Summary
Our Lost World Family Adventure Holiday is an amazing experience, with coffee tasting for the adults, and chocolate tasting for everyone!
Highlights
- A family experience in a friendly African island destination
- Walk with a guide through tropical forests
- Enjoy a boat excursion to Rolas Islet
- Enjoy your choice of day activities from Belo Monte
The Details
São Tomé and Príncipe is the perfect destination for anyone looking for a safe but exciting family adventure holiday in Africa. You can walk in the jungle one day, swim with tropical fish the next, and feel like real explorers. Kids just love water and it’s the perfect way to cool down too, so you can relax with a cool drink while they splash in the pool and you’ll be provided with snorkelling gear for the whole family, so you can enjoy those incredible turquoise waters.
There are water sports activities at Club Santana, and the chance to jump over the equator mark between the southern and northern hemispheres on Rolas Island, which will gain you some brownie points with their geography teacher!
Sit back and relax in a dugout canoe and let yourself be paddled by a guide through São Tomé’s largest mangrove forest, then fly to tropical Principe, where you’ll be greeted by scenes that look like something out of like Jurassic Park.
You’ll spend the last few days of your family adventure holiday exploring the colourful underwater world of tropical fish from the Belo Monte’s private beaches.
Our owner and founder Ian Coates, took his children to São Tomé and Príncipe when they were nine and eleven years old: “although we’d travelled a fair bit with our children, this trip felt like a real adventure. We spent just under three weeks exploring both São Tomé and Príncipe. We kayaked, hiked, snorkelled, explored deserted beaches and stayed in some lovely places.”
If you’d like to know more, then do call or email us and we’ll be more than happy to share our experiences with you. NB these islands are malarial and so many families may choose to travel when the children are older. You can read health advice for São Tomé and Príncipe here.
Suggested Itinerary
Stay in a hotel adjacent to the airport so that it's easy to return for tomorrow morning's departure. You're staying tonight on a bed and breakfast basis - there's a decent restaurant in the Melia Lisboa Airport hotel.
This is a seven hour flight and it's best to pack your own entertainment as there aren't screens provided on this flight. On arrival at São Tomé you'll be met for your transfer to your hotel. Club Santana has bungalow-style accommodation and there are family rooms available. Dinner is included when staying at Club Santana.
There are sit-on canoes and snorkelling equipment available for your use. Ocean swimming is safe in Santana bay - here on the equator the waters are warm and it's easy to spot tropical fish.
You'll have a forty-five minute walk through secondary rainforest, to see the Sao Nicolau waterfall. You'll visit a coffee plantation and see how local communities gather and prepare the berries for coffee.
You'll see the amazing beaches and scenery and will have a boat tour into the watery world of the Malanza Mangroves. At the end of the tour you'll check in to Praia Inhame for a stay in an eco-lodge on a tropical beach. Please note that Praia Inhame has ceiling fans rather than air conditioning.
... and relax here in the idyllic south of São Tomé.
... where you can explore several remote beaches, and walk up to the equator mark.
... for a one-night stay in Omali Lodge. Omali is on the coast on the outskirts of the city. There's a lovely on-site swimming pool and you can dine in Omali's restaurant tonight.
It's a forty-minute flight and on the way you'll see Principe's towering peaks from the air. On Principe you're staying in the Roca Belo Monte, a former plantation house that has it's own idyllic private beches including famous Banana Beach.
This morning you could join a guided walk to Oque Pipi waterfall to swim in the plunge pool. In the afternoon, spend time on Banana beach and use Belo Monte's snorkelling equipment to see colourful fish close to shore.
... to view the prehistoric-looking mountain spires of Principe and swim in the "Bay of Needles" (named after the spiky view!).
... to see the sights of northern Príncipe.
... you stand a good chance of spotting turtles nesting. Turtle visits are always with a qualified local guide.
You'll be staying at Omali Lodge. On arrival you'll be met for your guided tour of São Tomé city.
Enjoy the grounds, use the pool, before it's time to prepare for the overnight flight to Lisbon.
... full of memories of this enchanting country.
Best time to go
The tropical Islands of Sao Tome and Principe can be enjoyed during any month of the year. The most optimum months to visit are perhaps during the short dry season, between December and February, because this is a good time to see the turtles coming to shore to nest. The long dry season, between June and September, is the most settled. During the dry seasons the weather is usually warm and predominantly dry, but you can get some short downpours, and high humidity does mean that the skies are often overcast.
If you enjoy the intensity of short tropical downpours followed by clear blue skies, and an abundance of tropical foliage, then visit during the wetter months: October and November, and March to May.
Turtle nesting season runs from mid-November through to early February, with hatching generally occurring during March. October through to March are the optimum months for bird watching enthusiasts and there are a range of bird watching walks and excursions on offer. Humpback whale watching season is between late July and October, most of which falls in the long dry season, with the exception of October which is the wettest month on Sao Tome and Principe.
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Suggested places to stay
Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe
Club Santana Sao Tome
A beach resort on Sao Tome offering water sports and scuba diving from the private beach
Retreat
Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe
Praia Inhame Eco Lodge
Wooden chalets set in a tropical woodland and a few steps from a quiet sandy beach
Retreat
Principe, Sao Tome and Principe
Roca Belo Monte Hotel
Exclusive boutique hotel with five private beaches including the renowned Banana Beach.
Boutique Hotels
Sao Tome, Sao Tome and Principe
Omali Lodge
Comfortable boutique style hotel set in tranquil tropical gardens
Boutique HotelsGallery
From £5,550 per person
The price is based on two adults and two children under twelve sharing accommodation. Some accommodatio is in a twin and double room, some is in a family room. We've included activities as described and flights from the UK. Board whilst in São Tomé and Príncipe includes breakfast and dinner. For the night in Lisbon airport we've included bed and breakfast. Local tourist taxes are included in the guide price.
For a personalised itinerary and full list of what's included, please get in touch.
