Amílcar Cabral International Airport (SID) — Airport Guide 2026

🛂 Border & Visa — The Part That Catches People Out

The desk on arrival is not where Cape Verde’s border process catches people. The step that does happens days before you leave home.

📋 EASE Pre-Registration

Most visitors arriving by air must fill in the traveller entry form on the official EASE platform and pay the Airport Security Tax (TSA) — a flat 3,400 CVE (€31) per passenger on international flights, 150 CVE on domestic ones — at the same time. The government asks for this preferably five days before you travel; a travel agency can do it for you, and it can also be done on arrival at the airport. The authorisation comes back by email within about 72 hours and is valid for a year. Take a screenshot; the email is your proof at the border.

There is a published exemption list, and it covers the form and the tax alike: children under 2, passengers in transit through Cape Verdean airports, Cape Verdean passport holders and people born in Cape Verde together with their spouse and minor children, and foreign residents of Cape Verde. Official state missions and forced technical returns are exempt too. If you are in one of those groups, you do not owe the 3,400 CVE.

🌍 The 2026 Visa Change

Citizens of 61 countries — including the EU and the UK — remain visa-free for stays up to 30 days. EASE pre-registration still applies even without a visa, unless you are in one of the exempt groups.

Since 1 January 2026, Cape Verde has ended visa-on-arrival for the 91 nationalities on its own published list — the list is linked from the EASE platform and runs from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. Those nationalities must obtain an entry visa before arrival, and a transit or airport-stopover visa as well; the instruction on the government notice is to contact the nearest Cape Verde embassy, because EASE itself only handles pre-registration and the security tax, not visa applications. Airlines will not board passengers from the affected list without it. Check when you book, not when you pack.

Carry your passport valid for your stay, the EASE authorisation email, and proof of onward travel.

🚐 Getting to Santa Maria & Espargos

The airport sits beside Espargos — the island’s administrative town — in the centre of Sal. Santa Maria, the resort where most arrivals are headed, is 18 km south at the island’s tip.

Aluguer

The aluguer — shared minibuses working the Santa Maria–Espargos corridor — pass the airport turn-off for about €1–2. They are slow, crowded, and awkward with large luggage. If you are travelling light and not in any hurry, they are a reasonable option. Most people on a charter package do not bother.

Transfers & Hire Cars

Pre-booked transfers through tour operators or hotels are the default on the charter routes and the simplest option after a long flight. There is no rail. Hire cars are the practical choice if you intend to reach Pedra de Lume or Buracona — the aluguers do not serve those points usefully.

🛋️ Lounges

Do not plan around a Priority Pass lounge here: the network publishes no lounges anywhere in Cabo Verde, and there is no Sal entry on it, so a Priority Pass buys nothing at this airport. What the airport group does advertise is a paid premium service, CIP (Comercial Important Passenger), across its Cabo Verde airports — but that listing is network-wide with no per-airport detail, so ask the airport directly whether it runs at Sal for your flight. Otherwise plan on the ordinary terminal.

💵 The Escudo and the Euro

The escudo is fixed to the euro at roughly 110 to one. The rate never moves — there is no exchange play to run, only a spread to avoid. Euros are accepted across the tourist economy in Santa Maria; hotels, restaurants and shops will take them and give change in escudos. Cards work in the resorts. Carry some cash for smaller places and tips.

What to Carry Out of Sal

The duty-free at SID is modest and skews toward the tourist-shelf versions of everything.

✈️ The Terminal

SID is a single-terminal airport handling international and inter-island traffic side by side. The schedule is dominated by holiday carriers: TUI, easyJet and Transavia from northern Europe, TAP Air Portugal via Lisbon, and Cabo Verde Airlines on longer international routes, with Corendon adding a seasonal charter and package programme from the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Inter-island hops now run on CVsky, which began selling tickets in February 2026, took over the domestic network from Cabo Verde Airlines, and flew its first service on 28 March 2026.

Allow time on departure. The security-tax and document check specific to Cape Verde — verifying EASE authorisations — can slow the queue when a portion of passengers has not pre-registered.

💡 Layover Math — Salt, Kitesurf, and What Is Actually Reachable

Sal’s most distinctive sight is a direct consequence of its name: Pedra de Lume, a flooded volcanic crater on the east coast where the brine is dense enough to float in. The other draws are the long white beach at Santa Maria, the kitesurfing off the windward shore that makes Sal a winter base for the sport, and Buracona — a tidal rock pool on the northwest coast that lights up turquoise when the sun angle is right.

Pedra de Lume and Buracona lie in different directions from the airport and far enough out that both require a hire car or organised tour — day-trip territory, not stopover territory. If you have a tight connection, Santa Maria’s beach is the honest call; anything more ambitious requires a full day.

Sal’s inter-island connections run to other Cape Verde islands rather than onward long-haul. The refuelling-stop role that justified the original runway is long gone; the island is a destination now, not a transit point.

🧭 Practical Notes Before You Go

• Complete EASE and pay the TSA before you fly — preferably five days ahead. Arrive without proof and the fee doubles at the border. Under-2s, transit passengers, Cape Verdean passport holders and their immediate family, and foreign residents are exempt from both the form and the tax.
• Check the visa list. If your passport is on the list of 91 nationalities that lost visa-on-arrival on 1 January 2026, you need a visa before boarding, obtained from a Cape Verde embassy — it will not be issued on arrival and it cannot be applied for on EASE.
• Agree the taxi fare to Santa Maria before getting in (~€10–15). The aluguer minibus is the €1–2 alternative for light travellers.
• Pay in euros or draw escudos from an ATM in town. Skip the airport bureau.
• Do not count on lounge access: Priority Pass lists nothing in Cabo Verde. The airport group’s paid CIP service is the only published option — confirm with the airport whether it runs at Sal.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

📊 At a Glance — SID 2026