Marina Mindelo on São Vicente: Getting there, harbour information and sailing destinations

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Marina Mindelo is situated in the large bay of Porto Grande off Mindelo, the capital of the island of São Vicente in the northwest of Cape Verde. Here you can read how to get to Marina Mindelo from the airport and by ferry, where to park and shop, what sailing weather to expect, which sailing destinations are within reach and what skippers need to know about clearing in and mooring.

Where is Marina Mindelo located?

Marina Mindelo is in the eastern part of Porto Grande bay, directly in front of Mindelo's city centre. To the north lie the quays and breakwaters of the commercial harbour; in the other parts of the bay cargo ships and yachts lie at anchor. The bay opens to the northwest onto the São Vicente Channel; on the other side of the channel lies the neighbouring island of Santo Antão.

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Mindelo is the second-largest city in Cape Verde and has one of the three harbours where yachts from abroad may enter. You can reach the old town, market and waterfront promenade on foot in a few minutes from the pontoon.

Arriving for the trip start at Marina Mindelo

São Vicente has an international airport; you can reach Marina Mindelo from there by taxi. From the neighbouring island of Santo Antão, you can take the ferry directly to the harbour at Mindelo.

From São Vicente Airport to Marina Mindelo

Cesária Évora Airport (code VXE) lies in the southwest of the island near the fishing village of São Pedro, about nine kilometres as the crow flies from the marina. Taxis run from the airport to Mindelo; after dark a surcharge applies. There are also car hire desks at the airport. You won't need a car for the days on board, though, as everything essential in Mindelo is within walking distance.

There are direct flights to São Vicente from Europe, for example from Lisbon. Other connections go via the international airports on Sal or Santiago, from where you continue with a domestic flight. The domestic flight network is not very dense, and the ferries between the islands do not always run reliably. If your trip starts on a fixed day, allow a buffer day.

For entry by air, you register before departure on the EASE online portal of the Polícia Nacional. There you provide passport details, travel dates, flight number and your accommodation address, and pay the fee by credit card. Without prior registration you pay it at the desk on arrival. Whether you need an additional visa depends on your nationality and the length of your stay. The current requirements are set out in the official EASE portal.

By ferry from Santo Antão and the other islands

Ferries run daily between Porto Novo on Santo Antão and Mindelo; the crossing straight across the channel is short. The ferry between Praia on Santiago and Mindelo sails overnight and calls at São Nicolau on the way.

Parking

There is a car park on the waterfront road Avenida Marginal, about 300 metres from the marina. This is handy if you are driving around the island in a hire car before or after the trip.

Arrived early: passing time in the Old Town

If your flight lands long before the trip starts, the easiest way to pass the time is in the floating bar in the marina or in the colonial town centre. The market hall in the middle of the old town is about 400 metres from the pontoon.

Showers and sanitary facilities

Showers and toilets are available at the marina office. You open them with a magnetic card. A laundry service collects washing from the marina every morning at 8 a.m.

Shopping for the trip

For your first shop, you walk into the town centre. The nearest supermarket (Fragata) is about 250 metres from the marina; you will find several smaller supermarkets within a radius of 400 metres. You reach the municipal market hall (Mercado Municipal), with fruit and vegetables, after about 400 metres; it is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays until 4 p.m. You buy fish at the fish market on the waterfront road Avenida Marginal; it is open Monday to Saturday.

The Fragata chain has two supermarkets in Mindelo. They are open Monday to Saturday until 9 p.m., Sundays with a midday break, and can deliver your shopping for a small fee. For a big shop, the larger supermarket Super Mais is about 1.5 kilometres from the marina in the direction of Monte Sossego; by taxi you are there in a few minutes. The water from the taps at the pontoons is not drinking water; you buy drinking water in bottles.

Doctor, pharmacy and emergency services

The nearest pharmacies, Farmácia do Leão and Farmácia Néna, are about 300 and 400 metres from the marina. You reach Hospital Baptista de Sousa after about 700 metres. Mindelo, alongside Praia, is one of the two cities in Cape Verde with hospitals that provide specialist care and are adequately equipped.

Pharmacies stock the usual medicines, but counterfeit products do occur. You should therefore bring your regular medicines in sufficient quantities. Travel health insurance with repatriation is advisable for Cape Verde.

• 130: Emergency medical service
• 131: Fire brigade
• 132: Police
• At sea: VHF channel 16

What does Marina Mindelo offer?

