Porto Novo, Cape Verde

We visited here from Braemar last year and are set to return in November. Last time we just walked to the left from the tender point until we got to a rather nice hotel and had a drink there before returning to the tender drop off point. Not unpleasant, but we do not see anything else to do in the town for a second visit.

Has anyone done a Fred Olsen trip from this port, or used a taxi to take them further ito the greener parts of the island, which are reported to be very picturesque? We did a few of Fred's trips in Canada in the early summer and we were far from pleased with a couple of them, so are loath to do another Fred trip without some sort of recomendation.

A taxi sounds a better idea, but there is always the problem of making sure we get back to the ship. At least Braemar is only scheduled to do a short hop over to Mindelo that evening and will stay there until late pm the next day. As there are regular ferries to Mindelo, it may be possible to get one over before the ship leaves Mindelo for the Canaries if we have problems and do not get back in time. We are not sure if it is worth the risk though.

Any comments appreciated,

Barbara

I've only been to Mindelo and didn't enjoy it very much. It's very colourful and has a long esplanade and nice beaches but it's not a port I care to return to. It doesn't really answer your question but at least it shows you are not being ignored. :)

Thanks for the thoughtfulness, Coravel.

I did think this is probably a long shot, but if we will visit the more unusual ports we will not get questions answered easily and info is not easy to find anywhere.

I also put similar questions on the 'ports of call' section of this site and on the Cape Verde thread on TA, but I have had no replies from either of those. We will just see how we feel nearer to the time.

Barbara

I've found this site for you about transportation in Cape Verde but it doesn't appear to be very encouraging as it suggests the ferries are unreliable.

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Africa/Cape_Verde/Transportation-Cape_Verde-TG-C-1.html

I don't think I would take a chance on a ferry to get me back to the ship.

We should not need a ferry as we acually dock in Porto Novo. It was one of three Cape Verde ports on our cruise last December and is one of four ports in November this year. I only mentioned a ferry as a 'if all else fails' situation, should a taxi break down or something.

Knowing us we will be back way before time or just not take the risk at all. It does look nice on the 'green' parts of the island and we would normally take a ship's tour in these circumstances. However, we had booked four trips for our Canada cruise this summer. One was appalling and nothing like the description, two others were fairlyspoilt by not keeping to the itinerary and the forth, although enjoyable, did not actually do what was advertised.

Hence we are very loathe to commit a day, or even half day, on a Fred excursion unless we could get some feeling that it may be OK by reading experiences of others. Perhaps we should take some risks and go independent this time.

Hi Tring

I can't give any advice as we've not been...yet.

What cruise are you on? We're on the one that departs Tenerife on 12 November. And I can't wait....well I can as we're late on hols this year as I am about to dive right into the Rugby World Cup. :D So it's something to look forward to after that.:cool:

That is the cruise we are booked on, so, 'Hello'. We could start a roll call, but not sure how much interest there will be.

We have not been to Fogo, but visited the other three Cape Verde Islands on Braemar last December and had been to Mindelo originally in November 2006. We enjoyed a few late nights in port last year, which was good. We have a cruise to Turkey and Greece before then.

I think the trips should be on Fred's website soon. It will be interesting to see what is offered, even if we do not use them.

Cheers,

Barbara

Not done a Fred for a few years and that was on Braemar - looking forward to being back on her. Cape Verde Islands will be new to us - but always fancied going. We love cruises for the chance to get an idea if we want to go back to places for a holiday.

It's not the trips I am interested in - it's the flight times. Still no news. We're flying from Manchester.

Yes they are being very coy about flight details. However, I was told on the phone a couple of months ago that the Manchester flights are with Condor.

My husband googled Condor flights from Manchester to Tenerife and one came up that only goes out on the days that Fred has Braemar sailing out of Tenerife. That flight leaves terminal one at 9.00am. Even if our obvious assumption is correct, flight times can change of course.

I think Fred are extrememly thoughtless regarding flights as knowing the terminal and flight time is needed to arrange parking and to make a decision on any need for an airport hotel, which will be more expensive nearer to departure and hotel availability can beome limited as well.

Condor fly from Terminal one, so knowing the carrier gave us a bit of help there. You may wish to check the carrier with Fred yourself though, before acting on that information. If they know about cost of extra luggage there is no way they do not have the flights arranged.

When I called my TA a couple of weeks ago to see if they had any news they said, they'd expect an am flight to get us on board mid pm. While the TA took no responsibility for that 'suggestion', I've booked the hotel and parking as it reinforced what I was thinking/expecting.

I'd heard the flights are with Jet2 - which I'd be happy with as the standard seats have plenty of leg room. I hope Condor aren't as bad as Monarch - I can't even sit straight their standard leg room is that bad. We'll wait and see.

We booked parking and hotel on 20th July, which was after I rang Fred, so it was two months ago. The member of staff kept me on hold to speak to the flight department, so Condor looks likely. They did use Jet2 a couple of years ago and Monarch last year. Fred do not seem to be into luxury flights - we were thinking of arranging our own, but they are quite longish transfers.

We are only 45 mins from the airport, but with flight/parking deals it is hardly worth travelling there that morning. I assume you have got the letter from Fred dated 4th Sept, in which they say it will be terminal 1 and offering extra luggage at £12.50 per additional 5kg (does not say if that is return or one way). We have booked direct as we find it better to have contact direct with a cruise company rather than have to go through an intermediary. The letter also said they would not have flight details confirmed until first week of October.

No I didn't get that. I feel a phone call coming on....

