Mindelo to Praia: There Is No Direct Ferry — Here Is What Exists

Search the first leg: São Vicente → São Nicolau Mindelo bay and harbour, São Vicente island Cape Verde

If you are searching for a ferry from Mindelo (São Vicente) to Praia (Santiago), the honest answer comes first: no direct ferry sails between these two cities. The only way to reach Santiago from São Vicente by sea is aboard CV Interilhas' Linha Redonda — a multi-island circuit that calls at São Nicolau, Sal and Boa Vista before finally reaching Santiago. It is a voyage of several separately-ticketed legs spread over a day or more, not a single crossing.

How the Redonda Circuit Works

The Dona Tututa works its way around the eastern islands in sequence: São Vicente → São Nicolau → Sal → Boa Vista → Santiago. Each leg is a scheduled sailing in its own right, with its own ticket. The circuit departs São Vicente roughly twice a week, and the pattern shifts with a fortnightly rotation and the monthly timetable — so check the live schedule for actual dates rather than planning around fixed weekdays.

Counting sailing time and port calls together, the full journey from Mindelo to Praia takes well over a full day, and rough seas — most common between November and March — can stretch it further. Passengers doing the whole circuit sleep on board in ordinary seating.

Tickets and Fares

Because the journey is made of separate legs, there is no single Mindelo–Praia fare. Each segment is priced and booked individually — check the fare for each leg in the Ondas search or on the individual route pages, starting with São Vicente to São Nicolau. Tickets are sold at cvinterilhas.cv and at the Cais Marítima terminal in Mindelo, and schedules are typically published only about a month ahead.

Most Travellers Fly This Route

Between São Vicente and Santiago, the practical choice for most people is a domestic flight: CVSky links the two islands in under an hour, versus a day or more at sea with multiple port calls. The ferry circuit makes sense if you are travelling island by island anyway — São Nicolau, Sal and Boa Vista are destinations, not just stops — or if you simply want the long sea voyage. As a pure A-to-B transfer, it is the slow option by a wide margin.

Doing It Island by Island

Treated as a journey rather than a transfer, the Redonda circuit is one of the great Cape Verde travel experiences: the mountains of São Nicolau, the beaches of Sal, the dunes of Boa Vista, and finally the capital. You can break the trip on any island and continue on a later rotation. The ferry lines overview shows every leg of the circuit with its current sailing days.

Arriving in Praia

The circuit ends at Praia's port, on the bay below the city centre — a short taxi or aluguer ride from the Plateau, the historic district up on the bluff. From Praia there are onward Sotavento ferries to Fogo and Maio, and international flights from Nelson Mandela Airport.

Search the first leg: São Vicente → São Nicolau

Last verified: July 2026, against the CV Interilhas seasonal timetable.