Marina Mindelo takes yachts up to 50 metres in length and is guarded around the clock. The key details at a glance:

Feature	Details
Position (approximate)	16° 53,2′ N, 024° 59,5′ W
Berths	144 on floating pontoons with finger berths
Yacht size	up to 50 m length, up to 4.5 m draught
Access	at any state of tide and at any time of day
VHF	Channel 72
Office	Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., at weekends 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Fuel	Fuel dock at the end of pontoon F, daily 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Water and electricity	at the pontoons, water not of drinking quality
Safety	guarded 24 hours
Distance to airport	about 9 km as the crow flies

Equipment

There is water and electricity at the pontoons. If the town power supply fails, the marina generates its own electricity with its own generator. On a pontoon in the marina there is a floating bar; there and at the pontoons there is Wi-Fi. You can get gas at the petrol stations in town.

What is the weather like around Mindelo for sailing?

From roughly November to June, the northeast trade wind determines the sailing weather. It blows steadily from north to east, usually from northeast, and is often strong. Between São Vicente and Santo Antão it is accelerated as if in a nozzle: if it is blowing about 10 knots out at sea, it can reach 25 to 30 knots in the São Vicente Channel.

During the dry season, the Harmattan carries Sahara dust over the islands. This dry haze, called "bruma seca" on the Cape Verde Islands, can severely reduce visibility.

From approximately July to October is the rainy season. The wind then comes more frequently from the south-east, disturbances move through from the east, and tropical storms and hurricanes can occur. For a first trip as crew, the trade wind season is the more reliable time.

Which sailing destinations are near Mindelo?

Santo Antão lies directly opposite on the other side of the channel; São Nicolau and Sal can be reached with longer legs eastwards against the trade winds. From Mindelo, Atlantic crossings to the Caribbean also depart.

The distances are rounded routes over water on the usual course from Marina Mindelo; for precise planning, the chart applies.

• Porto Novo on Santo Antão: around 9 nm, straight across the channel from São Vicente
• Tarrafal on São Nicolau: around 50 nm, round São Vicente and past Santa Luzia to the east
• Palmeira on Sal: around 117 nm, eastwards passing north of Santa Luzia and São Nicolau
• Grenada in the Caribbean: around 2,150 nm across the Atlantic

The short leg to Porto Novo takes you through the channel, where the trade winds and tidal stream together can build up powerful seas. Heading east, you tack against the trade winds; to São Nicolau is a long day, to Sal you sail overnight. More about the harbour on Sal can be found in the profile of Harbour of Palmeira.

From Gran Canaria to Mindelo is around 850 nm. What it looks like in the harbour there can be read in our article on Las Palmas harbour. From Mindelo, you continue westwards with the trade winds towards the Caribbean.

What can you do ashore in Mindelo on a harbour day?

The city centre begins directly behind the marina; for Monte Verde and Santo Antão, allow half a day or a full day.

• City centre: The market hall and the Palácio do Povo, formerly the seat of government, stand in the colonial city centre just a few minutes' walk from the pontoon.
• Torre de Belém: On the waterfront promenade between the fish hall and Praia dos Botes beach stands an approximately hundred-year-old replica of Lisbon's famous tower.
• Monte Verde: The green mountain around six kilometres as the crow flies east of the marina is, at 740 metres, the highest point of São Vicente and is protected as a nature park. It is the only place on the island with a more humid climate, with terraced fields and plants that grow only on the Cape Verde Islands.
• Santo Antão: By ferry you can quickly reach Porto Novo. In the north-east of the island lies the Cova, Paúl and Ribeira da Torre Nature Park. A volcanic crater, deeply incised valleys and terraces with sugar cane and coffee characterise the landscape; the highest point of the park is at 1,585 metres. Since 2016, the park has been on Cape Verde's tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage status.

Pickpocketing and handbag snatching occur in Mindelo. Leave valuables on board and pay by card whenever possible.

For skippers: Clearing in, berthing and sea weather in Mindelo

In Marina Mindelo you berth at an assigned place on the floating pontoon; the marina can be reached on VHF channel 72. If your yacht is arriving from abroad, Mindelo, along with Praia and Sal, is one of the three harbours through which you are allowed to enter. Anyone entering elsewhere risks a fine.

