São Tomé and Príncipe is the second smallest African country consisting of two main islands. We decided to visit São Tomé, the larger of the two islands. Our jam packed 4 day itinerary covered a lot of ground. Using the capital city of São Tomé as our base, we decided to split our time with one day devoted to the north, one day to the south, one to the central sights and the last day dedicated to the capital city. Our first full day in the north included the following sights: Bela Vista village, the biggest former cocoa plantation of Roça Agostinho Neto, Tamarindos Beach, Morro Peixe fishing village, Monument of the Discoveries, Rock of the Santa Catarina Tunnel, local crab joint Petisqueira Santola and the Blue Lagoon. The next day was action packed as we focused on the southern highlights of the island: Pesqueira Waterfall, Pico Cão Grande – a needle shaped volcanic plug in Obo National Park, Praia Jale, Praia Piscina, Praia Inhame, Porto Alegre, Praia Micondo, Praia Grande, Praia Sete Ondas, Água-Izé Plantation, and Boca Do Inferno – a natural blowhole formation. Our third day’s itinerary brought us back to Água-Izé Plantation as we had run out of time the day before to visit it. We got a local guide to show us around one of São Tomé’s most important cocoa plantations. From there, we made our way to Bombain waterfall which is well off the beaten path so we had a private swimming pool all to ourselves! The second waterfall of the day, Saint Nicholas Waterfall, was a bit more popular but we were still the only visitors. Our last stop of the day was a visit to Monte Cafe, one of the oldest plantations on the island. On our last day in São Tomé, we decided it was finally time to visit the capital city itself, taking in the main sights in a do it yourself tour which lasted two hours. Since we still had plenty of time before our afternoon flight, we spent the rest of our day relaxing on Tamarindos Beach. Even though we didn’t spend much time here, São Tomé really impressed and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves on this island paradise.
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A seafood feast at Pap Figo, the most popular restaurant in São Tomé
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Roça Agostinho Neto is the biggest former cocoa plantation on São Tomé
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Children playing together on Praia Tamarindos
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Young mothers and their children after a long day at Praia Tamarindos
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Boat wreck beached onshore at Praia Tamarindos
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A mother and her son scale freshly caught fish at Morro Peixe Village
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A woman cleans freshly caught fish in Morro Peixe Village
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Shipwreck off the coast of São Tomé
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A friendly boy smiles for a photo
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São Tomé and Príncipe map and flag
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Women washing laundry in a river
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Children huddled together while their mothers wash laundry
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Beautiful girls welcoming us to their village
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Monument of the Discoveries marks the spot where the first Portuguese navigators are said to have disembarked in 1470
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Coastal scenery on the northwest part of São Tomé
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The rock of the Santa Catarina Tunnel
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Teenagers posing in front of the Santa Catarina Tunnel
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Robby holds up his crab lunch at Petisqueira Santola in Neves
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Time for a crab feast at Petisqueira Santola!
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Wooden fishing boats on the shore in front of a shipwreck
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Becky on a massive tree stump above the Blue Lagoon
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Coastal scenery near the Blue Lagoon
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A woman washing dishes in front of Pesqueira Waterfall
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A simple wooden shack near Pesqueira Waterfall
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Oil Palm plantation in the southern section of São Tomé
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São Tomé's most recognizable landmark, Pico Cão Grande, is a needle shaped volcanic plug peak
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Laughing with some hitchhikers we picked up
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The chefs at Jale Beach's restaurant
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Becky on a palm tree at Jale Beach
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Robby shows off our trusty rental car on the rough road to Jale Beach
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The muddy road to Praia Piscina ("swimming pool beach")
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The aptly named Praia Piscina ("swimming pool beach")
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Jagged volcanic section of Praia Piscina
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Bungalows at Inhame Resort
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Wooden shacks in Porto Alegre fishing village
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Fish drying racks at Porto Alegre
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Porto Alegre fishing village
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Becky meeting friendly school girls at Porto Alegre
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There were several fish drying racks at Porto Alegre
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Coastline of Porto Alegre
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Bananas near Praia Micondo
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The beautiful Praia Micondo
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Portrait of a young boy; Praia Micondo
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The stunning scenery on our drive through the southern section of São Tomé
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Pico Cão Grande stands tall near an oil palm plantation
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Robby stops for a photo in front of Pico Cão Grande
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The lush countryside in southern São Tomé
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A volcanic plug on the south coast of São Tomé
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Coastal scene in the southern part of São Tomé
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Volcanic peak seen on our drive in the southern section of São Tomé
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Sunset over the rainforest of São Tomé
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Sunset over Praia Colonia Açoriana
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Praia Sete Ondas (seven waves beach) is a popular beginning surfers' beach
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Restaurant at Praia Sete Ondas
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Channel leading to Boca do Inferno (Hell's Mouth)
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The stunning coastal scenery at Boca do Inferno
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Front façade of Roça Agua Izė (one of the original "Big Five" plantations of São Tomé)
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Colorful buildings in the capital city of São Tomé
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An overloaded minibus taxi
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Waterfront building in the village of Santana
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Colonial building at the historic cocoa plantation of Roça Água-Izé
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The cobblestone streets near Roça Água-Izé cocoa plantation
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Village life near Roça Água-Izé
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A simple wooden shack in the village at the base of Roça Água-Izé
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Two school girls pose for a photo in Água-Izé
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A row of legacy plantation houses; Água-Izé
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A cheeky girl asks us to take her photo
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The village of Água-Izé has about 1,200 residents. It once functioned as a village for the adjacent cocoa plantation
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A colorful building in Água-Izé stands out
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These Água-Izé buildings date from the 1910s
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A friendly Água-Izé man welcomes us to his village
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Água-Izé villagers washing dishes
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School children during a break in Água-Izé
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A defunct railroad track in Água-Izé
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Água-Izé plantation warehouse repurposed into a library
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Our tour guide in Água-Izé
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The road leading to Bombaim Waterfall
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Few tourists visit Bombaim, a remote waterfall in central São Tomé
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Enjoying our private plunge pool at Bombaim Waterfall with not another tourist in sight!
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Stream near Bombaim Waterfall
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The muddy road to Bombaim Waterfall
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Colorful artwork at a roundabout in São Tomé
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Monte Cafe coffee plantation
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School kids at Monte Cafe
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A sleeping baby at Monte Cafe plantation
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Monte Cafe is one of the oldest coffee plantations of São Tomé (established in 1858)
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Becky drinking delicious passionfruit caipirinhas at Paraiso dos Grelhados restaurant
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Monument in front of the Presidential Palace
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São Tomé Presidential Palace
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Slavery wall mural in São Tomé
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Tile art of people gathering cocoa on a building in São Tomé
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St Sebastian Fort in São Tomé
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The statues of explorers at the São Sebastião fort in São Tomé
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Colonial building in São Tomé
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Covid wall mural in downtown São Tomé
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A pretty courtyard in São Tomé
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A man selling freshly caught octopus
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We bought two bags of jackfruit from this lovely lady in São Tomé
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Enjoying beautiful Praia Tamarindos
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An old airport terminal in São Tomé
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São Tomé entry and exit stamps
