Overview

Our Lost World Family Adventure Holiday is an amazing shared family experience, with coffee tasting for the adults and chocolate tasting for everyone!

Sao Tome and Principe 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 Rolas island, and the chance to jump over the equator mark between the southern and northern hemispheres, 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.

We understand that family holidays can be an costly affair, so if you would like us to design an itinerary with a specific budget in mind just get in touch.

Ian Coates took his children to Sao Tome and Principe when they were 9 and 11 years old:  “although we’d travelled a fair bit with them, this trip felt like a real adventure. We spent just under 3 weeks exploring both Sao Tome and Principe.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 me and I’ll be more than happy to share our experiences with you.”

Email: ian@archipelagochoice.com

Itinerary

Fly from Heathrow to Lisbon. On arrival walk (5 mins) to The Tryp Hotel.
Walk to the airport and fly to Sao Tome. On arrival transfer to Club Santana. Please note that at certain times of the year you will be staying at Omali Lodge instead of Club Santana.
Free day - the hotel offers sit-on canoes, snorkel hire and boat trips for all guests.
Transfer to the heart of the island and visit Bombaim plantation where you can see cacao and coffee growing and learn how they are harvested and processed. There is also an opportunity for a short walk through the plantations. Duration 5-6hrs.
Transfer to Ponta Baleia, en route visit Boca do Inferno, plantation estates Agua Ize and Sao Joao and Praia Sete Ondas. Lunch at Roca Sao Joao is included. Then on to Ponta Baleia for your boat transfer to Ilheu das Rolas and stay at Pestana Equator.
Free day - The hotel offers various activities and you can walk to the equator monument, hire sit-on sea kayaks, go diving and take boat trips. In July and August is is possible to see whales.
Boat and transfer back to the mainland. On arrival, transfer to Praia Inhame Eco Lodge.
Guided visit to Malanza Mangrove forest in a traditional dugout canoe.
Early morning transfer to the airport and fly to Principe. On arrival, transfer to Bom Bom Island Lodge.
Free day - Today you could book the Lodge's 4WD and travel into the rugged interior of the island.
Free day - Today you could hire a fishing boat to visit some of the remote bays along the coast where it is possible to swim and snorkel.
Free day - The lodge can organise local guides (often staff who have an interest in birds or walking) for a walk through the forests around the lodge.
Transfer to the airport and fly to Sao Tome. On arrival, transfer to Omali Lodge.
Free day until transfer to the airport. Fly back home on overnight flight via Lisbon.

From £4,300 per person

We can create a tailor-made holiday to suit your budget.

INCLUDED: International flights from UK (guide price) and inter-island flights. Accommodation in Sao Tome in twin share, en-suite and family rooms on a half board basis. Pestana Equador is on a full board basis. Only Lisbon Tryp hotel is on B&B basis. Return airport transfers Sao Tome. Guided excursions as detailed in the itinerary. Support from our local team when on the islands. EXCLUDED: Meals not specified above and insurance. Additional excursions on free days.

Accommodation

The accommodation on this trip varies from small comfortable hotels to eco-lodges to former plantation houses (Rocas) that have been tastefully renovated, and the charming Bom Bom Island Lodge.

Activities

Our Sao Tome Family Adventure Holiday will probably be the most unusual family holiday you've every had! During your time away you'll see much of what the islands have to offer; beaches, jungle, old plantations, crumbling ruins and a little wildlife.

Location

Explore the colonial heritage of the island with a guide, before driving down the coastal road to see Sao Tome’s most famous blowhole Boca d’Inferno and one of the most beautiful white and sandy beaches of Sao Tome, Cete Ondas. Try your hand at Santomean cooking and travel even further south to tiny Rolas Island to stand on the equator. One of the many highlights of your adventure is without a doubt going to be your stay at the Bom Bom Island Lodge, where you can relax on its private beaches. A visit to Banana Beach shouldn’t be missed either.