Clearing in at Mindelo

Cape Verdean law on recreational boating regulates entry with a foreign yacht. On first arrival, the maritime authority, customs, health authority and border police inspect yacht and crew. The Polícia Marítima (sea police) have their office in the harbour building at the cruise terminal on the north mole, around 500 metres north-west of the marina. You receive a transit log for the yacht, which you complete and sign; the entry is recorded in it. The authorities retain the yacht's original papers during the stay and return them on departure. An entry fee per boat is payable for the crew, with a supplement at weekends.

Have the boat papers, skipper's certificate of competency, third-party insurance, crew list and the crew's passports ready. Anything you cannot produce immediately may be submitted within 48 hours. Important for crew: anyone leaving the yacht in Mindelo and not sailing on must report this to border control, who will note it in the transit log.

A foreign yacht may remain in Cape Verdean waters for up to six months within a year. Before departure, you apply to the maritime authority to clear out; the stamped crew list then serves as the clearance document.

Registration and berthing in the marina

The marina assigns you a berth via VHF channel 72 or at the office. If uncertain, berth first at the outer pontoon and register at the office. Yachts with deep draught usually lie at the outer pontoon. The berth fee includes 100 litres of water for the pontoon and showers; additional water is loaded onto a card. Electricity is charged per day.

You fuel with diesel at the fuel berth at the end of pontoon F directly into the tank, duty-free. Jerrycans are not filled there; for that there are petrol stations in town. If you anchor in the bay in front of the marina, you lie less sheltered than at the pontoon. In westerly swell, however, it can also become uncomfortable in the marina.

Approach through the channel of São Vicente

From the north and north-east, you approach through the channel of São Vicente between São Vicente and Santo Antão. The wind increases markedly there, and the tidal stream builds up high waves, especially on the flood. Reef in good time before entering the channel.

In the bay you stay south of the breakwaters and quays of the commercial harbour and head east until the marina pontoons come into view. Many cargo ships anchor in the bay, not all of them lit at night. An arrival after dark is therefore not recommended. During the dry season, Sahara dust can reduce visibility so much that the islands only appear late.

Which sea weather forecast applies to Mindelo?

For the waters around Cape Verde, the national weather service INMG (Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia e Geofísica) issues forecasts for the sea area and gale warnings. For the high seas, the international sea weather forecast of the French weather service Météo-France for the eastern Atlantic applies.

The Cape Verde Islands have their own forecast area called "Cape Verde", with wind in Beaufort, sea state and swell. At sea you receive it via satellite (SafetyNET), in the marina also on the internet at World Meteorological Organization.

Trips from Mindelo on Törnfinder

In October 2026 there are 9 trip dates on Törnfinder in the next twelve months departing from or arriving at Mindelo. Most depart in November, January and April, typically for 14 days.

All current offers are in the trip overview, an overview of the sailing area is given on the page cabin charter in the Cape Verde Islands. Trips from Cape Verde to the Caribbean can be found under Cabin Charter for a Transatlantic Crossing.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get from São Vicente Airport to Mindelo Marina?

Most easily by taxi, which runs from the airport into town. Cesária Évora Airport is about nine kilometres as the crow flies southwest of the marina; after dark the journey costs a surcharge.

Where do I park at the start of a trip in Mindelo?

In the car park on the waterfront road Avenida Marginal, about 300 metres from the marina. For the days on board you won't need a car in Mindelo, everything important is within walking distance.

Are there showers in Mindelo Marina?

Yes, showers and toilets are located by the marina office and open with a magnetic card. A laundry service collects washing from the marina every morning.

Where do I shop for the trip in Mindelo?

In the town centre directly behind the marina: the nearest supermarket is about 250 metres from the pontoon, plus the market hall, the fish hall on Avenida Marginal and further supermarkets. For a big shop you can take a taxi to the larger Super Mais supermarket, about 1.5 kilometres away. Buy drinking water in bottles, as the water at the pontoons is not drinking water.

How do I get from Santo Antão to Mindelo?

By ferry from Porto Novo, which sails daily. By sea it's about 9 nautical miles across the São Vicente channel.

When is the best time for sailing from Mindelo?

From November to June, when the trade winds blow steadily from the northeast and there is hardly any rain. From July to October is the rainy season, when tropical storms can occur.

Can I clear in with my yacht in Mindelo?

Yes, Mindelo is one of three harbours, alongside Praia and Sal, through which yachts from abroad may enter Cape Verde. On first entry you receive a transit log, and the boat papers remain with the authorities until departure.