Day Trip Santo Antão by Car or Trek

Embark on a full-day tour from São Vicente to Santo Antão, including a ferry ride and lunch. Explore charming villages, lush green mountains, and captivating cultural sites.

Duration: 11 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Passenger Ferry Terminal - Option including Ferry Tickets: Start your day with an early morning pick-up from your accommodation in Mindelo and transfer to the Harbor for a ferry adventure to the mountainous island of Santo Antão. During the ferry ride across the canal (up to 1 hour), you can stand on deck and possibly see dolphins, pilot whales, flying fish, sea birds, and more, or relax on the comfortable indoor seating. Don’t miss the lighthouse on the rock in the middle of the ocean, Ilhéu dos Pássaros (Bird’s Island)!
  • Porto Novo - Option Excluding Ferry tickets: Arrive at Porto Novo, where your local guide will meet you at the Garemaritima terminal to take you on a full-day car tour of the island’s highlights! Begin your journey ascending through the mountains.
  • Porto Novo-Ribeira Grande Road - Start your ascent through the mountains along the old cobblestone road, passing small communities with traditional thatched roof homes, donkeys carrying water, farmers working the land, and the hardworking daily life of this incredible place.
  • Pico da Cruz - Stop at Pico da Cruz, above the clouds with its green pine forest and eucalyptus trees. Feel the cool breeze and take in the picturesque view of Paúl from above.
  • Cova de Paúl - At the top of Cova, enjoy breathtaking views inside the crater; the mist from the clouds allows this farming community to be self-sustaining.
  • Delgadinho mountain ridge - Continue to Delgadinho, the narrow mountaintop crossing that separates two major valleys, Ribeira Grande & Ribeira da Torre; a famous spot for photographs while on Santo Antão.
  • Ribeira Grande - Arrive in the colorful city of Povacao, one of the main cities in Ribeira Grande, with its colonial and modern homes and beautiful street art. We will stop for lunch in town.
  • Xôxô - Visit Ribeira de Torre, one of the greenest and most fertile valleys in Cabo Verde, where you will find bananas, mangos, sugar cane, and breadfruit trees. There is also a large tank pool used by locals for swimming and fun.
  • Ponta Do Sol - Head to the fishing village of Ponta do Sol, with its old port of Boca de Pistola (Mouth of the Pistol), where you can witness the arrival of the fishermen and see the catch of the day!
  • Beth d’Kinha - Taste the local rum, Grogue, produced here. Visit the distillery to see how it’s made.
  • Paul - Continue to the municipality of Paúl, with its grand Saint Anthony statue overlooking Villa das Pombas for protection. In the village of Eito, visit the rum distillery, also known as Grogue, and have the opportunity to taste it.
  • Janela - Travel back to Porto Novo via Janela on the stunning new coastal road, passing through fascinating mountain tunnels and seeing the lighthouse, Farol de Fontes Pereira de Melo.
  • Gare Marítima porto de Porto Novo - ENAPOR - Arrive in Porto Novo in time to board the afternoon ferry to São Vicente. Upon arrival at the Harbor, you will be transferred to your accommodation in Mindelo.
What's Included
  • Private transportation
  • Pickup and drop-off at starting point
  • OPTION: *Ferry Tickets (roundtrip) included from São Vicente, excluded beginning in Santo Antão
  • Local Professional guide (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese)
  • Entrance: Grogue (Rum) distillery
What's Not Included
  • Lunch
  • Personal expenses
  • Alcoholic Beverages
Additional Information

Our Full Day Excursion on Santo Antão offers two starting options: from São Vicente (including hotel to harbor transfers in Mindelo and ferry tickets) or from Santo Antão (excluding ferry tickets and harbor transfers in Mindelo). Choose the option that best suits you and prepare to be captivated by the lush vegetation, mountain peaks, valleys, charming villages, simple lifestyle, and the hardworking spirit of the people. The culture here is indescribable and must be experienced firsthand!

Opt to see the Highlights by car in one day

Enjoy a walk, hike, or trek

You’ll have an incredible day with our local, experienced guide, who will show you the best of Santo Antão :)

If you wish to customize any part of your excursion, feel free to contact us.

