The Cape Verde archipelago sits off the cost of West Africa and boasts beautiful coastlines, a modern infrastructure and a vibrant culture which mixes elements of Africa, the Caribbean and Europe, although it remains a little-known destination.

That could be about to change, however – last year, Lonely Planet named it one of its top destinations for 2011 and the country is pumping money into new infrastructure to become a tourism hotspot.

Official figures suggest that arrivals are growing at a rate of 22 percent, with the country on track to welcome 1 million visitors annually by 2015.

So what can visitors do on the islands, some 455 km off the cost of Senegal in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean?

Explore – The historic center of Cidade Velha dates back to the 15th century and was the first European colonial outpost in the tropics, earning it a place on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2009.

Climb a volcano – The island of Fogo is one massive volcano, which last erupted in 1995. Daring and fit travelers can climb Mount Fogo, although it takes around five hours each way and it’s advisable to take a local guide.

Discover a legend – Singer Cesaria Evora is perhaps Cape Verde’s best-known export, and her songs capture the nature of life on her home island of Sao Vicente and her hometown, Mindelo, where her music is widely played and visitors can see her house.

Sunbathe – Cape Verde has been referred to as the new Canary Islands for its abundant sunshine. The islands of Sal, Boa Vista and Maio in the east offer unspoilt beaches and 350 days of sun a year.

See turtles – The island of Boa Vista is said to be one of the most important loggerhead turtle nesting spots on the planet, used by the creatures before they cross the Atlantic.

Swim in salt – Salt from the island of Sal is one of Cape Verde’s major exports and forms incredible vistas, as well as natural salt baths.

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/2011s-tourism-hotspots-what-to-do-in-cape-verde-2236267.html

Ideally situated off the West Coast of Africa, kept cool from the stifling tropical heat by gentle trade winds, and with mile upon mile of white deserted sand, it was dubbed the “European Caribbean”.

With only a five-and-half hour flight from the UK, it seemed a new paradise had been discovered.

Sadly, the recession meant that all the early promise of luxurious developments and resort hotels did not happen with the expected speed.

But with a healthy injection of EU money – and with the usual winter sun spots of North Africa recovering from troubled times – things are looking up.

Like many of us, I suspect, I had to confess ignorance about these 10 islands.

They lie 300 miles off the coast of Senegal, widely differing in character, from volcanic peaks to desert dunes.

Formerly part of the ­Portuguese empire, it was the centre of the Atlantic trading and slaving routes. The language is a mix of Creole and ­Portuguese. Although the ­official currency is Cape Verdian escudos, the euro is welcome almost everywhere.

The main island is Santiago in the south, the business centre of the islands, with dramatic mountain scenery, which provides some strenuous but beautiful routes for walkers.

Further south lies Fogo, home to an active volcanic crater, and also the coffee and wine producer for the region.

To the north lie Saint Vincent, recognised as the cultural and artisitic centre, and San Antao, which is the most fertile in the group.

The two main beach islands, which sit in the centre of the archipelago, Sal and Boa Vista, are the most accessible from the UK, with regular charter flights to each island.

Boa Vista, the nearest island to Africa, is the desert home to the all-inclusive paradise. The dunes roll down to the sea, and it is a haven for all water activities.

Turtles nest on the southern beaches, the third most ­important nesting site in the world for the quaint little creatures.

I based myself on Sal, as flights to the rest of the islands all go through here. Ferry rides between the islands can be long and uncomfortable – an option only for the more ­adventurous. Don’t be put off by the barren scenery of Sal – the beaches have the wow factor in spades.

This water sports capital of the islands is one of top five ­windsurfing ­locations in the world. Coloured sails weave and bob along the shoreline, while the sky is alive with graceful kites swooping in the breeze. Fishing, sailing, diving and snorkelling are all on the agenda, too.

