Nature & wildlife

Arrival in Libreville, Gabon

Upon arrival at Libreville International Airport, a representative of Africa’s Eden will meet you and bring you to your hotel. He or she will help you with customs procedures and collecting of your luggage. Please note that you will need to show your vaccination booklet. After that you will be taken to Hotel Le Meridien.

You can spend the evening as you like; there is no organised programme. If you would like to go out for dinner, the " Quartier Louis" is Libreville's most lively neighbourhood with many restaurants. In addition, Tropicana (near the airport) is also a good spot for a nice dinner or a relaxing drink by the sea.  
 

Transfer directly to Loango / Evengué Island & Fernan-Vaz Gorilla Sanctuary

In the morning, you will be picked up by a representative of Africa’s Eden and brought to the airport for the 08h30 flight to Port Gentil. The pick-up time from your hotel will be communicated upon arrival in Libreville. From Port Gentil you will go on a 3-hour boat ride to Omboué. Therefore it is recommended to bring along some snacks/drinks during the trip. 
 
If you're direclty going to Loango, our Loango Lodge staff will meet you there to help with your luggage. From there you will be transferred by car to Loango lodge.
 
If you're going to visit Evengue, you will  have to take a 20-minute boat trip from Omboue to Evengue. Evengue island is a small island just outside Loango National Park where the Fernan-Vaz Gorilla Sanctuary is situated, which is sponsored by Africa’s Eden. 
 
During your stay on Evengué Island, our experts of the Fernan-Vaz Gorilla Project will share their knowledge with you on the bush meat crisis and other reasons why gorillas are a critically endangered species, and they will give you information about the Fernan-Vaz Gorilla Sanctuary and Rehabilitation & Reintroduction Programme. Afterwards one of the guides will accompany you on a short bush walk leading to the gorilla family in the sanctuary. 
 

Boat trip on Mpivié River to Loango Lodge

After breakfast, you will start the boat trip up the dark waters of the Mpivié River to Loango Lodge. En route, there will be time to visit the small town of Ste. Anne, where Gustav Eiffel built an iron church in the late 1800s. After the visit to Ste. Anne, the trip will continue up the Mpivié River that from there runs through some very dense rainforest. This is a perfect opportunity to sit back and enjoy the breathtaking views. Monkeys, crocodiles and all kinds of birds (Hartlaub’s ducks, finfoots and fishing owls in particular) can be seen.

In the future, this habituation programme will allow a controlled form of tourism to track and view the gorillas and chimpanzees, while at the same time allowing researchers to gather data on all aspects of their behaviour and ecology. 

From Tassi you can easily go on excursions to Louri, where there is a good chance of seeing buffalos and elephants on the beach: a truly remarkable sight and characteristic of Loango National Park. On rare occasions, even hippos can be seen.

Tassi Savannah Camp is open only during the wet season, which is during period of 01 October - 31 May. You can also see the elephants and buffalos that often roam freely on the beach during this season.

Akaka region

After an early breakfast, the boat departs for a 4-hour journey south to Akaka. After crossing some large lagoons, you will arrive at the Rembo Ngowe River, where you will spend the last 1.5 hours. During the trip you might encounter birds, elephants, buffalos and sitatunga (swamp-dwelling antelopes), possibly even bathing in the river.

Akaka is one of the most remote parts of Loango National Park. The Akaka forests thrive with butterflies and are home to a number of rare bird species. The bush camp is situated on the riverbank in the heart of the tropical rainforest and the wetlands.

At times, the wildlife, especially elephants, passes right through the camp. Akaka is a good starting point for excursions like forest walks, or trips by kayak or motorboat along the Rembo Ngowe and Rembo Echira rivers. In the dry season, the concentrations of particularly forest buffalo and forest elephant that migrate into the area are easily seen. Smaller mammals like sitatunga, red river hogs, forest duikers, five species of monkey and great apes inhabit the area all year round. 

Akaka Bush Camp is open only in dry season, which is during period of 01 May - 31 October. 
 

 

Pte. Ste. Cathérine 

In the afternoon, a short boat tour over the lagoon takes you to the Pointe Sainte Cathérine Beach Camp. This basic camp is situated at a beautiful spot on the beach in the north of Loango National Park.

Beach walks, collecting shells and fishing are amongst the possibilities. You can also simply relax here, with one of the most beautiful beaches on earth all to yourself.

As the sun sets, dine in the restaurant, on the lounge deck, or enjoy a feet-in-the-sand beach barbeque affair. During the rainy season, from November to April, Pte. Ste. Cathérine sunsets are even better than usual. 
 

