It was a real pleasure to have Andy as our leader. A highly motivated man who never gives up in finding birds. He is very knowledgeable and a great ambassador for Naturetrek. The Omali Lodge and the Roca Sunday were of a very high standard. The food was excellent throughout. A great, action packed trip which produced most of the endemics.
H.P, Surrey, Jan '24
![Principe Island (2)](https://i.assetzen.net/i/kJyvOjfiDwtH/w:1200/h:808/q:70.jpg)
![Dwarf Olive Ibis - Kenny Ross.JPG](https://i.assetzen.net/i/Q0aE8Giok6Uh/w:1200/h:808/q:70.jpg)
![Newton's Sunbird - Kenny Ross.JPG](https://i.assetzen.net/i/w2MlHS7iRXH2/w:1200/h:808/q:70.jpg)
Tour Itinerary and Reports
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Sao Tome and Principe
Tour Code: STP01A 12-day holiday to the West African nation of São Tomé and Príncipe in search of its endemic birds and other natural history.
£5,995 (Inc flights)
£5,495
Highlights
Tour Itinerary and Reports
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Summary
São Tomé and Príncipe are two small islands off the coast of continental Africa, in the Gulf of Guinea, west of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Although only 250km from the mainland, the islands, which make up a single country although 140km apart, boast an extraordinary number of endemic birds – no less than 28 species – and several reptiles and amphibians. Clothed in lush tropical forests and skirted with white sandy beaches, the islands are sometimes called the 'African Galápagos'. On this 12-day tour we begin with five nights on São Tomé, venturing into Obo National Park in the São Toméan highlands for such birds as Dwarf Olive Ibis, Giant Sunbird, São Tomé Speirops, Giant Weaver and São Tomé Weaver. We then transfer to Príncipe for four nights, searching the forests and plantations for such delights as Dohrn’s Thrush-Babbler, Príncipe Sunbird and Príncipe Golden Weaver.
- See specialities such as Dwarf Olive Ibis and São Tomé Grosbeak
- Other endemics include Newton's Sunbird, Giant Sunbird and Giant Weaver
- We will maximise our time to find as many of the 28 species of endemic birds as possible
- Visit lush forests, deserted sandy beaches and mangroves
- Stay for three nights in a boutique hotel on São Tomé very close to the beach
- Transfer to Príncipe for four nights, staying in a converted plantation house
- Boat trip to nearby seabird islands, with White-tailed Tropicbirds and Sooty Terns
Grading
Grade C: For the majority of trails we will be walking on this holiday, a good level of fitness and assured footing will be required. There will be early starts and high humidity is another factor to be aware of.
São Tomé and Príncipe may be two separate islands but together they form one African island nation. They sit in the Atlantic Ocean, just north of the Equator, about 150 miles off the coast of Gabon. The islands are part of a volcanic chain known as the ‘Cameroon Line’ which runs from Mount Cameroon in the north, to the island of Bioko, through São Tomé and Príncipe, then onward to Annobón. These little-known outposts are clothed in lush tropical rainforest and fringed by white sandy beaches and colourful coral reefs. They are ‘the Galápagos of Africa’, their long isolation from the mainland freeing them to their own unique evolutionary path and allowing the creation of a suite of birds and other wildlife found nowhere else on Earth. Indeed, 28 endemic species of birds can be found on São Tomé and Príncipe (depending on which taxonomy is followed), together with an interesting variety of others that also live on the African mainland. Besides being a birders’ paradise, this beautiful archipelago is also home to a fascinating assemblage of endemic reptiles, amphibians and plants.
Many of the once extensive sugar cane, cocoa and coffee plantations in the coastal areas on both islands have long been abandoned and are now clothed in secondary forest which harbours a wealth of birds. Further inland, the mountainous interiors are covered in extensive tracts of rainforest which cling to the precipitous slopes of towering volcanoes, their summits so often obscured within a veil of mist or cloud.