The main tourist area is Santa Maria in the south. It has some lively bars and restaurants, but don’t expect sophisticated entertainment. The people are simple and live for their music – and of course, football.

In pole position in the centre of Santa Maria, fronted by the glorious shoreline, is the Morabeza hotel. It was ­originally a family home and is now run by the owners’ granddaughter, Sophie ­Macellisi.

She is slowly building up a sophisticated hotel around landscaped gardens and its own Beach Club. It is the perfect spot for people watching while indulging in the Cape Verdian mantra – no stress – and sipping their lethal national drink, Grogue, made from sugar cane.

It is worth taking a half-day tour to visit the natural volcanic swimming pool at Burracona, and the salt mines at Pedro Lume for a float in the naturally warm, buoyant lakes.

It would be all too easy to relax into a very laid-back week on Sal, but I was determined to be a bit more adventurous and took a 40-minute flight over to Sao Vicente, in the north.

This is home to some of Cape Verde’s greatest musicians, writers and thinkers, including Cesaria Evora a famous Cape Verdean singer – the barefoot diva. Mindelo, the main port town, positively pounds with music. Every bar and restaurant seems to have its own live ­entertainment.

Unless you intend to play the Vincentes at their own game and party all night, I would suggest you stay on the coast and make the short trip into the town.

The buildings reflect the old colonial days when this was a flourishing port, but they are a little jaded now.

The British had a big influence here in the 19th century, providing coal for all the long haul steamers.

This waterfront has been developed into a ­sophisticated international eating and shopping area, not entirely in keeping with the crumbling, but elegant ­buildings. Beside the modern waterfront, the fishermen repair their traditional boats, and still bring home their abundant catch, which fills the huge, bustling fish market.

Produce from other islands come in here, too, and there is a colourful vegetable market, heaving with people anxious to fill their big woven baskets with fresh mangoes, papayas, sweet potatoes, peppers and corn.

A short ferry hop over to the lush green volcanic slopes of San Antao is definitely worth the journey.

It is the second largest island, ­but ­undeveloped as a beach tourist resort. Like Santiago, it is a walker’s paradise.

The scenery is spectacular, rising from barren rubble, up through lush forests to craggy peaks. I took a tour up through the scalp-tingling hairpin bends to the rim of the volcano, to look back down into the fertile crater.

Houses literally cling to cliff edges, as though they are about to tumble into the ravines below.

The village of Fontainhas, hangs over a sheer drop of 300 metres. Every crag of rock is planted out and the gardens are a wave of colour down the cliff face.

After my adventures on San Vincente and Antao, I was ready for a few relaxing days back on Sal, dropping easily back into the no stress atmosphere.

My last night came all too soon and, as I sat sipping Fogo wine and watching a ­spectacular sunset turn the horizon into a ball of fire, I realised what a truly relaxing country this is.

Provided you’re not after glitz and glamour, Cape Verde promises simple, stress-free calm that won’t disappoint.

My feeling is that this simple haven of tropical islands will soon become a major tourist destination for us Brits, so if you want to beat the rush, go soon.

GET THERE

THE Cape Verde Experience has 7nts at the 4-grade Hotel Morabeza on Sal from £916pp based on two sharing a Double Land View room B&B plus 3 evening meals. Inc return Thomson flights from Gatwick, taxes, visas and transfers departing December 1-8.

Twin-centre and island-hopping itineraries and regional flights can be arranged

www.capeverde.co.uk, 0845 330 2071.

Time zone: GMT -1hr Currency: Escudo £1 = 129

Best time to go: Year-round but winter can get windy

Source: http://www.mirror.co.uk/advice/travel/2011/11/12/cape-verde-islands-philippa-clarke-explores-the-european-caribbean-115875-23554804/

NOVEMBER 29TH, 2011 

Lisbon, Portugal, 29 Nov – Meliá Hotels Internacional, Spain’s largest hotel chain, said Monday it would manage a large luxury tourist resort with 850 rooms in the south of the Cape Verdean island of Boavista, on Santa Mónica beach, the PressTur news agency reported.