 

Flight to Libreville, Gabon

In the morning, approximately at 10h00, you will depart to Omboué, where you will go on a boat ride to Port Gentil. During the boat trip, you will be provided a lunch package from Loango Lodge. Upon your arrival in Port Gentil, you will be prepared to take the connecting flight to Libreville, where you will arrive in time (approximately at 18h30) for your connecting international flight.  
 

 

Arrival São Tomé 

Day on SãoTomé

• São Tomé City Tour

  Visit the old city centre and get a feel of what São Tomé was like during the colonial era. At the lively Mercado Central, you will discover the islands products and the Calilu’s secret ingredients. With a visit to the National Museum, our guide will tell you about the life on the plantations and São Tomé’s tormented pre-independence history. 

• Visit to Bom Sucesso Botanical Garden

  São Tomé’s native flora (700 species including a hundred orchids) and fauna (birds and marine turtles) are of particular interest, as many of its species are endemic. Indeed, it is possible to see more than 100 different orchids from the island at the Bom Sucesso Botanical Garden. 

• Day Trip by Car to East Coast São Tomé

  Your first stop is the Roça Agua Izê, a working cocoa plantation, with its colonial buildings and warehouses. You will then continue along the coast, passing typical fishermen villages and admiring some of the best views of the island. Roça São João is your final destination, where you can relax and enjoy São Tomé’s best-kept culinary secrets for lunch. Famous cook and artist João Carlos Silva welcomes guests to visit his plantation and colorful guesthouse, an eclectic blend of modern art, colonial patrimony and rural Santomean craftwork. On your way back to the capital, you can stop for a swim in any of the numerous secluded beaches found on the East Coast. 
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• Hiking in Ôbo National Park

  Ôbo Natural Park has only recently been created and helps protect the unique natural heritage of the island. The old cocoa plantation “Roça Bombaim” is a major point of entry to the Ôbo National Park. Surrounded by mountains and waterfalls, this old estate has been rehabilitated into a charming small hostel. One of the eco-guides will take you through the plantations and into the park to discover the secrets of the Santomean rainforest. After a refreshing bath and picnic at the waterfall “Formoso Cascade”, you will head back to the roça for a well-deserved locally brewed cup of coffee. 

• Sea Turtle Night Patrol

  Marine turtles have been coming to São Tomé for millions of years. Between October and April, five species can be seen on the island: the green turtle, the leatherback, the olive riddley, the hawksbill and the caouanne. We invite you to accompany our eco-guides on their nightly patrols of the beach to supervise and protect the sea turtles as they crawl ashore to nest.  

• Bird-watching Expeditions 

  São Tomé is also an ornithologist’s paradise: 143 bird species have been identified here and rare endemic species like the São Tomé short tail, São Tomé giant sun bird, and São Tomé fiscal shrike may sometimes be spotted.

Flight to Príncipe

After breakfast our staff will bring you to the airport.From here, you will take the STP airways flight to Príncipe airport, where the Bom Bom staff will be waiting to meet you. You will arrive in Bom Bom Island Resort for lunch. After lunch, you have time to settle into your room, take a swim in the pool or the ocean, relax at one of the secluded beaches of the resort, or to go on your first excursion to discover the island. 
 

Stay on Príncipe

While Bom Bom is a wonderful place to relax and recharge your spirit, there is also plenty there to explore and discover.

• Santo Antonio City Tour
  It is a photographer’s dream: the rustic town of Santo Antonio tells the colourful story of a colonial Portuguese village that is now home to the people of Príncipe. Enjoy the warm, friendly atmosphere of the town as you stroll through its streets, visit the fish and fresh produce markets, and step into some of the old shops with their assorted goods and trinkets. Sample some of the local delicacies or see what natural remedies the chemist might prescribe.   

• Hiking
  Circumnavigate Bom Bom Island by foot, and discover its beautiful rock pools with their own ecosystems varying from one pool to the next. Or go on a leisurely hike through the forest to experience the sounds of the jungle and catch glimpses of a Mona monkey or the African grey parrot.

• Diving & Snorkelling
  Discover the underwater world of Bom Bom! São Tomé and Príncipe, both ancient volcanic islands, are home to some of the world’s most spectacular rock formations, above and below the waterline. With drop-offs of over 35 metres, overhangs and cascading boulders, there is plenty of sea life here to keep you coming back for more! 
   

• Whale Watching*)
  From mid-July to mid-September, humpback whales visit the waters around Bom Bom as they migrate from their low-latitude summer feeding grounds to more tropical mating and calving areas.