Christmas in São Tomé & Príncipe — In the Footsteps of Gago Coutinho

Christmas in the sun, in the one place where the Earth splits in two

If you are looking for winter sun holidays in December without crossing half the planet, São Tomé and Príncipe sits just over six hours by direct flight from Lisbon, with the sea at 27ºC. This is a 9-day small group tour, from 20 to 28 December 2026, with flights included, a resident guide with the group throughout and a guaranteed departure — built for people who really want to spend Christmas on the beach, not just escape the cold.

The thread running through this trip is the Equator Monument on Ilhéu das Rolas, built at the request of Admiral Gago Coutinho, the Portuguese navigator who made the first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic. On Christmas Eve we cross by boat to the islet and stand with one foot in each hemisphere — the kind of photograph nobody takes twice in a lifetime. That evening, Christmas dinner is served by the sea, in bungalows twenty metres from the water, right in the middle of the turtle nesting season on the south coast.

In between we cross the island end to end: the Coffee Route up to 800 metres of altitude, among old plantation houses, coffee terraces and waterfalls; the Cocoa Route through the north, from Guadalupe to Lagoa Azul, with the Agostinho Neto roça made famous by Miguel Sousa Tavares in Equator; and the Paradise Beaches Route down south, with the largest open-air laundry in the world at the mouth of the Abade river, the Água Izé roça, the Boca do Inferno blowhole and the viewpoint over Pico Cão Grande. Plus a gourmet lunch at the plantation of chef João Carlos Silva, the island's best-known cook.

We stay in three carefully chosen properties — the Pestana / Emoyeni Gardens in town, the sea-facing bungalows of the Inhame Ecolodge in the south, and the restored Roça Santa Luzia in the green interior. Half board, 4x4 with driver, five guided excursions and three special meals included, from 2,450€ per person.

This is not a catalogue holiday. It is the last week of the year lived at the leve leve rhythm of the Islands of Happiness — and places are strictly limited.

Note for travellers outside Portugal: the group trip starts and ends in Lisbon and the price includes the Lisbon–São Tomé–Lisbon flight. Your flight to Lisbon is booked separately — our team will gladly advise you on the best connection.