To read more click here.

WEDNESDAY 12 OCTOBER 2011

Families of Britain, gather round. I have found it – the holy grail of holiday destinations. It’s hot. It’s cheap. And it’s less than a six-hour flight away. I’m talking about… Cape Verde! (Cue embarrassed silence, and some shuffling.)

That’s pretty much how it went after we came home, when my burbling enthusiasm for our recent destination was met by blank looks and polite murmurs. Name recognition of this archipelago of mid-Atlantic islands 310 miles off the coast of Senegal is almost zero, and most of those who’ve heard of it know it only as the homeland of the footballer Nani, or the just-retired world-music goddess Césaria Évora, the “Barefoot Diva”.

But for anyone looking for guaranteed tropical sunshine, miles of unspoiled white-sand beaches and a low-key, laid-back family experience, it’s a fantastic option; like discovering the missing link between the Canaries and the Caribbean. Cape Verde’s 10 islands, formerly Portuguese colonies but independent since 1975, have only recently opened up to mass tourism, with the completion of international airports on Boa Vista and Sal. Some of the islands are lush and jungly. Our destination, Boa Vista, is basically a lump of parched volcanic rock. But it has beaches – oh boy, does it ever have beaches.

It was the sheer quantity of sand that came as a shock when we first arrived. Acres of the stuff, dumped over the Atlantic by winds from the Sahara, stretched away in every direction in front of our hotel by the pristine Praia De Chaves beach, on the island’s west coast. To a family whose last five holidays have been spent combing Mediterranean islands in vain for a pebbly strip to swim from, it wasn’t so much a beach as a mind-blowing parallel universe. A constant wind naps the sand into a desert-like landscape of ribbed undulations and heaps it into spectacular Saharan dunes that tower over the beach.

On the other hand, the wind also whipped the sea into huge breakers – the kind of conditions only a kite-surfer could love – making it a place for children to paddle and splash in, rather than swim. Our hotel, the Royal Decameron, operated a flag system, indicating when the sea was safe. It seemed to be red-for-danger most of the week, though I did get a couple of opportunities to push myself through the broiling white foam to the clear green water beyond the breakers.

A beach where you can’t really swim sounds disappointing, but it wasn’t. Just sitting and watching the waves, and the zip-wire effect as cross-currents ripped across the surface, was blissful, and there was always the possibility that a humpback whale might put in an appearance.

“No stress”, we were told several times, is the Cape Verde motto, and the package offered by the Royal Decameron delivered on that promise. We’d never been on an all-inclusive family holiday before, but after a week, we were converts. What had we been doing all these years in our self-catering villas, renting cars, and shopping, and cooking, and washing up (the use of “we” is a formality, obviously), when we could have just been lying around by the pool drinking unlimited beer? In Cape Verde, we got a proper, relaxing break, with all the convenience and ease of a package holiday, but without any of the crowds.

Best of all, from a “no stress” point of view, was the lack of fuss and fretting around mealtimes. Usually on holiday, I torment myself and my captives, forcing everyone to drive for miles to sample the amazing grilled sardines in some far-flung taverna I’ve read about on TripAdvisor. What a liberation to be limited to only three restaurants – the one in the hotel, the other one near the beach, or the snack bar. When I explained to my 10-year-old, who was tucking into his second pizza, that you didn’t even need to pay for anything, he breathed: “This has got to be one of the best hotels in the world.”

We were one of only a few British families, our native tongue signalled by a coloured wristband. Most of the staff spoke a little English, but our nationality meant we could move around almost unnoticed, safe from the forced jollities of the dreaded “animation” team. By day, this tireless troupe of French and Cape Verdean youngsters staffed the kids’ club and conducted exercise and dance classes by the pool. At night they put on dance shows, and dragged lumpen Europeans up to salsa with them.

