Praia: What to Know Before You Go

Short answer: complete Cape Verde's online EASE pre-registration at least five days before your flight, carry small local banknotes for shared aluguer minibuses and market stalls, orient yourself using the high central bluff of the Plateau, and embrace the unhurried island pace known as morabeza.

EASE pre-registration and arrival at Nelson Mandela Airport

Most European, British, North American and West African passport holders enjoy short-stay visa-free entry into Cape Verde, but every international passenger must register online on the government EASE (Efficient, Automatic and Safe Entry of Travellers) portal ahead of departure and pay the statutory airport security fee (TSA). Keep a digital or printed copy of your confirmation receipt for airline check-in and immigration at Praia's Nelson Mandela International Airport (RAI).

Morabeza, Portuguese and Cape Verdean Creole (Kabuverdianu)

While Portuguese is the official language of government, menus and street signs, everyday life across Santiago Island happens in Kabuverdianu (Cape Verdean Creole), specifically the expressive Badiu dialect of Santiago. Embodying morabeza (hospitality and warmth), locals greet each other with Bom dia or Boa tarde, ask Modi ki bu sta? ("How are you?" in Creole) and answer N sta dretu ("I am doing well") or Tudo dretu. Saying Obrigadu or Obrigada goes a long way whether you are ordering coffee on the Plateau or chatting with a driver in Cidade Velha.

Cash, cards and walking between the Plateau and beaches

Cape Verde's national currency sits at a fixed historic peg to the euro. While four-star hotels and restaurants in Prainha and Achada Santo António accept Visa cards (and often take euro notes directly), ATMs in Praia can occasionally run low on cash over weekends and aluguer buses, taxis and Sucupira Market traders take only cash notes. During the day, walking the Plateau and beach promenades is relaxed; after dark, hop in a quick licensed taxi rather than walking the unlit stairways down the sides of the mesa.