I asked about the extra luggage by phone yesterday and was told the charge is £12.50 per extra 5 kg one way - so £25 return. I was also told, (having asked), that our luggage allowance can be shared across both of us, so an extra 5kg could be shared as 3kg for one and 2kg for the other, for instance.

The telephone number given in the letter to book extra luggage is 0800 03550 145 and the only other info in the letter was that flights will go from Terminal 1 at Manchester. I am thinking though, that if you booked through an agent, they may well insist on any changes being made through the agent. The normal way for letters to be sent to people with agents is for the agent to pass them on to the customer as you probably know - so your agent could be your best port of call initially.

Fred may only have sent the letter to passengers with direct bookings, as basically it seemed to be written to tell people not to contact them before the begining of October, as they will not have flight details confirmed before then. They may have left agents to deal with the, (lack of flight info), situation as they feel fit. None of this explains why Fred will not pass on the unconfirmed flight details though, which I still feel is totally unreasonable.

We have had problems before when important information from cruise companies has been delayed or had not been passed on by an agent, and the cruise companies would not speak to us directly. That is why we tend to book direct now.

Trips are now available on Fred's 'manage my cruises' for this cruise. We have booked one for Porto Novo as there is very little there. Last year we walked along the dusty street, through the very untoursity town and had a drink in a quite nice hotel, (which looms up like an Oasis), then walked back to the tender drop off point. Not a very bad day, but could have been better. The other ports are all easy to DIY form our perspective.

Hope you are enjoying the Rugby,

Barbara

Yeah! Flight details arrived. Condor as you mentioned, 25kg allowance (says in total with hand luggage but I travel light in the cabin) and nice times too. :D

Looking at my confirmation the luggage details say:-

HOLD: 25 Kgs total, max 2 pieces combined weight. HAND: 5 kgs, one piece, 55cm x 40cm x 20cm.

As that is two different sentences which start with 'HOLD' and 'HAND' with colons after each, we took it to mean a total of 25 kgs in hold, plus 5 kgs hand. We did check our assumption by phone and were told that is correct.

Our original invoice said 20kgs hold and 10 kgs hand luggage, so the total allowance is the same, but is divided differently. If you are uncertain, I suggest you check yourself, in case we have been given the wrong details.

For Porto Novo have now booked Fred's PEDRACIN HOTEL & ISLAND HIGHLIGHTS TOUR

This gives us 4 hours at a hotel which is well placed to walk out from and will also give an overview of the island as we travel there and back. We saw that trip under Porto Novo as a port of call on Fred's site last year, but it was not offered when the trips came out for that cruise. The lengthy free time sounds good to us, so we just hope it goes as hoped and that we are fit enough to walk a bit from there as the hotel seems to be in a hilly position when viewed on Google Earth.

We returned from a cruise to Turkey and Greece a couple of days ago and have still to unpack our cases. I am out of excuses not to do so, so I need to get on with that and the washing!!

Cheers,

Barbara

You're right Tring - I have the email with the details now.

Not had a chance to look at the tours as we had break in Penzance (it's quicker to fly to Tenerife and transfer to the ship than drive down there from Yorkshire) so will take a look this weekend.

Less than 5 weeks now.:p

Hi, We are on Boudicca for the Around Africa trip in January and stop at Mindelo and Praia

any tips about these 2 stops would be gratefully appreciated.

Thank you

I am no expert, but we have been to Mindelo twice and Praia once.

Mindelo is a big town so we just spent time in the town and stopped for drinks and also a soup on the second occasion. We went into the town for a drink at night last year and found a music bar/restaurant. There were not many people there, but the musician was good. Praca Nova is a quiet square with historic buildings and there is a hotel to one side which was a good place to have a drink and a soup whilst watching the world go by - slowly. This was a good escape from the busy town and the traffic. We saw a big difference between our two visits (2006 and 2014) - a lot of modern building has appeared in that time.

We did not find much in Praia when dropped off by the shuttle bus. It appeared to just be a quiet, dusty town and just one road with a few bars. It is possible to take a taxi from the shuttle drop off to the nearby town of Cidade Velha and a fort which a number of people enjoyed last year, so we will likely do that this November. A taxi should be cheaper and a lot less constrained than Fred's trip. There were a number of taxis around the drop off point.

The islands are reputed to be quite unspoilt beyond the towns, but trips will likely be a lot more reliable if going any distance from the port. The infrastructure is not good in Cape Verde and we would be worried about getting back to the ship as the taxis do not look well maintained.

I find Google Earth very useful when researching the lesser visited ports.

Thanks for the tips, if you come across anything else on your next trip please let us know. They don't sound like the most exciting places to visit in January but we will need to get off the ship as we have 6 days at sea after Praia!

Ann

We did do a walking tour of Mindelo in 2006 as it was with Swan Hellenic en route to the Amazon and their cruises include trips. It pointed us in the direction of things, but we then made our own way back to the ship. On reflecton we would have perhaps been better going on an island tour then, as parts of the island sound really nice. Trips in Cape Verde may well be worth your while and they do not cost a massive amount.

You can get into previous tours offered by Fred from the link here, but do not click on cruises offered or you will loose the ability to search all tours - click Mindelo Shore Tours at bottom of page:-

http://www.fredolsencruises.com/places-we-visit/port/mindelo-cape-verde-islands?continent=africa&country=cape-verde-island-cruises

You can use the blue destination band to change your selection to Praia and do the same from there.

We just wanted some warm weather last year and the same this year as we have done a lot of other travels this year. If you have a lot of sea days, any land visit would be interesting in our books though! Not everyone realises that excursions tend to come up on Manage my Cruises before the tours book lands on your doormat - so keep an eye open for them.