Sao Tome Fly and Drive: 8 Days with 4x4 Car Hire and Hotels
8-day self-drive trip around São Tomé with TAP flights: Suzuki Jimny 4x4 with insurance, 7 nights in hotels, Road Map, data SIM card and 24h assistance, from €2,150.
What is a Sao Tome fly and drive?
If you have done a fly and drive in the Azores, Iceland or Scotland, you know the idea: car hire with accommodation booked, while the day-to-day itinerary is entirely yours. In São Tomé this kind of trip hardly exists, because most operators only sell fully guided tours with a driver and fixed hours. We created the first structured self-drive trip on the island: you have the safety and support of a local agency, but you are the one driving.How it works
- Your RoadMap arrives by email. A map of the route with points of interest marked day by day, distances, driving times and suggested stops, available even offline.
- We hand you the car at the airport. A 5-door Suzuki Jimny or similar, the 4x4 best suited to the island's roads, plus a SIM card with 4 GB of data.
- One phone call and we are there. Local contacts in every region, official guides, 24-hour assistance for any issue with the car or the route, and bookings at the best restaurants, such as lunch at chef João Carlos Silva's plantation.
- You set the pace. Follow the RoadMap to the letter or change it whenever you like. The only rule is to reach the next hotel in time for check-in.
Is it worth hiring a car in São Tomé?
Yes, if you like to travel at your own pace. Distances are short, there is little traffic and the main roads between the city and the plantations are paved. In the south and the north there are dirt sections, which is why the car in this package is always a 4x4. Unlike a simple car rental, this Sao Tome fly and drive already includes TAP flights, insurance, 7 nights' accommodation (Welfare – Roça Santa Luzia, Ecolodge Praia Inhame and Omali Príncipe Collection), the SIM card, the RoadMap and 24-hour support.Who is this trip for?
Couples and small groups of friends who would rather not share their day with strangers, travellers who already love self-drive trips, and anyone who likes to decide on the spot whether to stay longer on a beach or leave early to catch the morning light. International flights are not included, so you can fly from wherever suits you.Prefer a guided trip?
If you would rather have a guide and a driver, see our Sao Tome and Principe holidays with flights from Lisbon, a 9-day small-group trip with half board.Note: the price includes TAP flights and depends on the travel date and airfare supplements in force. Depending on the date chosen, the trip may work out cheaper — we will confirm the final price once the updated airfare is confirmed.
Day-by-day itinerary
You land in São Tomé and collect your rental car — a Suzuki Jimny —, a SIM card with 4 GB of data and your RoadMap. The first drive is short and easy, already set to the pace you'll come to love here: "leve leve", the unhurried São Tomé philosophy of life. Overnight at Roça Santa Luzia, a former colonial plantation turned boutique hotel deep in the rainforest, surrounded by an idyllic garden. Welcome dinner included — expect fresh grilled fish on your first night and, if you fancy trying the local beer, your first chance to taste an ice-cold Rosema.
The Coffee Route climbs to 800 metres above sea level, through the island's true breadbasket: plantations, coffee estates and orchards bursting with mango, breadfruit, plantain and pineapple. Drive through the town of Trindade to Roça Monte Café; for lunch we recommend the restaurant at the Almada Negreiros Museum, in the former Roça Saudade — birthplace of the artist and poet (lunch not included). On the way back, stop at the Cascata Milagrosa waterfall, one of the most photographed spots on the Coffee Route, amid idyllic rainforest scenery. Overnight at Roça Santa Luzia.
The Coconut Route crosses the island to the south, with stops at the world's largest laundry (the mouth of the Abade river), Boca do Inferno and the Pico Cão Grande viewpoint. Here too, amid idyllic forest and ocean scenery, you'll find beaches like Praia Sete Ondas — one of the best-kept secrets of the south. If you travel between October and March, the southern beaches are where sea turtles come ashore to nest at dusk. Arrival at Ecolodge Praia Inhame, one of the island's oldest eco-lodges, 20 metres from the sea. Some stretches of road in the south are rough — this is where the 4x4 makes all the difference. Dinner not included (the hotel serves a buffet dinner).
Today you cross by boat to Ilhéu das Rolas, with guide and boat included, at the unhurried "leve leve" pace, heading for one of the highlights of the trip. Here stands the Equator Monument, built at the request of Admiral Gago Coutinho, where you can stand in both hemispheres at once. The islet also hides Praia Café, a small, peaceful cove perfect for a swim before lunch. If you'd like to have lunch on the islet (not included, around €10–12, book the day before), the local menu features grilled fish and octopus — often fresh andala or grouper — paired, of course, with a Rosema beer. Return to Ecolodge Praia Inhame.
Today's roadbook is deliberately blank. Near the hotel you'll find the famous Praia Piscina, one of São Tomé's most photographed beaches — calm, rock-sheltered water, perfect for an unhurried swim. Travel between June and September and it's worth scanning the horizon: whale season along the southern coast. Take the day at your own pace — the real luxury of a destination still spared mass tourism. Travel between November and March instead, and every day brings the chance of sea turtles nesting on the beach.
Drive back to the capital, stopping at the Rio Cauê viewpoint and the Ribeira Peixe waterfall, next to a fishing beach. For lunch we recommend the roça of chef João Carlos Silva — known from the TV show "Na Roça com os Tachos" — for a feast of São Tomé flavours: grilled tuna, roasted plantain, breadfruit and the cocoa sweets the island is famous for (lunch not included; we'll help you book). Continue to the city. Overnight at Omali Príncipe Collection.
