Can a British Driver Use Their Licence in Cape Verde? — IDP Advised, Drive on the Right

Cape Verde is a scatter of volcanic islands off West Africa, and driving there is island driving — short distances, big contrasts between resort tarmac and rough interior tracks. For a British visitor the licence question is easy; the conditions are what shape the trip.

The verdict for British licence holders

You can drive in Cape Verde on your UK licence, and an International Driving Permit is recommended to carry with it. Hire desks on the tourist islands of Sal and Boa Vista, and in Praia on Santiago, prefer to see the IDP alongside your British licence and passport. It is a translation document more than a legal hurdle, but it saves arguments — and you must arrange it in the UK before you travel.

Left to right, island by island

Cape Verde drives on the right, the opposite of home, so the familiar left-to-right adjustment applies. There is little fast road here, so the switch is less about motorway speed and more about instinct at junctions and the handful of roundabouts in the bigger towns. Be deliberate for the first day and the reflexes settle quickly.

Roads vary sharply between and within islands

This is the part worth planning around. The main routes on Sal and Santiago are reasonable, but interior and inter-village roads — especially on mountainous Santo Antão and São Nicolau — can be cobbled, steep, narrow and unguarded, and many visitors hire a 4x4 with a driver for those. The drink-drive limit is 0.05, below the UK’s 0.08; treat it as zero given unlit roads, free-roaming livestock and pedestrians after dark.

Posted speed limits are not well documented for Cape Verde and our data has no reliable urban, rural or motorway figures, so this page won’t invent them — drive to the road and the conditions rather than to a number, and slow right down off the main tourist routes. The emergency number is 112.

Before you collect the car

Bring your IDP, UK licence and passport, and confirm the paperwork with the Driving Permit Checker. You can read the wider country notes on our Cape Verde driving guide, and the Driving Fines Abroad — Who Pays guide is worth a look so any hire-car penalty doesn’t surprise you later.