Have you ever heard of a country called “Sao Tome and Principe”?
There are many people who don’t know where the country is or have never heard of the country.
I have compiled my record to “Sao Tome and Principe”, a small island country.
Where is “Sao Tome and Principe” ?
São Tomé and Príncipe is an African island nation located almost on the equator (Equator Landmark in Ilhéu das Rolas located about 40 km north of the equator. HAHAHA.).
Gabon is on right side, and Nigeria and Cameroon are upper side.
Summary
There are two main islands, Sao Tome Island and Principe Island, but this blog is written about my impression of Sao Tome Island only.
👍 Lots of nature
❌ Very little information
The online VISA application process is quite difficult and in most cases foreigners cannot do it on their own.
You would like to make a plan that does not require a VISA.
Flights between “Gabon and São Tomé” and between “São Tomé and Principe” are operated by small airlines, but cancellations are often.
When planning any flights, it is advisable to plan with enough time to deal with unforeseen circumstances.
There aren’t many types of dishes, mostly meat, fish, and bananas.
All of them are plentiful and powerful. There was quite a lot for one meal.
Nature is attractive. What catches your eye is the extremely high mountain Pico Can Grande, the beautiful and crystal clear sea, and the towering, beautiful green trees.
Another highlight is the long-established cacao and coffee plantations.
Although Sao Tome City is a small market, there were many people gathered there. As for the other villages, they were much smaller and less crowded.
It was an uninhabited island until about 1469. It became independent as a single country in 1975, so it can be considered a new country.
By the way, Coffee and cocoa is introduced as new cash crops in the early 19th century.
Guesthouses are not abundant and accommodation costs are higher than in other African nations.
Currently, the increasing value of EURO worldwide is also having an impact. Cheapest was 15 EUR in my trip
Beer is mostly imported.
A brand that is often drunk locally is “ROSEMA”. The cheapest one was 20 Db.
What is called a shared bus in African nations is called a taxi in this country. You can go anywhere on Sao Tome Island within 100 Db.
Taxis (yellow omnibuses) have very inconsistent departure times. This is because it will not be launched unless people gather (occupancy rate 150%).
There are also Tuk Tuk, private taxis, and motorbike taxis.
Payment options are quite limited and credit cards are not accepted in most places. Also, cash is exchanged by a person. so you would be better to have EUR before you arrive here.