Cape of Good hopes - Daily Mail 15th Aug 2008

Cape Verde is a real rival to the Caribbean-and much nearer to home

Not so long ago, many people hadn't even heard of Cape Verde. Today, with more and more holiday tour operators featuring this string of Islands in their brochures, it's fast becoming a rival destination to the Caribbean.

So it's no wonder property watchers are keeping a keen eye on this potentially lucrative new market.

Cape Verde is an archipelago of ten Islands, 450km off the coast of West Africa, Sub tropical Santiago boasts rugged peaks, deep green valleys and banana plantations overlooking empty white beaches.

'people liken it to the Scottish Highlands, only in the tropics' says Phil Watson from Sambala Resort. 'And compared to the Caribbean, new developments here are roughly a third of the price.

Santiago has a population of about 2100 with a Portuguese-meets-Caribbean feel (It was colonised by the Portuguese and is on the same latitude as Barbados), though it is considerably less expensive. Nearby, Sambala is one of more than 24 new resorts being developed in Cape Verde since the 2005 opening of the island's airport in the capital, Praia.

Two of Sambala's eventual four 'tourist villages' have all but sold out -there are 27 townhouses remaining from £145000 in phase two called Vivendas de Santiago. Buyers can choose three to Five bedroom Mediterranean-style villas in Fogo. Prices are from £240000.

Ian Nicoll, 55, a civil engineer from Tenbury Wells in Worcestershire, and his wife Sally, 53, paid £125000 for a three bedroom townhouse in 2005.

'The countryside was greener than I expected and Sambala is in a lovely position. It's 900m above sea level so it feels safe,' says Ian who aims to visit three or four times a year and estimates that the property is now worth £179000.

Another attractive development is Villa Jardins do Oceano on the south coast, a 25 minute drive from the airport. The 40 villas sit within a world heritage site. Prices start from £235000 with Noscasa and Cape V agencies and will be completed in August next year.

Cape Verde has become something of a property gold mine, and local infrastructure is improving all the time: a new ring road around Praia opened last year and a carriageway linking Sambala and other resorts to the airport will be completed in December this year, cutting transfer time by between 15 - 20 minutes.

The announcement that the Hilton Worldwide Resort will open on the neighbouring island of Sal in 2010 indicates the islands' growing reputation.

Sal is a very different island to Santiago. Low and dry, it is more like the Canaries than the Caribbean. However, what it lacks in greenery, it makes up for with wide, sun-baked beaches and watersports.

'Sal is not a resort if you want to go out and see things' says Darren Mitchell, director of Cape V. 'But it is good for the beach and windsurfing'.

Cape V is selling homes in more than 12 developments on the island, but its two top-end resorts are Tortuga Beach, where a two- bedroom apartment starts from £133000 and Cotton Bay, where a two bedroom apartment starts from £156000.

The islands are only five-and a half hours flight time from the UK, and Thomson flys direct to both Sal and Boa Vista.

Boa Vista has been earmarked for several developments including a new six- star resort-Palm View- with apartments from £59000.

However, relying on one air carrier can be problematic. Cape Verde's state carrier TACV recently dropped direct flights from Santiago to the UK. At the moment, passengers have to fly from Lisbon , or to Sal and change.

'However, direct flights will happen by Easter next year, ' says Mr Watson.

This article has been brought to you be Sambala; the developer for Cape Verde Property.

^ top

  Get all of the Cape Verde and Sambala Developments news as an RSS feed >>

View available Sambala properties in Cape Verde >>

View current Sambala property in Cape Verde >>

View the investment case for Sambala in Cape Verde >>