Archipelago Choice.

Here’s what they had to say after returning from their Cape Verde holiday.

If you would like to visit Fogo and Brava then a good starting point is to read our Cape Verde Walking Holiday on Fogo – we can then tailor the trip for you from there (as we do with all of our holidays).

“Dear Max,

Well, here we are safe and sound back home and feeling a little bit down after a wonderful trip. Many thanks for organising our holiday which was so interesting, beautiful, fun and different. Please will you pass our thanks to our 4 guides and all the drivers, especially the guy on Brava who was really special and made a unique island come alive for us.

TAP got all it’s flights off reasonably on time and Binter did the same plus all the taxis, minibuses, pickup trucks etc all turned up when they were supposed to – oh except for a slight slip at Fogo port when he went to the airport instead! A local guy rang your office for us and they chased him up, boy was he embarrassed! A journey where moderately complicated transfers all work is a real pleasure to be on.

The hotels were all different and lovely in their own way. The Funkas at Casa Marisa was a very unusual place to spend the night and the night sky was magical from the rooftop. The Cruz Grande on Brava was friendly and we felt very welcome. The first night on Brava was spent without power as three of the islands four generators were out of action – so dinner and bed by candlelight was the order of the day! The Savanna on Fogo was really special but if anyone stays there during the Festival – take earplugs!

Being on Fogo during their annual celebration was a privilege and one we would do again. Music in every bar and square meant we really felt part of the atmosphere and we went and watched the 3rd and 4th place match in the football tournament where we were definitely objects of curiosity! The horse event outside the hotel isn’t a race but rather a display of horsemanship by the race winners. All great fun and with most of the town and island in attendance, was a real spectacle. The main event was a gig taking place down on the square by the Casa de Bandieros every evening, starting about 11pm and went on until 6am – hence the earplugs! It wasn’t so much the music but the people coming home that made for some early starts which was fine for us. The rest of the hotel guests were young american Cape Verdeans who were playing at the concerts which made for some quiet afternoons when they all caught up on their sleep. All in all, a real “once in a lifetime experience” that we wouldn’t hesitate to do again.

The Cape Verdeans are special people who really welcome tourists. We were surprised at how few of us there were but I guess it is low season right now. We only saw a couple of British people on Santiago, after that we were on our own which was just how we like it!

We are determined to go back after the rains sometime and see Cape Verde as it should be – green rather than brown! We both hope that they can continue to put appropriate infrastructure in place to attract more visitors but without spoiling such a magical destination.

All in all, a fantastic holiday and thanks again for the great organisation.