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Ocean Calling

Ocean Atlas · Africa

Africa

Cabo Verde

Atlantic islands where humpback whales raise their calves and loggerhead turtles come ashore to nest.

Turquoise sea below a sandy cliff on the coast of Boa Vista, Cabo Verde
Boa Vista, Cabo Verde · Photo: SimonWaldherr, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Exploring

Ethics pass, with care. We found a way to visit this country that meets our animal-welfare standard, as long as we work with the right local operator. Checked by Ocean Calling on 30 Sep 2026. Sources: Former poachers guard Cabo Verde's endangered sea turtles, Mongabay, 2025; Program Boa Vista, Turtle Foundation; Shark Bay Sal: wading with lemon sharks, cabo-verde.cv.

🧭 Travel advice, checked 30 Sep 2026. The UK FCDO has no country-wide warning for Cape Verde. It notes generally low crime with petty theft in busy areas, and a rise in stomach infections in travellers on Sal and Boa Vista. Sources: UK FCDO travel advice, Cape Verde Advice differs by passport: check your own government before you plan.

ScubaSnorkellingWhalesTurtlesSharks

Why Cabo Verde

Cabo Verde sits in the open Atlantic off West Africa. From about February to May, humpback whales gather around Boa Vista to mate and raise their calves, and they are watched only from the boat, as the law asks. From July to September, loggerhead turtles nest on the beaches of Boa Vista and Sal, seen only with licensed guides. On Sal, young lemon sharks grow up in a shallow nursery bay, and divers find reef fish, rays, turtles and nurse sharks around volcanic reefs and wrecks.

Conservation-led. Ocean Calling guests never chase, touch or bait animals.

W. SaharaDem. Rep. CongoBrazilGuyanaSurinameFranceSenegalMaliMauritaniaBeninNigerNigeriaCameroonTogoGhanaCôte d'IvoireGuineaGuinea-BissauLiberiaSierra LeoneBurkina FasoCongoGabonEq. GuineaGambiaTunisiaAlgeriaMoroccoLibyaSal, Cabo VerdeBoa Vista, Cabo Verde

When to go

Year-round. Timing changes by place and by animal, so check each place below.

We have researched this place and keep learning about it. There is no trip here yet.

Our ethics check

Can we travel here ethically?

Ethics pass, with care

Good with the right operator. Here is how we choose.

Sea turtles are protected by law in Cabo Verde, and we join turtle nights only with licensed guides. On Sal there is a bay where young lemon sharks are sometimes baited or touched by visitors, so for now we do not visit it. We see whales only from the boat, as the law asks.

Checked 30 Sep 2026. Places change, so we look again every year.

Sources for this check
Places we are exploring

Where in Cabo Verde

Short notes from our research. Wildlife is never guaranteed.

Sal

Exploring

An easy access island for scuba diving over volcanic reefs, with nesting turtles in summer.

🤿 In the water: Reef fish, Rays, Moray eels, Turtles (occasional), Nurse sharks (possible)

⛵ From the boat or shore, never in the water: Nesting loggerhead turtles (Jul-Sep, licensed guides only), Humpback whales (Feb-May, from the boat, occasional)

When: Year-round. Diving runs all year. Turtles nest from July to September. Winter trade winds can make the sea choppy.

Boa Vista

Exploring

A quiet dune island where humpback mothers and calves are watched from the boat, and loggerheads nest in summer.

🤿 In the water: Reef fish, Rays, Turtles (occasional), Nurse sharks (possible)

⛵ From the boat or shore, never in the water: Humpback whales (Feb-May, from the boat), Nesting loggerhead turtles (Jul-Sep, licensed guides only), Dolphins (from the boat, occasional)

When: Mar-Apr. Humpbacks visit from about February to May, and mothers with calves are most often seen in March and early April. Turtles nest from July to September.

Animals

Animals recorded in Cabo Verde

Tap an animal to learn how it lives, where it travels and how to meet it respectfully.

