Sal and Boa Vista have easy winters. Praia has the disease history.
A large dengue outbreak ran from late 2023 to March 2025, centered on Fogo and Santiago. The World Health Organization certified Cabo Verde malaria-free in January 2024, yet a few locally caught cases turned up in Praia in 2024 and 2025, none on Sal or Boa Vista. For a winter week at the resorts, a daytime repellent habit covers it.
Are there mosquitoes in Cape Verde? Yes. Aedes aegypti, the day-biting mosquito that spreads dengue and Zika, is recorded on every island, and a large dengue outbreak ran from November 2023 to March 2025. On Sal or Boa Vista, the dry, windy December–April season tends to keep bites light. Santiago, home to the capital, Praia, was a center of the outbreak with Fogo, and Praia is where the recent malaria cases were recorded.
The 2023–2025 dengue outbreak
Cabo Verde's first reported dengue outbreak came in 2009. The largest began on Santiago in November 2023, according to the Red Cross, and ran through the dry season to March 2025. A peer-reviewed paper published in August 2026 counts more than 17,000 confirmed cases and 8 deaths. Other tallies differ, so treat the totals as approximate. Red Cross reports from 2024 put most cases on Fogo and Santiago, and the figures don't single out Sal or Boa Vista. Cabo Verde isn't in the Africa CDC's 2026 tally through August 30, as cited by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
The rains are short, roughly July or August to October, and the climate favors dengue spread most from June to October, with cases lagging about a month behind. December to April is dry, though the 2023 outbreak began in November, after the rains, so early December can still carry some post-rain activity.
Aedes bites by day, with peaks after sunrise and in the late afternoon. Put repellent on over sunscreen in the morning, after swimming and before sunset, and pick a screened or air-conditioned room, especially in Praia. Our dengue & Zika routine has the full schedule. The same mosquito spreads Zika, which the CDC lists for Cape Verde, and the FAQ below has its advice for pregnant travelers.
Malaria-free since 2024, with cases in Praia
The World Health Organization certified Cabo Verde malaria-free on January 12, 2024. Before that, malaria had been confined to Santiago and Boa Vista, both free of local cases since 2017. The CDC's Cape Verde page has no malaria section and recommends no malaria medicine.
Since certification, locally caught cases have come back in Praia. The WHO's Africa office reported 55 malaria cases in 2024, 16 of them acquired locally, and 31 from January to June 2025, again including 16 local ones, "all recorded in the City of Praia." None of the local cases were on Sal or Boa Vista. Anopheles mosquitoes, which carry malaria, bite from dusk to dawn, so in Praia keep up evening repellent and sleep behind screens or with air-conditioning. After a visit there, any fever up to a year later needs prompt care, and you mention Praia.
Two more notes. The CDC's Cape Verde page carries an alert about increased Shigella infections, a gut infection, in travelers returning from Santa Maria and Boa Vista, including resort guests, and advises safe eating and drinking habits and handwashing. And you don't need a yellow fever certificate flying in from the US; Cabo Verde asks for one only from travelers 1 year or older arriving from a country with yellow fever risk.
Where you're going
How the islands compare for a December–April trip.
Sal & Santa Maria
A dry, windy resort island, and the dengue outbreak figures don't single it out. Tiny biting insects can swarm after rain, and the CDC's Shigella alert names Santa Maria, so mind food, water and handwashing too.
Boa Vista
Free of local malaria since 2017 and not singled out in the dengue outbreak figures. Winter tends to be quiet, and complaints of night mosquitoes at resorts cluster in late summer.
Praia & Santiago
A center of the 2023–2025 dengue outbreak along with Fogo, and where the locally caught malaria cases of 2024 and 2025 were recorded. Use repellent by day and in the evening, and sleep behind screens or with air-conditioning.
Mindelo & Santo Antão
No local malaria has been found on São Vicente, and Santo Antão has the archipelago's lowest climate suitability for dengue. The CDC lists African tick-bite fever, so tuck pants into socks on rural hikes and check for ticks afterward.
