Cape Verde · Cape Verde
February
Carnival transforms Mindelo — one of the Atlantic's great street festivals.
Best match
#6 of 12 months
There are better months for Cape Verde — see the full ranking below.
See when to go instead →Climate
High
25.8°C
Low
19.2°C
Rain
4mm
Sun
8.4hrs/day
30-year climate normals · Open Meteo ERA5
How February scores in Cape Verde
Weather
Excellent
Value
Above average
Crowds
Above average
Events
Excellent
Atmosphere
Outstanding
What you gain in February
- ↑The Mindelo Carnival (São Vicente island, February or early March depending on the calendar) is the finest carnival outside Brazil and Trinidad in the Atlantic world: the city of 70,000 erupts into costumed processions, live morna and funaná music, and street dancing that continues for four days. Cesária Évora's music fills every bar along the waterfront, and the cultural energy of Cape Verde's creative capital is at its annual peak.
- ↑Sunshine increases very slightly from January and the islands feel at their most vivid in February's clear pre-harmattan light. The loggerhead turtle nesting beaches at Boa Vista's Curral Velho are active from February — guided night walks to watch nesting females are among the great wildlife experiences of the Atlantic islands.
- ↑Santo Antão hiking in February is outstanding: the dramatic ribeiras (valleys) of the Paul Valley and Cova crater are a different world from Sal's flat dunes — green-terraced valleys 300m deep, accessible only on foot or by local transport, with accommodation in village quintas for next to nothing.
What you sacrifice
- ↓Mindelo Carnival draws large crowds from mainland Portugal and other Cape Verdean islands: accommodation in São Vicente must be booked many months ahead and prices spike significantly for the carnival week.
- ↓The resort islands (Sal, Boa Vista) are still at peak occupancy — no respite from January's package tourism concentration.
How February compares to April (best month)
| Factor | February | April ★ |
|---|---|---|
| Weather | 8 | 9 |
| Value | 5 | 8 |
| Crowds | 5 | 7 |
February in other destinations
Lisbon (14.3°C)Barcelona (14°C)Tokyo (10.4°C)Bali (30.1°C)Santorini (13.2°C)Paris (8°C)New York (4.5°C)Marrakech (19.1°C)Amsterdam (6°C)Maldives (30.2°C)Rome (11.9°C)Bangkok (33°C)Istanbul (8.6°C)Vienna (4.9°C)Seoul (4°C)Dubrovnik (11.1°C)Rio de Janeiro (31°C)Kyoto (10.1°C)Phuket (32.1°C)Cape Town (26.9°C)Prague (4°C)Amalfi Coast (13°C)Mexico City (23°C)Medellín (29°C)Fiji (31°C)London (9°C)Sydney (26°C)Iceland (3°C)Tulum (29°C)Dubai (26°C)Singapore (31°C)Hoi An (26°C)Chiang Mai (31.5°C)Miami (24.8°C)Florence (11.4°C)Queenstown (22.2°C)Madrid (11.2°C)Porto (15°C)Edinburgh (7°C)Copenhagen (4°C)Budapest (6°C)Kraków (4°C)Tbilisi (8°C)Palawan (30°C)Hanoi (19°C)Osaka (10°C)Goa (33°C)Cusco (19°C)Buenos Aires (29°C)Mykonos (13°C)Zanzibar (32°C)Sri Lanka (31°C)Costa Rica (26°C)Cancun (29°C)Krabi (33°C)Athens (14°C)Seville (17°C)Cartagena (31°C)Siem Reap (31°C)Havana (27°C)Split (11°C)Taipei (19°C)Kuala Lumpur (33°C)Valletta (15°C)Ho Chi Minh City (34°C)Hawaii (27°C)Cappadocia (6°C)Dominican Republic (28°C)Jamaica (30°C)Tanzania (29°C)Seychelles (30°C)Nepal (20°C)Jordan (13°C)Azores (17°C)Bora Bora (30°C)Los Angeles (20.3°C)Cairo (21.2°C)Kenya (28°C)Jaipur (25.1°C)Las Vegas (17.2°C)San Francisco (14°C)Madeira (19.8°C)Vancouver (8.4°C)Muscat (27.8°C)Lima (27°C)Cinque Terre (12°C)Kotor (11°C)Tel Aviv (18°C)Santiago (29°C)Bogotá (19°C)Bruges (6.5°C)Penang (32.2°C)Lombok (30.9°C)Fez (15.8°C)Kerala (32°C)Kigali (26°C)Hong Kong (18°C)Oslo (0°C)Auckland (24°C)
Climate data: 30-year normals (1991–2020) from Open Meteo ERA5 reanalysis. Scores compare months within Cape Verde, not across destinations. Methodology →