Music is everywhere in Cape Verde, from the jaunty piped Afro-pop that was played by the main pool all day, to the visiting musicians who performed murmuring fado-like mornas at night. Like so much about the islands, the music fuses influences from Europe, Africa and South America – a product of the islands’ history as an important provisioning call for sailing ships en route to South America, and later a trading post for the West African slave trade.

The last century hasn’t been kind to the Cape Verde islands: economic emigration, mostly to Portugal, became the only option for many of its men. Boa Vista, whose only natural resource is salt, was plagued by droughts. A few years ago, members of a remote coastal community were desperate enough to resort to eating the rare loggerhead turtles that breed there. However, in recent years, the Cape Verdean government has been investing heavily to promote the poorer islands as tourist resorts. Boa Vista opened up to international flights in 2007, and new roads and hotels are springing up. While the island still feels undeveloped, it probably won’t do for long.

The main town, Sal Rei, still shows its colonial bones beneath the gaudily painted concrete and rubble, but it has a long way to go before it’s a tourist destination in its own right. I joined a French excursion from the hotel to watch a service at the evangelical church. The poverty, and the persistent attentions of hawkers trying to sell me bad art (and in one mortifying encounter, trying to arrange a night-time rendezvous on the beach), made for a dispiriting experience.

Much more fun was a day-trip we took with a local guide, Dada, to Santa Monica beach, 11 miles of undeveloped white sand. Reachable by 4×4, down miles of bumpy track, it’s on the southern, sheltered side of the island, which means no wind and no waves. We finally got our swim.

The journey home – with Dada driving straight at vertical sand dunes, the car straining to the top and careening down the other side – the boys declared to be the best adventure they’d ever had.

Our last day in Boa Vista presented us with the ultimate leaving gift. As we sat on the beach, I spotted a burst of white water, then a flash of white belly, and a humpback whale came cresting out the water quite near to shore. We watched it pass along the length of the bay, twisting and diving, as 500 excited guests came pouring out of the hotel to film it.

At my children’s insistence, we are planning a return to Cape Verde. Boa Vista isn’t smart, or cool, or designery. Nor is there a huge amount to do, unless you’re prepared to throw your lot in with the French, and allow the animation team to teach you to Charleston, or zumba, in the broiling mid-morning heat. But it’s hot, it’s fairly close to the UK, and it’s relatively cheap. And we loved it.

Travel essentials

Getting there

Tracey travelled with specialist tour operator, The Cape Verde Experience (0845 330 2071; www.capeverde.co.uk), which offers seven nights at the Royal Decameron Boa Vista from £739 per person. This price includes all-inclusive accommodation as well as return direct flights from Gatwick or Manchester to Boa Vista and transfers.

The Cape Verde Experience can also arrange single and multi-island itineraries in the archipelago.

Flights to Boa Vista are operated by Thomson (0871 231 4787; www.thomsonfly.com) from Gatwick, Manchester and Glasgow.

More information

Cape Verde Tourism: www.guiadecaboverde.cv

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/africa/cape-verde-sun-sea-and-lots-and-lots-of-sand-2368938.html

A resident of Italy who visits Miami regularly, the 38-year-old financial consultant said he has spent time at Nikki Beach outposts around the world.

“This,” said Calcaterra, “is my second home.”

He’s the kind of continent-hopper Jack Penrod, who founded the company, is counting on to fill rooms at nine hotels set to start opening next year in locations including Qatar, Croatia, Greece, Egypt and the Cape Verde Islands.

“When you get a hotel right, it kind of it has the same customers year after year and you don’t need so many of them,” Penrod said. “Our hotels will have up to 100 rooms. So it’s easier to get 100 people to show up than it is 1,000.”

Nikki Beach made a similar announcement in the heady days of 2007, before a global recession took a whack at luxury spending. Four years later, only one hotel is open — Nikki Beach & Bungalow in Thailand’s Koh Samui island.

