Pestana São Tomé

Located nearly half an hour from the hotel, this small cove features clear blue water and an excellent temperature. It is surrounded by rocks and baobab trees and it is excellent to practise underwater fishing. Many other nearly deserted and white sandy beaches are scattered across the island.

As the perfect information and entertainment centre, CACAU’s mission is to educate citizens in culture, citizenship, aesthetics and the arts. The São Tomé Art and Culture Biennial and the Cacau d’Agosto and Roçalíngua festivals were all started here. CACAU runs courses and workshops and has permanent museums and exhibits.

As a coffee and cocoa bean growing country, São Tomé’s economic base consisted of its roças (farmsteads). A few kilometres from the hotel, you can visit the Roça Rio de Ouro (or Agostinho Neto) and the Roça Água Izé, both of which include a farmhouse, slave quarters or “senzalas”, greenhouses, warehouses and drying rooms.

The Tatô programme is intended to protect, preserve and study the population of sea turtles in São Tomé. The four main species are the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea). They spawn at night, when the sand is fresher.

Built in 1575 on the southern side of the Ana Chaves Bay, the fortress contains a lighthouse and the National Sao Tomé and Príncipe Museum, with a collection of old family photos and agricultural tools. At the entrance to the fort, there are three statues of the Portuguese seafarers who discovered the island.