São Tomé  & Príncipe

Day 1, Arrival in São Tomé

You will be met upon your arrival at the international airport in São Tomé and transferred to your accommodation where you will have time to settle in. Once we have checked you in your guide will brief you on the following day’s activities.

Days 2 & 3, Birding Monte Carmo, São Tomé

We will have an early start over the next 2 days as we aim to see the most difficult to find island endemics at the renowned Monte Carmo Forest. Our main targets in this forest will include; São Tomé (Dwarf) Olive Ibis, São Tomé Short-tail (Bocage’s Longbill), Giant Sunbird, São Tomé Grosbeak and São Tomé (Newton’s) Fiscal. Other species we hope to see include São Tomé Weaver, São Tomé Oriole, São Tomé Paradise Flycatcher, Newton’s Sunbird, São Tomé Scops Owl, São Tomé Chestnut-winged Starling, Lemon (Forest) Dove, São Tomé Prinia, Red-headed Lovebird, São Tomé Speirops, Giant Weaver and São Tomé Seedeater creating a very rewarding couple of days. To top this off our guesthouse is owned by São Tomé’s most famous chef and as you can guess the food is amazing.

Day 4, Macambrara, Botanical Gardens and Obo National Park

Choosing to stay so close to our next birding location enables us to have a more relaxed breakfast with less travel to the birding sites. After breakfast we visit an area called Macambrara which is the most productive birding area around Bom Successo and Obo National Park. Our target species would be, São Tomé Scops Owl, Southern Masked Weaver, São Tomé Paradise Flycatcher, São Tomé Oriole, São Tomé Speirops, Newton’s Sunbird, Common Waxbill, São Tomé Green Pigeon, Gulf of Guinea Thrush, São Tomé Spinetail, São Tomé Seedeater and Bronzed Mannikin amongst other species. After productive birding, we enjoy a short excursion to one of the beautiful waterfalls in São Tomé before returning to our guest house for lunch. Afternoon and early evening excursions to the Botanical Gardens and Obo National Park should enable us to see all our desired endemics. The evening will be spent at the excellent restaurant and bar of our guest house, enjoying the stunning views and good food, discussing the day’s sightings and adding to our checklist.

Day 5, Flight to Príncipe and Island birding

After an early breakfast we are transferred to the airport to take our flight to the beautiful island of Príncipe where we will be staying for the next three nights. On route to the airport, we will be stopping at Rio Grande. Here we hope to see São Tomé Kingfisher and Giant Sunbird, as well as commoner wetland species. On arrival we transfer to our accommodation, check, enjoy lunch and relax before heading out for afternoon birding. Our afternoon will be dedicated to birding the areas around our hotel and nearby bush and forest fringes aiming to see our first endemics on this Island such as Príncipe Drongo and Príncipe Kingfisher. Our evening is spent relaxing at this beautiful location, enjoying our evening meal, and discussing the day’s activities and tomorrow’s adventures.

Day 6, Príncipe Island Birding excursions 

An early start and breakfast before we take a boat trip to a remote part of Obo National Park getting deeper into this pristine forest habitat in search for the island’s endemics including Príncipe Speirops, Príncipe Golden Weaver, Príncipe Sunbird, Príncipe Glossy Starling, Dohrn’s Thrush Babbler and São Tomé Spinetail. Other species we might see include Gray Parrot, Blue-Breasted Kingfisher, African Green Pigeon, Western Olive Sunbird, Western Reef Heron, Yellow-billed Kite, African Palm and Little Swift. Our evening will be spent in a different part of the Island where we will look for the recently discovered Príncipe Scops Owl.

Day 7, Príncipe Island Birding excursions

Today we make another early start with a boat journey to visit Bone de Jokey and Tinhosas; islands that host the most important sea bird colonies in the region. Here we will be looking for more Island endemics including São Tomé Storm-Petrel as well as White-tailed Tropicbird, Brown Bobby, Bridled Tern, Sooty Tern, Black and Common Noddy and a mix of waders.

A visit to Bone de Jockey enables us to see the (Bone) Príncipe Seed-eater which has a heavier, longer and broader bill than the one on Príncipe mainland. After a wonderful morning and early afternoons birding, we head back to Príncipe. Once again if we did not see it yesterday, our evening will be dedicated to searching the islands forest for the Príncipe Scops Owl before returning to our accommodation to relax and enjoy our evening meal.

Day 8, Flight to São Tomé and birding north of island

We will spend approximately an hour birding the surrounding habitat before breakfast. We hope to find any species we may want better views or photos of. We return to our hotel to have breakfast, afterwards transferring to the airport for our morning flight back to São Tomé. 

On arrival back on the main island we head to the northern habitat which is the hotter, drier part of São Tomé. Here we aim to see more sea birds that include Curlew Sandpiper, Whimbrel, Little Egret amongst others and in the bush and forest we find Harlequin Quail, Fire-crowned Bishop, Golden-backed Bishop, White-winged Widowbird, and some of the more common endemics. Another wonderful day’s birding is behind us as we transfer to Monte Café which will be our base for the final part of our tour. Our accommodation has outstanding views from the hills across to the capital São Tomé and is surrounded by secondary forest habitat with good birding in our grounds. On arrival we enjoy our evening meal at the excellent restaurant connected to the hotel.

Day 9, Macambrara, Botanical Gardens, Obo National Park and Departure

Our final day of birding on São Tomé will be flexible based on which species we would still like to see better. After a full morning birding we return to our guest house to enjoy lunch, freshen up and pack our bags in preparation for your evening flight home. A late check out has been arranged and we head into town for our final checklist and meal prior to transferring you to the airport after a wonderful São Tomé and Príncipe Birding and nature Tour.

The itinerary outlined is indicative and Wild Discovery reserves the right to alter the itinerary if conditions require.