Santo Antonio Principe Island
Sao Tome & Principe
10
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Oceania Cruises (2 Cruises)
Regent Seven Seas Cruises (4 Cruises)
Seabourn Cruise Line (4 Cruises)
Frequently Asked Questions
Nowhere: the ship anchors in Santo Antonio Bay on Principe's east coast, and tenders set passengers down near the town. There is no terminal and no taxi rank.
More village than capital. A few thousand residents, faded colonial facades, a quiet river, a church, a small market and pirogues pulled up on the shore. An hour's easy walk covers it.
Walk the town, then pick one excursion: Roca Sundy for the history, Praia Banana for swimming, or the Bay of Needles by boat. Distances are short but the roads are slow.
A former plantation whose buildings tell the cocoa era, when Principe supplied Europe with beans. You walk between the old manor house and the workers' quarters, in a setting of mango and cocoa trees half reclaimed by forest.
It was from Roca Sundy that a scientific expedition observed the total eclipse of 1919. The measurements taken that day helped confirm Einstein's general theory of relativity. Visiting the estate means crossing both colonial history and the history of science.
Praia Banana, on the north coast, curves a crescent of blond sand between coconut palms and translucent water. Nearby, a wooden boardwalk links the shore to Bom Bom islet, where you can snorkel straight off the beach.
A bay lined with dark rock pinnacles rising above the water, one of the most singular landscapes in the Gulf of Guinea. It is seen by boat: Principe is the remnant of an old volcano that erosion has carved into needles and ridges.
No, better not. The trails push into virtually intact jungle, they are poorly marked and the vegetation closes in quickly. A local guide is essential, including for the coves reachable only on foot or by sea.
Very much. The island holds species found nowhere else, and binoculars earn their keep both under the canopy and on the headlands. It is one of the reasons expedition ships put this call on their program.
Humid heat that naturally slows your pace, and equatorial showers possible in any season. Light clothing, quick-drying shoes, insect repellent and plenty of water: the comfort of the call rests on those details.