Humpback whale swimming close with long pectoral finHumpback whaleMegaptera novaeangliaeSeen in 87 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernLoggerhead turtle at the surface feeding on Portuguese man o' warLoggerhead turtleCaretta carettaSeen in 89 countries in the AtlasVulnerableTiger shark with clear stripes swimming over a reefTiger sharkGaleocerdo cuvierSeen in 47 countries in the AtlasNear ThreatenedHuge spotted whale shark gliding through open blue waterWhale sharkRhincodon typusSeen in 54 countries in the AtlasEndangeredScalloped hammerhead shark cruising in deep blue Red Sea waterScalloped hammerheadSphyrna lewiniSeen in 57 countries in the AtlasCritically EndangeredCommon bottlenose dolphin swimming over a seagrass bedCommon bottlenose dolphinTursiops truncatusSeen in 89 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernLemon shark seen from above, gliding over a pale sandy seabedLemon sharkNegaprion brevirostrisSeen in 16 countries in the AtlasVulnerableNurse shark swimming over a reef at Fernando de Noronha, BrazilAtlantic nurse sharkGinglymostoma cirratumSeen in 38 countries in the AtlasVulnerablePortuguese man o' war floating with purple crest off Pico, AzoresPortuguese man o' warPhysalia physalisSeen in 36 countries in the AtlasNot EvaluatedBlacktip shark swimming in green water in the GalápagosBlacktip sharkCarcharhinus limbatusSeen in 49 countries in the AtlasVulnerableMilk sharkRhizoprionodon acutusSeen in 33 countries in the AtlasVulnerableAtlantic weasel sharkParagaleus pectoralisSeen in 18 countries in the AtlasEndangeredGreen turtle resting on the reef, shell and head pattern in sharp detailGreen turtleChelonia mydasSeen in 103 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernSperm whale mother raising her fluke beside her calf off DominicaSperm whalePhyseter macrocephalusSeen in 114 countries in the AtlasVulnerableShort-finned pilot whale surfacing off Tenerife with the island behindShort-finned pilot whaleGlobicephala macrorhynchusSeen in 43 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernMale magnificent frigatebird perched on a mangrove branchMagnificent frigatebirdFregata magnificensSeen in 52 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernStriped dolphin leaping, dark flank stripe clearly visibleStriped dolphinStenella coeruleoalbaSeen in 43 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernHeavily spotted adult Atlantic spotted dolphin with young, AzoresAtlantic spotted dolphinStenella frontalisSeen in 22 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernCuvier's beaked whale surfacing, pale scarred head and small dorsal finCuvier's beaked whaleZiphius cavirostrisSeen in 42 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernPantropical spotted dolphin gliding at the calm ocean surfacePantropical spotted dolphinStenella attenuataSeen in 56 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernTwo rough-toothed dolphins leaping together, blotchy grey skin visibleRough-toothed dolphinSteno bredanensisSeen in 36 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernDusky grouper underwater at Cabo de Palos, SpainDusky grouperEpinephelus marginatusSeen in 40 countries in the AtlasVulnerableAdult brown booby standing on a rock with its bill open against blue sky, PrincipeBrown boobySula leucogasterSeen in 104 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernClose view of a red-footed booby head with blue, pink and red bill and throat skin among green leavesRed-footed boobySula sulaSeen in 91 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernTwo Gervais' beaked whales at the surface in the Gulf Stream off North CarolinaGervais' beaked whaleMesoplodon europaeusSeen in 9 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernScopoli's shearwater skimming just above calm blue waterScopoli's shearwaterCalonectris diomedeaSeen in 37 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernLeach's storm-petrel in flight over water, wings spread, with a pale patch at the base of the tailLeach's storm-petrelHydrobates leucorhousSeen in 35 countries in the AtlasVulnerableManx shearwater banking just above the sea, white underparts and dark upperparts visibleManx shearwaterPuffinus puffinusSeen in 34 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernGreat shearwater flying low over calm water, its reflection belowGreat shearwaterArdenna gravisSeen in 32 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernSargasso shearwater gliding over a grey sea, dark above and pale belowSargasso shearwater (Audubon's shearwater)Puffinus lherminieriSeen in 27 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernBulwer's petrel flying low over blue water, its long pointed tail visibleBulwer's petrelBulweria bulweriiSeen in 17 countries in the AtlasLeast ConcernRound stingray resting on a rocky reef off La Palma, Canary IslandsRound stingrayTaeniurops grabatusSeen in 7 countries in the AtlasNear Threatened

Read before you go

Whales and wildlife ethicsWhere to See Tiger Sharks in the World, HonestlyRead ↗
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Also in Africa
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