  • Please inform us of any special dietary instructions.
  • In the case of a group of less than 4pax, the local guide himself may be the driver
  • For open group tours your guide may speak more than one language if required
  • Driving through roads with high altitude
Location
Bar Gare Marítima
Avenida Marginal
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(46 Ratings)
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1 star
610samuelg
Aug 15, 2024
Beautiful and landscape - Hello our Raquiel Guide was very nice and gave us all the information we needed. The restaurant where we stopped for lunch served us a local meal with delicate flavors Le Divin'Art. In short an excellent day. I highly recommend it. Samuel
Review provided by Tripadvisor
247maevat
Aug 9, 2024
Thanks to Raquiel our superb Guide - Bom dia, We would like to thank Raquiel from the bottom of our hearts for his kindness, his availability and these superb explanations. We had a great family day, we laughed a lot with her it was an exceptional Guide. We also thank Nilton the driver. I will recommend your agency to my friends. Thank you. Maeva
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Ana_dg22
Jul 23, 2024
Superb tour days - We have done a 1 day tour in San Antao and another snorkeling tour with Turtles and highlights of San Vicente. They have been wonderful both for the activities carried out and the guides, very friendly and knowledgeable local people. Fully recommended. We would definitely repeat!!
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Journey23828095784
May 8, 2024
A wonderful day hike with new - An indescribable experience that you have to see with your own eyes. Thanks to the entire Green Line Tours team, the day hike in the crater and in the Paul Valley was unforgettable. My husband and I felt at home from the very first moment, we were accompanied from the hotel to the harbor and onto the ferry. In Porto Novo we met our day guide Neu, who explained everything important about the island, the inhabitants, the vegetation and the special features of the day's route in German and English. After about 40 minutes of driving, our day hike in the Paul Crater began. We were repeatedly shown and explained plants and creatures on or around the path. After about 100 meters of elevation, we had the first WOW effect: the view of the Paul Valley, indescribably beautiful and beautifully green even in the dry season. Down over many narrow paths that the locals used as the only connection between the north and the south. A short stop to see how grogue is produced and then the first stop was there. A nice restaurant with a delicious lunch (around €10-12 per person). Due to the heat and my husband's discomfort, we decided not to continue hiking the rest of the way, but instead used a typical means of transport, the collectivo, to return to Paul. Again, a big thank you for the flexibility and spontaneity in responding perfectly to our wishes. As we returned much too soon due to the change of plans, we still had the chance to visit a small market hall and buy fresh fruit and souvenirs. Perfect day, with a great guide. And the best thing: we had the trek almost to ourselves all day. A real insider tip in May.
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945angeliquep
Apr 11, 2024
Fast service, good guide and driver, great excursions - The tour was incredibly beautiful, well organized and a lot of information about San Vicente. Danny the guide was great and also the driver Hernandy very friendly. The turtle excursion was really great and Danny was great again, he is also a good photographer. In short, everything was well organised.
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Fátima
Apr 1, 2024
This island is brutal - It was a very good visit to this wonderful island. The island of Santo Antão is impressive with its giant mountains and lush valleys. We thank Kolu who was an excellent guide
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841fannyl
Mar 22, 2024
Magnificent discovery - We had an extraordinary day, from leaving the hotel where the boss of Green Line tour cabo verde came to pick us up until we arrived on the island, Our guide Anika was very kind and she knows her island by heart as well as the residents and thank you to our great driver!! Thank you again for this wonderful day Fanny and Virginie
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Klaas
Mar 18, 2024
Santo Antao Day Tour - What a beautiful day we had. Booking and communication with TripAdvisor was smooth and easy. It is a busy day, because there is a lot to see. Frequent stops are made to take beautiful pictures, but if you want to make an extra stop along the way, that is also possible. Our guide had a lot to tell and the lunch was fantastic. If you still have doubts, we say: Just do it, it is really worth the money.
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709sabrinaf
Feb 19, 2024
Best French-speaking guide - Raquel was a guide from the island, full of knowledge, patience and kindness. She allowed us an insight into the history and culture of Santo Antao. She made us want to go back. Perfect service until the end of the day. I highly recommend. THANKS!
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Sandro
Feb 11, 2024
Magnificent - We were picked up punctually at 6:25 am in front of our hotel (Mansa Marina) by Dani (our guide) and a driver. A short drive to the port, tickets received and we were allowed to board the 7:00 am ferry. The ferry has a bar on deck, where there is already a café. The 1-hour crossing with the sunrise alone is worth getting up for. In San Antao there is another new driver and we go up the mountain in a massage chair (really pleasant, not meant negatively) and then back down the 38 km long, hand-built and paved route to Ribeira Grande. There are several stops along the whole journey where Dani tells us stories and explains things. Breathtaking views and impressions. We go and try sugar cane, take a short walk to see the plantations, visit the port of Ponta do Sol and then have a delicious lunch in Ribero Grande (10 euros per person) with a guide and driver (these are paid for by the agency). After lunch there is a visit to a Groque distillery and then we head back to PortoNovo on the spectacular coastal road for the 1600h ferry. A really entertaining, exciting, impressive, happy day. Highly recommended if you don't have time or have planned to spend the night on San Antao. Thank you Dani our guide (you did it very well and interesting) and Avelino our driver.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 12 guests
1 Adult
September 2024
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