A location in Turks and Caicos closed in 2009, a year after it opened, when its developer and owner entered receivership.

“It was a giant project that went broke,” said Penrod, 72. “Like a lot of things did.”

And Nikki Beach stripped its name from a project in Panama when executives weren’t happy with the finished product, a dispute that ended up in court.

“Nikki Beach probably came out of the box with a good concept, just a little too late in the cycle given the austerity that became the norm; it became unhip to get a $200 bottle of champagne and spray it everywhere,” said Mark Lunt, a Miami-based partner in Ernst & Young’s hospitality advisory practice. “It is a tough business that when economic times are very frothy can be hugely successful. When economic times get difficult, you have to rein in your business plans. It looks like Nikki Beach has done that.”

For his part, Penrod said the recession has probably set the company’s hotel plans back a couple of years. And he’s become more particular about where the brand wants its name to appear.

“We probably get three to four calls a week on new locations,” he said. “We’re very fussy now.”

In the hotels scheduled to open in the next couple of years, Nikki Beach is partnering with developers and private equity firms who have financing lined up, including United Development Company in Qatar, Dolphin Capital in Greece and Edge Capital in Croatia. Nikki Beach is involved with planning each location and will operate the hotels once they open.

About $400 million worth of projects are lined up, said Sary Arab, chief operating officer of Nikki Beach Hotels & Resorts EMEA. He runs the hotel division along with CEO and chairman Jihad el Khoury out of offices in Lebanon.

Arab said the company expects to have 15 to 20 hotels in the next seven to 10 years, including some lined up in Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Cape Verde Islands, Cyprus and Egypt — a project that has been delayed as the political situation stabilizes.

Scott Berman, Miami-based industry leader for hospitality and leisure at accounting and consulting firm PwC, said the future sites are “an interesting collection of destinations, each with a different profile.”

He said the key issue for any hotel development now is to identify partners who are well-funded and can deliver the final product.

“We’re just not seeing the supply growth globally that we saw in the up cycle,” Berman said.

Penrod’s empire started when he opened a beach club on a decrepit patch of South Beach in 1988, lured by a city eager to bring life to an area populated by unsavory crowds. He signed a lease agreement that earned Miami Beach $672,000 in the fiscal year that ended in May. The club and restaurant, located at 1 Ocean Dr., hands over 6.5 percent of gross receipts.

Back in the early days, the club was known as Penrod’s; the name eventually changed to Nikki Beach Club after Penrod’s teenage daughter, Nicole, was killed in a car accident in 1997.

“I lost my little girl and rather than mourn her, I’m celebrating her,” he said.

Penrod’s three adult children are involved in the family business: Daughters Tracey and Michele run the Elbo Room in Fort Lauderdale; son Mike runs the recently opened Nikki Beach Club in Las Vegas at the Tropicana hotel; and son-in-law Peter Higney, who started working for Penrod nearly 30 years ago as a teenager, is the company’s director of operations.

Lucia, Penrod’s wife of 16 years, is the company’s director of brand standards. She and Penrod, who have a home in Miami Beach, also have 9-year-old twins who travel the world with them.

Penrod still frequently scouts new locations for clubs and hotels. After realizing how many Brazilians were flooding the Miami Beach location, he stepped up efforts to find a site there. Other areas of interest, Higney said, are Dubai and Ibiza.

Today, Nikki Beach has nine clubs, including sites in Marbella, Spain; St. Tropez; Marrakech, Morocco; St. Barths and Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, as well as two pop-up venues that open for film festivals in Cannes and Toronto.

The club business survived the recession, Penrod said, though some locations took a hit. Miami’s numbers were higher in the fiscal year that just ended than the previous year but lower than the three previous years.

Still, he said, the St. Tropez site has increased every year, and Spain is having its best year ever after a dip.

Said Penrod: “What we found was that during the recession, the jet-setters still had lots of money.”