Combining the islands with Senegal? Our Senegal briefing covers the malaria medicine and yellow fever vaccine the CDC recommends there; if you arrive from Senegal, check Cabo Verde's entry rule with a travel clinic. Weighing Cape Verde against the Canary Islands? Our Spain briefing covers Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
The Cape Verde kit
- Picaridin 20% travel sprays: odorless in the heat and layers over sunscreen for daytime use by the pool or in town. One 3.4 oz bottle rides in a carry-on and covers about a week of daily use for one person.
- Light long pants or socks for evenings at the resort and the dusk-to-dawn hours in Praia.
What travelers report
Paraphrased from TripAdvisor reviews and forum threads, dated ones first, and linked so you can read them in full. The two dated reviews, from 2011 and 2020, describe late summer and the weeks after the rains, when bites are at their worst.
- Hotel Riu Cabo Verde, Santa Maria (Sal) · after the rainy season · 2020
A 2020 reviewer described a sudden swarm of tiny biting insects and advised bringing DEET and bite relief; the hotel replied that these insects become more common across the island when rainy-season puddles form. TripAdvisor ↗
- Hotel Riu Karamboa, Boa Vista · late summer · 2011
A 2011 reviewer titled the review 'Bug infested, Mosquito ridden' and said mosquitoes were terrible in all areas of the resort at night, including the dining room. TripAdvisor ↗
- Praia (Santiago) and Cape Verde generally · November to June
A poster said the mosquito problem is seasonal and depends on rainfall, with November to June the best period. TripAdvisor ↗
- Sal and Santiago
In a Sal forum thread, a poster who had also visited Santiago said they got bitten a great deal there even with a strong 'jungle formula' repellent and advised mosquito precautions on the other islands; another found no mosquito problem on Sal, only lots of annoying flies. TripAdvisor ↗
One rule outlasts the trip. Any fever during or after your trip means a doctor visit, and you tell them you were in Cabo Verde and whether you stayed in Praia. Dengue usually shows up within two weeks of the bite.
Traveler questions
Is there dengue in Cape Verde now?
The large outbreak that began in November 2023 ended in March 2025. A peer-reviewed paper published in 2026 counts more than 17,000 confirmed cases and 8 deaths, though tallies differ, and Red Cross reports put most cases on Fogo and Santiago. Cabo Verde isn't in the Africa CDC's 2026 dengue tally through August 30. The dengue mosquito lives on every island, so wear repellent by day on a winter trip anyway.
Do I need malaria pills for Cape Verde?
The CDC recommends no malaria medicine for Cabo Verde, and the World Health Organization certified it malaria-free in January 2024. Since then, the WHO's Africa office has reported locally caught cases in Praia: 16 in 2024 and 16 from January to June 2025. None of them were on Sal or Boa Vista. If your trip includes Praia, use evening repellent, sleep in a screened or air-conditioned room, and treat any fever within a year as a reason to see a doctor and mention the visit.
Are there mosquitoes on Sal and Boa Vista?
Some, though winter tends to be quiet. Both islands are dry and windy from December to April, and most complaints come in late summer and after rain, when resorts can get night mosquitoes or swarms of tiny biting insects. Non-biting flies are a common nuisance on both. Daytime repellent for dengue and a spray on your ankles before dinner cover a typical week.
What does Zika mean for pregnant travelers to Cape Verde?
The CDC's Cape Verde page lists Zika, and the islands had Africa's first Zika epidemic with microcephaly in 2015–2016. The CDC now places Cape Verde among areas with current or past transmission but no Zika outbreak. For pregnant travelers to those areas, it says: "Talk to a health care provider about potential risks. If you decide to travel, prevent mosquito bites and sexual exposure to Zika."
Sources
Health authorities, surveillance reports and news coverage of official bulletins used for this briefing, last checked October 2026. Traveler reports are linked where they appear. This page summarizes public-health guidance and is not medical advice.
- CDC destination page for travelers
- Peer-reviewed study (PubMed Central)
- Peer-reviewed study (PubMed Central)
- European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
- go-api.ifrc.org
- reliefweb.int
- CDC Travelers' Health
- World Health Organization
- World Health Organization
- World Health Organization
- Peer-reviewed study (PubMed Central)
- CDC Travelers' Health
- Peer-reviewed study (PubMed Central)