A day-by-day 15-day itinerary in São Tomé and Príncipe: the south, Rolas Islet, the coffee highlands, the north, the west coast to Santa Catarina and three nights on Príncipe Island. With prices, accommodation and what you miss with fewer days.
Fifteen days in São Tomé and Príncipe is the right amount of time to tour both islands completely without rushing: the idyllic beaches of the south and Rolas Islet, the coffee highlands at 800 metres, the north with its baobabs and the Blue Lagoon, the west coast to where the road ends, and three nights on Príncipe Island. On the ground, from €2,250 per person.
This is the real itinerary we operate, day by day, with where you sleep at each stage and the reason for each choice. At the end we also explain what you miss if you only have 8 or 10 days.
Príncipe Island from the air, with its peaks and forest down to the sea. Photo: Príncipe Collection
Is it worth staying 15 days?
It depends on what you want to see, and here there is a concrete answer, not an opinion.
- 8 days: enough for São Tomé island: coffee, cocoa, the southern beaches and Rolas Islet. It is the sensible minimum and what most people do.
- 10 to 11 days: adds Príncipe Island with two or three nights, but forces you to cut the north or the west coast.
- 15 days: the only length that allows both islands and all four corners of the main island without backtracking or spending your days in the car.
The difference is not «seeing more things». It is being able to spend two nights at each base, wake up without an alarm and have a free day when the sea is too rough for a boat trip.
The 15-day itinerary, day by day
Days 1 and 2 — Arrival and Roça Santa Luzia
Welcome at the airport by the local guide, help changing euros into dobras and transfer to Roça Santa Luzia, a boutique plantation in the middle of the forest. The next day, a trail of about 1 km among trees dozens of metres tall, a swim at the Milagrosa Waterfall, a fish lunch at the plantation and, in the afternoon, a first encounter with the local community and the Trindade market.
Day 3 — The idyllic beaches of the south
Crossing the island south along the Tropical Route: the world's biggest open-air laundry at the mouth of the Abade River, the historic Roça Água Izé, Sete Ondas Beach and Boca do Inferno. In the afternoon, jungle and volcanic scenery to the Pico Cão Grande viewpoint and the villages of Monte Mário and Malanza. Night at Praia Inhame Ecolodge, in bungalows a few metres from the sea.
Day 4 — Rolas Islet and the Equator Monument
Boat crossing over the warm waters of the Gulf of Guinea to Rolas Islet. At the Equator Monument erected at the behest of Gago Coutinho you stand with one foot in each hemisphere. An afternoon of beach and swimming.
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Sao Tome and Principe Itinerary: 15 Days Around Both Islands15 days / 13 nightsfrom 2,250 €
Day 5 — Free day in the south
On foot you reach almost deserted beaches and Praia Piscina, with natural pools between volcanic rocks that fill and empty with the tide. Optional: a canoe trip through the Malanza River mangrove. In season, turtles come up the beaches to nest at the end of the day.
Day 6 — Food route and chef João Carlos Silva
Back to the capital, stopping at the Cauê River viewpoint, a hidden beach with a view of Pico Cão Grande and the Ribeira Peixe waterfall. In Angolares, a tasting lunch at chef João Carlos Silva's plantation, of the TV show «Na Roça com os Tachos». Night at the Sweet Guest House, in the city centre.
Day 7 — The centre and São Tomé city
Up to the centre of the island, where coffee grows at 800 metres: Roça Monte Café and its museum, lunch at the Almada Negreiros restaurant-museum at the old Roça Saudade. In the afternoon, São Sebastião Fort, the Cathedral, Independence Square and the municipal market.
Day 8 — The north and the Blue Lagoon
Roça Bela Vista, the historic site of Fernão Dias and the savannahs of the north coast among baobabs. A swim at Tamarindos Beach and, in Morro Peixe, a talk about the turtles and conservation work. A view over the Blue Lagoon, in a cove of arching lava rocks. Night at Mucumbli, beyond the town of Neves — sleeping here avoids covering the same kilometres again the next day.
Day 9 — The west coast to where the road ends
The wildest day of the itinerary. The spot where the first Portuguese navigators landed, Roça Diogo Vaz, the Santa Catarina Tunnel and the fishing village of Santa Catarina, where the road ends. Beyond it lie kilometres of black-sand beaches. Back to Mucumbli.
Day 10 — Mucumbli, Roça Agostinho Neto and back to the city
A free morning for the northern trails. Return along the coast with a stop at Roça Agostinho Neto, one of the largest on the island, immortalised in Miguel Sousa Tavares's novel «Equador». Night at Hotel Omali, facing the sea.
Day 11 — Flight to Príncipe Island
The 09:00 scheduled flight: about 40 minutes separate the two islands. Transfer to Bom Bom, overlooking the sea and linked to its islet by a long wooden bridge. A free afternoon and your first sunset on Príncipe, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.
Day 12 — Roça Sundy and Sundy Praia
A morning at Roça Sundy, where on 29 May 1919 Arthur Eddington's expedition observed the total solar eclipse that confirmed Einstein's Theory of Relativity. In the afternoon, Sundy Praia.
