Can you tan in Cape Verde in winter?

Cape Verde is the warmest winter-sun option within about six hours of the UK, and much further south than the Canaries. UV by month and burn times by skin type.

By the Sunkat team · Updated 27 October 2026 · General information, not medical advice

Short answer: yes, and much more than in the Canary Islands. Sal's clear-sky midday UV is about 8 in December and 8 in January, so fair skin can start to redden after about 20 minutes at midday without sunscreen.

UV index in Cape Verde by month

Clear-sky UV index at midday near Sal (Santa Maria) and Boa Vista, with how long fair (type II) and medium (type III) skin take to start reddening without sunscreen at that peak. Peak months for Cape Verde visitors are highlighted: November 9, December 8, January 8, February 11, March 13.

Month	Midday UV clear sky	Fair skin first redness	Medium skin first redness	Typical cloud cover
January	8 very high	20 min	25 min	33%
February	11 extreme	15 min	18 min	30%
March	13 extreme	12 min	15 min	31%
April	14 extreme	11 min	14 min	33%
May	14 extreme	11 min	14 min	39%
June	14 extreme	11 min	14 min	30%
July	14 extreme	11 min	14 min	53%
August	14 extreme	11 min	14 min	62%
September	13 extreme	12 min	15 min	60%
October	11 extreme	15 min	18 min	48%
November	9 very high	18 min	22 min	44%
December	8 very high	20 min	25 min	45%

Midday UV is modelled from the sun's height and typical ozone for Cape Verde (Madronich 2007), rounded. Haze and cloud make many real days 1 to 2 points lower. Cloud cover is the median for each month in 2023 to 2025 (Open-Meteo). Over the year the clear-sky peak runs from 8 to 14.

Further south than it feels

Sal and Boa Vista are at about 16° north, about 1,400 km south of the Canary Islands. The strong north-east trade wind keeps it feeling mild, which is exactly why visitors burn: the UV in January is close to a Mediterranean summer.