Cape Verde in €430s-€480s rtn

Winter blues are no match for Carnival in Cape Verde

Using Sal as a hub, you can catch an inter-island flight to São Vicente. The weeklong festivities kick off in February with sounds of samba and masses of floats.

If you'd rather stay local, here are our recs for a bit of itinerary inspo:

• Ride on horseback to salt pans made in the crater of an extinct volcano (you can even swim float in them!)
• Head to 'Blue Eye' cave, renowned for the special shade of blue you can see when the sun hits the sea juuuuust right
• Indulge in the freshest seafood (try Farolin or The Bounty Beach).

For those still not feeling immersed in the Cape Verde life, well, you can't get much closer to these locals...