Cape Verde
Sal in January
☀️ Dry seasonPleasant, a little humid and mostly dry. Watch for hazy air.
🎒 Pack: N95 mask for hazy days
Why January scores 8.7What goes into the score
How it works- Weather comfort9.5
- ✓Comfortable temperatures (23.1°C highs / 21.7°C lows)
- !Humid (dew point 17.7°C)
- ✓Mostly dry (~18 mm rain)
- Air quality5.6
- !Elevated (PM2.5 ~35 µg/m³)
- Seasonal hazards10.0
- ·No notable seasonal hazards
- Safety baseline8.0
- ·Normal precautions
| Jan | Mar | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 8.7 Excellent | 9.5 Excellent |
| Season | ☀️ Dry season | ☀️ Dry season |
| High / low | 23° / 22° | 22° / 21° |
| Rain | 18 mm | 5 mm |
| Humidity | dew pt 18° | dew pt 18° |
| PM2.5 | 35 µg/m³ | 8 µg/m³ |
Typical-month data: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis) 2015–2024 (modelled, not a forecast).
Holidays & crowdsJanuary 2027
Long weekendThere's at least one long weekend. Domestic travel picks up and popular spots get busier over those days.
- New Year 1–3 Jan · 3 days off in a row
Other public holidays: Democracy and Freedom Day (13 Jan) · National Heroes Day (20 Jan)
National holidays only; regional holidays and school breaks aren't included. Source: holidays (open-source public-holiday calendar).
Explore SalEvents, sights, food & souvenirs
Check event dates locallySal is a flat, dry island in Cape Verde whose resort town, Santa Maria, has long white beaches and steady trade winds. Visitors come for winter sunshine, kitesurfing and windsurfing, diving and an easy beach holiday.
No major events on our calendar for January.
Coming up later
CarnivalDate variesUsually February, before Lent (date moves each year)
Costumed parades, music and street parties in the days before Ash Wednesday.
Why go: A lively time to visit; parades can close streets for several hours.
Where: Santa Maria and Espargos
Independence DayEvery year5 July every year
A national holiday marking Cape Verde's independence from Portugal in 1975.
Why go: Expect celebrations and some closures of offices and shops.
Where: Nationwide
Santa Maria Beach and pier
A long sandy beach with a wooden pier where fishermen land and clean their catch each day.
💡 Visit the pier late morning to see the fishing boats come in.
Salinas de Pedra de Lume
Old salt pans inside an extinct volcanic crater where you can float in very salty water.
💡 Bring water shoes and fresh water to rinse off afterwards.
Buracona
A rocky coastline with a natural swimming pool and the 'Blue Eye', a cave where sunlight lights up the water.
💡 The Blue Eye effect is best around midday when the sun is high.
Shark Bay
A shallow bay where you can wade among young lemon sharks.
💡 Go with a guide and follow their instructions; do not touch the sharks.
Kite Beach
A windy beach on the southeast coast that is one of the island's main kitesurfing spots.
💡 Winds are typically strongest from about November to May.
Cachupa
Cape Verde's national dish, a slow-cooked stew of maize and beans with fish or meat; leftovers are fried for breakfast as 'cachupa guisada'.
💡 Local restaurants in Santa Maria and Espargos.
Grilled fresh fish
Locally caught tuna, wahoo and other fish, simply grilled.
💡 Seafront restaurants in Santa Maria.
Pastel com diabo dentro
A crisp fried pastry filled with spiced tuna, whose name means 'pastry with the devil inside'.
💡 Snack bars and local cafes.
Grogue
A strong sugarcane spirit made in Cape Verde, drunk neat or in cocktails.
💡 Bars throughout Santa Maria.
Pedra de Lume salt
Sea salt harvested from the island's crater salt pans.
💡 Shops at Pedra de Lume and in Santa Maria.
Grogue and pontche
Sugarcane spirit and its sweet liqueur version made with molasses.
💡 Souvenir shops and supermarkets.
Fogo coffee
Coffee grown on the volcanic slopes of Fogo island.
💡 Gift shops and supermarkets.