São Tomé was once known worldwide as the Chocolate Island. Visit a cocoa cooperative to see the whole process behind the bar — fermentation, drying and the hand-sorting done by the cooperative's women (entry ~€4). Continue along the Baobab Route — giant baobab trees known locally as Micondó — to the iconic Lagoa Azul, with free time for a swim amid idyllic scenery. This is also Neves district, home of Rosema beer — well worth a taste. Stop at Roça Agostinho Neto, the setting of the novel "Equador" by Miguel Sousa Tavares. Return to the hotel, dinner on your own.
Your last day on the road: visit the Museum of São Sebastião, Independence Square and the Cathedral, with time to browse local crafts and soak up city life. Before your flight home, drop your rental car off at the airport — the trip was yours from start to finish, at the "leve leve" pace only São Tomé and Príncipe can give you.
What's included
- TAP flights Lisbon – São Tomé – Lisbon, with taxes and one 23 kg checked bag
- 5-door Suzuki Jimny 4x4 or similar, insured (collection and return at the airport)
- 7 nights in the selected hotels or similar: Welfare – Roça Santa Luzia (rainforest), Ecolodge Praia Inhame (beach) and Omali Príncipe Collection (city)
- Daily breakfast
- 1 welcome dinner on arrival, on the first day
- Guide and boat for the crossing to and visit of Ilhéu das Rolas
- 1 SIM card with 4 GB of mobile data
- 1 Road Map marking the main monuments and beaches to visit
- Fuel handed over as received (return with the same level)
- 24-hour assistance
What's not included
- Anything not listed as included
- Fuel
- Lunches and dinners (except the welcome dinner)
- Travel/cancellation insurance
- Personal expenses and tips
- Tourist tax of €2.10 per person per night, paid on arrival at the airport
Gallery
Frequently asked questions
Yes, our Fly and Drive already includes accommodation — 7 nights in three different places (Welfare – Roça Santa Luzia, Ecolodge Praia Inhame and Omali Príncipe Collection), all booked and confirmed. Unlike a simple car hire, you don't need to sort out the car and hotels separately: it all comes together in one package, TAP flights included.
Yes, if you like to travel at your own pace: distances are short and there is little traffic. In the more remote areas the roads turn to dirt tracks, so the car in this package is always a 4x4, and your RoadMap shows where the road changes.
A Suzuki Jimny, the most recommended car for the island's roads, costs on average €45–65 per day as a standalone rental, depending on the vehicle's age. In our Fly and Drive package, car hire is already included in the total price, together with TAP flights, insurance, hotels and the Road Map: the full package costs €2,150 per adult. Depending on the travel date and airfare supplements, the trip may work out cheaper — we'll confirm the final price once the updated airfare is confirmed.
It's always advisable to carry a valid driving licence. We could not confirm a single, official, universal requirement for an International Driving Permit for tourists — but as a precaution, we recommend getting one before you travel, since it's a simple document to obtain. We'll confirm this detail with you before departure.
Yes, insurance for the Suzuki Jimny is included in the Fly and Drive package, as is a SIM card with 4 GB of data. No need to negotiate extra cover on arrival.
The main roads between São Tomé city and the roças are well paved. In more remote areas of the south and north, expect mixed surfaces, including dirt tracks — which is why every car in the package is a 4x4. Your RoadMap flags exactly where the road surface changes, so you're never caught off guard.
TAP flights with a 23 kg checked bag, a SIM card with 4 GB of data, the welcome dinner, guide and boat to Ilhéu das Rolas, a RoadMap with the day-by-day itinerary, 24-hour assistance, access to official guides whenever you need them, and help booking restaurants, such as lunch at chef João Carlos Silva's roça (meal paid separately).
It depends what you're after: June to September is the dry season, ideal for the beach and for spotting whales off the southern coast; October to March (especially November to March) is when sea turtles come ashore on the southern beaches to nest. Both seasons are good for driving, since the main roads stay in good condition year-round.
Yes, there's a tourist tax of €2.10 per person, per night, payable directly at the airport on arrival. It's not included in the package price.
Yes, you can hire just the car through several local rental companies. The advantage of our Fly-Drive is that, for a similar overall spend, you already get the hotels, a fully mapped-out RoadMap and 24-hour support — without having to arrange every piece of the trip separately, or arrive on the island without knowing which roads are worth driving.
One phone call gives you immediate access to our local contacts, official guides and 24-hour assistance, wherever you are on either island.
A typical local meal costs under €15 per person: grilled octopus, peixe-azeite or croaker, massada with grouper, arroz à moda da terra (rice the local way) or tuna. Grouper (cherne), the island’s most prized fish, costs over €15 per person. These are the everyday dishes, as Sao Tome cooking is mostly fresh fish. Meat is available too, but most of it is imported: if it matters to you, let us know in advance and we will arrange it.
Drinks are not included on our tours, except on a few special trips such as Christmas or the New Year’s Eve dinner. They are cheap: the local Rosema beer costs about 25 dobras (around €1) in many places, and 75 dobras or more in hotels, just over €3.
Terms and conditions
Note: the price includes TAP flights and depends on the travel date and airfare supplements in force. Depending on the date chosen, the trip may work out cheaper — we will confirm the final price once the updated airfare is confirmed.
- Adult price
- 2150€
- Child price
- 1100€
- Single supplement
- +450€
- Book for
- 1250€