"ki ..." a São Tomé and Príncipe Travel Page by kimmo_v

We were In Sao Tome&Principe for two weeks, and i think it is long enough for such a small island.
The island is beautiful, althought the citys are a little bit dirty. People seems to throw most of the garbages outside...

We spend all the time in Sao Tome, and desided to not go to Principe, after we had talked a couple of dutch that has been there. They said there is only one city to spend time, and the hotel(s) are in bad condition(no electricity all the time etc.) and highly overprised.

There are only few tourists on the island(appr. 20 a week), and most of the tourists are living in fenced resorts. They never leave their swimming pools and five star resorts. Dull...

For backpackers the island is not the best place to visit, 'cause there are no public transportation and accomodationis very expensive and food isnt cheap either.

Not so many speaks english, and that is a problem. In two weeks i had to learn portuguese, and it wasnt easy...Locals speak portuguese/creol mix-language, which is little bit hard to understand. So, learn portuguese(or spain) before you go there. It makes your staying much more pleasant.

The weather is very smooth. Not too hot because Atlantic Ocean keep the weather very clear and cool. So, there isnt a peak season, any time of year is good time for travelling


Everything is very expensive for tourists. Accomodation is approximately between 25 USD-500 USD. There are not so many good restaurants(except in expensive hotels) and the food is also expensive.
There are lot of cockroaches(even the most expensive resorts) , so use a mosquito-net if you want to sleep your nights in peace.

There are no nightlife(well, i think there is one local disco somewhere), so there is not so much to do. Walking outside at nights is not recommended, because there are no streetlights and locals drive fast&furiously.

If you are going to visit there, there are couple interesting places. In the north coast there are few quiet beaches(praia Nicolos, praia Dos Tamarindos, absolutely the best in the island), and in the mountains are very nice coffee/cacao plantations.