São Tomé & Príncipe - 8 day itinerary (from Europe with TAP)

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Day 1: Arrival São Tomé

On arrival in São Tomé (05h15) and after immigration, The Omali Lodge team will bring you to the Omali Lodge Luxury Hotel. The transfer from the hotel to the airport is about 10 minutes. In here you can enjoy breakfast before returning to the airport for your flight to Principe (departure 11h30).

At arrival on Principe airport, the Bom Bom Island Resort team will wait for you and will transfer you to the resort. After a refreshing drink, you can leave your luggage in you room and enjoy a delicious lunch inside the restaurant or outside to view the beautiful surroundings of Principe.

After lunch, we will bring you to the rustic town of Santo Antonio. San Antonio tells the colorful story of a colonial Portuguese village that is home to the people of Príncipe and a photographer’s dream. Enjoy the warm, friendly atmosphere of this town as you stroll through its streets, from the fish and fresh produce markets to 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. From here you follow the Papagaio River to the slopes of Pico Papagaio for a pleasant stroll through the once magnificent old Roça of Port Real.

Accommodation: Bom Bom Island Resort

Day 2: Explore the island of Príncipe

On your second day on Principe, you will explore the island further by jeep. In the morning, the trip takes you to the eastern side of Príncipe following the coast past a typical fishing village with its dugout canoes, racks of flying fish being drying out and treehouses on our way to the Roça of Abade. From there you can enjoy spectacular views of the magnificent Jockey’s Cap where it rises out of the ocean to a height of 305 metres, a couple of kilometres off the coast. You then retrace your steps past Santo Antonio to the Roça of Belo Monte and the sight of hundreds of cocoa and banana trees growing on the hillsides. Here you will also be able to take in the beautiful view over Praia Banana with Ilheu Bom Bom in the background.

In the afternoon, you will visit Sundi. Sundi was once the home of the Portuguese royal family. Only by visiting this roça can you come to understand how self-sufficient such colonial farms once were. Sundi boasts a very large hospital, a church, a very big workshop, some stables, coffee- and cocoa-roasting facilities, an enormous mansion, the sleeping quarters for hundreds of labourers, a railway network with steam locomotive and various other outbuildings. This is also the site where Sir Arthur
Eddington managed to prove Einstein’s theory of relativity during a total eclipse in 1919. From here we then drive south through the forest to St. Joaquim where you can witness the making of palm oil by local farmers in the age-old tradition.

Accommodation: Bom Bom Island Resort

Day 3: Explore the island of Príncipe

On the third day, you will be explore Principe by foot. This leisurely hike through the forest of the Bom Bom Island Resort takes you up the valley of ‘Rio Petroleum’ to experience the sounds of the jungle and catch glimpses of a Mona monkey or African grey parrots, or to spot a Principian falcon as you sidestep a land crab. The trail then passes a huge Oka tree and follows the ridge down to Praia Bom Bom. Mosquito repellent, long sleeves, trousers and hiking boots are recommended. Guides available on request.

The afternoon you will visit one of the most beautiful spots on the island of Principe: Banana beach. Enjoy a picnic and have plenty of time to swim, snorkel or relax on the beach.

Accommodation: Bom Bom Island Resort

Day 4: Transfer to São Tomé

Your last day on Principe will be ended by exploring the island per kayak. This is the perfect round trip for beginners. Let our guides introduce you to kayaking on the calm waters behind the restaurant and then kayak around Bom Bom Island, down the south-western coast towards Ribria Ize where you can visit the ruins of the old church from the first Portuguese settlement on Príncipe 400 years ago. You can then hop from beach to beach up to Praia Sundi and visit the Marapa turtle programme in season and if you’re lucky even witness a few dozen baby turtles being released. You then retrace your steps back to Bom Bom.

In the afternoon, you will be transferred to the airport for your flight to the island of Sao Tome. At arrival, the team of Omali Lodge will transfer you to Omali Lodge Luxury Hotel.

Accommodation: Omali Lodge Luxury Hotel

Day 5: Explore the old city centre & the Botanical Gardens of São Tomé

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.

In the afternoon, a thirty five kilometer drive past the town of Trinidade to the Bom Sucesso Botanical Gardens will offer the opportunity to view the unique biodiversity of São Tomé. The tour will continue to the research station at an altitude of 1100 meters with a hike into the national park to experience the mystic cloud forest around the Lagoa Amelia crater. The drive back to the hotel can include a quick stop-over at a local bar for a drink.

Accommodation: Omali Lodge Luxury Hotel

Day 6: Explore the East coast of the island of São Tomé

On the second day on Sao Tome, you will have a chance to explore the East coast of the island. 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.

Accommodation: Omali Lodge Luxury Hotel

Day 7: Explore the North Western part of the island of São Tomé

On your last day on Sao Tome, you will drive to the North western parts of São Tomé, past Baobab country and the City of Neves. This adventures hike will lead to the limits of the National park to discover São Tomé’s unique water adduction system, an impressive heritage of Portuguese colonial engineering. Kilometers of tunnels have been dug into the slopes and cliffs to canalize water from the Contador river. The hike will follow through the forest and abandoned cocoa plantations to the great Contador waterfall for a light lunch Picnic.

A visit to the spectacular Roça Augistn Neto on the way back, combined with a swim at Lagoa Azul will complete a perfect day along the beautiful country side of São Tomé.

Accommodation: Omali Lodge Luxury Hotel

Day 8: Departure

Today in the early morning you will be brought to the airport for your return flight to Europe.