Featured trip
Sao Tome and Principe Itinerary: 15 Days Around Both Islands
The complete loop of both islands with a local guide: a boutique roça in the rainforest, southern beaches, Rolas Islet, the north, the wild west coast and three nights at Bom Bom on Príncipe.
Day 13 — Príncipe from north to south and Praia Banana
The Nova Estrela viewpoint, Terreiro Velho, Roça Abade and the town of Santo António, one of the smallest capitals in the world. In the afternoon, the famous Praia Banana, with crystal-clear water and golden sand framed by forest.
Days 14 and 15 — Return
A free morning for a last swim, the 15:30 flight to São Tomé and the connection to the overnight flight to Lisbon. Arrival early in the morning.
Where you sleep: six places, each in the right spot
That is 13 nights in six places, chosen not by category but by their position on the next day's route.
- Roça Santa Luzia (2 nights) — a boutique plantation in the forest, so you wake up inside the landscape
- Praia Inhame Ecolodge (3 nights) — the only decent option in the south; bungalows a few metres from a sea at 27–29 °C
- Sweet Guest House (2 nights) — a simple, clean and central guesthouse for the city days
- Mucumbli (2 nights) — almost a jungle hotel in the north, with views and excellent food
- Hotel Omali (1 night) — facing the sea, before the flight to Príncipe
- Bom Bom (3 nights) — on Príncipe Island, over the sea
What is included
- 13 nights' accommodation with breakfast every day
- Dinners on days 1 to 5, a tasting lunch with chef João Carlos Silva and lunch at Almada Negreiros
- Jaca Voyage local guide and 4x4 with driver on São Tomé
- Domestic flight São Tomé – Príncipe – São Tomé
- Boat to Rolas Islet and all transfers on both islands
- All excursions in the itinerary, including those on Príncipe Island
Not included: international flights, travel insurance, tourist tax (€2.10 per person per night, paid on arrival), meals not mentioned, the Roça Monte Café museum (€3) and personal expenses.
The runway of Príncipe Island airport, in the middle of the forest. Photo: Príncipe Collection
How much it costs
- 15-day itinerary on the ground: from €2,250 per person
- Lisbon–São Tomé flight: €550–1,000 return
- Tourist tax: €2.10 per person per night (about €27 for 13 nights)
- Insurance, free meals and extras: €250–400
Realistic total: €3,100 to €3,700 per person for fifteen days on both islands.
Why Príncipe Island changes the itinerary
Príncipe is not «more of the same». It is smaller, much greener and almost empty: around 8,000 inhabitants, a World Biosphere Reserve, with one of the smallest capitals in the world and beaches like Banana.
It just cannot be visited any old way: there are two small-plane flights of about 40 minutes, with a reduced baggage allowance, and delays are to be expected. With three nights, as in this itinerary, the island reveals itself. With one or two, you spend your time in airports.
Pico Cão Grande, 663 metres high, seen from the forest in the south of São Tomé. Photo: Príncipe Collection
Best time to go
The gravana, the dry season, from June to September, with clear days and calm seas. The gravanita, from December to February, also brings sunny days. From November to February turtles nest on the beaches, and from July to October humpback whales pass by.
What if you only have 8 or 10 days?
With 8 days you get São Tomé island: coffee, cocoa, the southern beaches and Rolas Islet. You miss the far north, the west coast and Príncipe.
With 10 or 11 days Príncipe fits in, but you cut the west coast to Santa Catarina, which is, for us, one of the most beautiful days of the itinerary.
If you have the 15 days, they are how you get to know the whole country.
The complete 15-day itinerary
The São Tomé and Príncipe 15-Day Itinerary tours both islands completely, in small groups of 2 to 12, with a local guide, a 4x4 with driver and the domestic flight to Príncipe included, from €2,250 per person.
Would you prefer your own dates or to adjust the itinerary? Get in touch.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, if you want both islands. It is the only length that covers the south, centre, north, west coast and three nights on Príncipe Island without backtracking or spending your days in the car.
Eight days for the essentials of São Tomé island, ten to eleven to add Príncipe by cutting the north or west, and fifteen for a complete tour of both islands.
From €2,250 per person on the ground, with 13 nights, a guide, a 4x4 with driver and the domestic flight to Príncipe. With the flight from Lisbon and extras, the total is around €3,100 to €3,700.
Yes. The domestic flight São Tomé – Príncipe – São Tomé is included. International flights are not.
Three nights at Bom Bom. With fewer, your time is lost in airports: there are two small-plane flights of about 40 minutes, subject to delays.
In six places: Roça Santa Luzia (2 nights), Praia Inhame Ecolodge (3), Sweet Guest House (2), Mucumbli (2), Hotel Omali (1) and Bom Bom on Príncipe Island (3).
No. There are short walks, such as the trail of about 1 km at Roça Santa Luzia, but nothing demanding. It is the roads in the south and north that are slow and bumpy.
The gravana, from June to September. The gravanita, from December to February, also brings sunny days, with turtles nesting on the beaches.