Our 12-day holiday will begin with an afternoon flight to Lisbon and an overnight stay. The next day, we will take an early morning flight from the Portuguese capital to São Tomé, where we will spend our first two nights at a well-appointed boutique hotel within walking distance of one of the island’s idyllic beaches. The hotel gardens and immediate surroundings should produce our first endemics in the form of São Tomé Prinia, Newton’s Sunbird and São Tomé Thrush alongside other, widespread, African species such as Blue Waxbill and Yellow-fronted Canary. Further afield, we will venture into the northern section of the Obo National Park in the São Toméan highlands. The road from the town of São Tomé winds its way up the mountain, through fields, villages and coffee plantations, to the botanical research centre at Bom Sucesso. This is the starting point of the trail into the Obo National Park and is a good place in which to find São Tome Speirops, São Tomé White-eye and São Tomé Oriole. We will follow the trail towards Pico de São Tomé, the island’s highest peak, where we will be looking for São Tomé Spinetail, Giant Sunbird and the exquisite São Tomé Paradise Flycatcher. Higher up the mountain lies a spectacular crater lake which is a good place from which to survey the forest canopy in the hope of seeing São Tomé Green Pigeon, São Tomé Olive Pigeon and Emerald Cuckoo. With luck on our side, we might even hear (or better, see) the elusive São Tomé Scops Owl!
After two nights in the north of the island, we will head south and base ourselves within striking distance of the highland forests of Monte Carmo for a 2-night stay. This is set to be an exciting, yet challenging, couple of days as we seek São Tomé's top four endemics: Dwarf Olive Ibis, São Tomé Short-tail, São Tomé Fiscal and perhaps even São Tomé Grosbeak. We can expect repeated encounters with many of the other now familiar endemics as we explore these lush forests, before returning north for our final night on São Tomé.
Next, a short flight will take us to Príncipe, where we will spend four nights in a comfortable converted cocoa plantation house. It was on this island in 1919, during a total eclipse of the sun, that British astronomer Arthur Eddington corroborated Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity for the first time, his photographs of the eclipse revealing bending of the starlight that accorded with Einstein’s predictions! The atmosphere on Príncipe is very relaxed, and we will spend the next few days exploring the nearby ‘roças’ (large plantation estates) as well as the island’s unspoilt forests. Here we will be searching for species such as Príncipe Sunbird, Dohrn’s Thrush-babbler, Príncipe Speirops and Príncipe Golden Weaver.
After a week of enjoying the islands’ vibrant tropical forests and deserted and unspoiled beaches, we must reluctantly depart, flying back to London via Lisbon.
Outline Itinerary
![Map](https://i.assetzen.net/i/0TrqfZIItZOa/w:490/h:/q:70.jpg)
What's Included?
- Flights
- Accommodation:
A two centre holiday based in two comfortable, but simple, hotels. All rooms have en-suite facilities.
- Food:
All meals are included when in-country
Reviews
Dates & Prices
2025
![Simon Woolley Simon Woolley](https://i.assetzen.net/i/w3unJYWDLlFK/w:110/h:110/q:70.jpg)
Tour Leader: Simon Woolley
Simon Woolley is a passionate birder and all-round naturalist. Having cut his birding teeth in childhood on the Dee Estuary, he has lived in Hampshire’s New Forest for many years now, and is the author of the definitive book on The Birds of Blashford Lakes. He has travelled extensively on six continents in search of wildlife. He has a particular interest in bird systematics and endemism, and is currently completing a book on the latter topic. He has worked for many years as a Geography teacher, so clients can be assured of lots of geological and climatological background exploration on the tours he leads…. As if any further endorsement of your choice of Naturetrek were needed, he met his wife, Julia, on a Naturetrek tour of Kenya in 1997!
2026
Prefer to Travel in a Private Group?
For any interested natural history club or society, we can arrange for a private departure of this tour.
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