Solo Traveller Group Trip 50+ | São Tomé and Príncipe, 11 Days
Organised trip for people travelling alone · shared room · flights included · 6 departures in 2027
The trip
Travelling alone is not the same as travelling lonely.
This is an organised trip for people who are going on their own — for anyone tired of postponing trips waiting for company, of paying a supplement for travelling solo, or of landing in a group where everyone else came as a couple. The group is designed for solo travellers over 50, capped at 12 people, and at the first dinner everyone is in exactly the same position: they arrived alone.
The destination is not an accident. São Tomé and Príncipe is a two-island archipelago in the Gulf of Guinea, 6h30 direct from Lisbon, with no time difference and beaches that are still empty. It is not a resort destination and there are no crowds — it is the kind of place where a small group genuinely gets to know each other in three days, because you share the same 4x4, the same table and the same jokes.
Eleven days crossing both islands end to end: the coffee plantations inland, the paradise beaches of the south, the Equator marker on Ilhéu das Rolas — where you stand with one foot in each hemisphere — lunch at chef João Carlos Silva's plantation, and three final nights at Hotel Bom Bom on Príncipe Island, with its two beaches joined by a wooden walkway over the sea.
Rooms are twin, shared with another traveller of the same sex — that is what keeps the price at €3,100 with flights, hotels, guide, vehicle with driver and half board included. Anyone who prefers their own room can book a single with a supplement.
An agency guide is with the group from the first day to the last. This is not a singles event or a matchmaking programme: it is a real trip, for people who want to see an extraordinary place and would rather not do it alone.
Flights depart from Lisbon; travellers coming from elsewhere connect through Lisbon and we can arrange it.
Itinerary
Day by day
Day 1
Day 1 · Departure from Lisbon and welcome dinner
Meet the group at Lisbon airport and fly direct to São Tomé, arriving in the late afternoon. You are met by the agency guide, helped with currency exchange and transferred to Roça Santa Luzia, inland. The first dinner is the introduction dinner: 12 people at one table, all of whom arrived on their own. That is where the trip really begins.
Day 2
Day 2 · The Coffee Route: plantations and the island's interior
We climb to 800 metres, to São Tomé's breadbasket, among coffee plantations and the smallholdings that supply the whole island. Visit to Roça Monte Café and the Almada Negreiros Museum, with lunch at the plantation restaurant. On the way, the Cascata Milagrosa waterfall, for anyone who wants a freshwater swim in the middle of the forest.
Day 3
Day 3 · The Paradise Beaches Route in the south
We cross the island southwards along what is known as the Coconut Route: the old laundry at Roça Água Izé, the Boca do Inferno blowhole and the viewpoint over Pico Cão Grande, the volcanic monolith rising 663 metres above the forest. Check-in at Inhame Ecoresort, on the seafront, with dinner included.
Day 4
Day 4 · Ilhéu das Rolas and the Equator marker
Boat crossing to Ilhéu das Rolas and the climb to the Equator marker raised at the request of Admiral Gago Coutinho: the exact point where you can stand with one foot in each hemisphere — and where the photo everyone in the group ends up wanting is taken. The rest of the day is beach and sea. Dinner and accommodation at Inhame.
Day 5
Day 5 · Free day at Inhame Ecoresort
A day with no programme, in the south of the island. Inhame beach is at the door and Praia Piscina, with its natural warm-water pools between the rocks, is minutes away. There are short forest trails and, between September and April, sea-turtle watching with the lodge team. Anyone who wants to spend the day in a hammock spends it in a hammock.
Day 6
Day 6 · The Gastronomy Route and lunch at the chef's plantation
Back towards the capital with stops at the rio Cauê viewpoint and a hidden beach where the water reflects Pico Cão Grande. The high point of the day: the tasting lunch at Roça São João dos Angolares with chef João Carlos Silva — one of the finest tables in Africa, served at the pace of the conversation. Overnight at Hotel Omali in São Tomé.
Day 7
Day 7 · Flight to Príncipe Island and arrival at Bom Bom
Domestic flight to Príncipe, the oldest and best-preserved island in the archipelago, with just over eight thousand inhabitants. Check-in at Hotel Bom Bom, with its two beaches joined by a wooden walkway over the sea. Free afternoon and dinner at the resort.
Day 8
Day 8 · Príncipe: Nova Estrela, Terreiro Velho and Sundy
A morning discovering the island: the Nova Estrela viewpoint, the Terreiro Velho cocoa plantation and the Roça Abade community. In the afternoon, Sundy Praia and Roça Sundy, where in 1919 Eddington's team observed the eclipse that confirmed Einstein's theory of relativity. Free afternoon and dinner at Bom Bom.
Day 9
Day 9 · Free day at Hotel Bom Bom
A full day with nothing scheduled, in the best possible place to do nothing: the resort's two beaches, snorkelling in the clear water in front of the hotel, the pool and the spa. For anyone wanting more, the hotel team can arrange locally, at extra cost, boat trips, walks in the Obô Natural Park or a visit to Banana Beach. Dinner at the resort.
Day 10
Day 10 · Príncipe – São Tomé – Return
Breakfast at the hotel and the flight back to São Tomé, depending on the international flight schedule. Last hours in town to buy cocoa, coffee and spices, and the group's farewell dinner before the airport transfer. Overnight flight back to Lisbon.
Day 11
Day 11 · Arrival in Lisbon
Arrival in Lisbon early in the morning. After eleven days, the group that met over dinner at Roça Santa Luzia says goodbye with a message group created, photos swapped and, almost always, a conversation about where to go next.
What's included
- Twin room shared with another traveller of the same sex — no solo supplement to pay
- Return flights Lisbon–São Tomé, taxes included, 1 x 23 kg bag and an 8 kg cabin bag per person
- Domestic inter-island flight (São Tomé–Príncipe–São Tomé), taxes included
- Small group of people travelling on their own, capped at 12 participants
- Agency guide on site, present from the first day to the last
- Modern 4x4 vehicle with insurance and driver, and all transfers
- Group welcome dinner on the first night and farewell dinner on the last
- 5 guided excursions: São Tomé city and Monte Café, the Coffee Route, the southern Paradise Beaches Route, Ilhéu das Rolas and the Gastronomy Route
- Boat crossing to Ilhéu das Rolas and the climb to the Equator marker
- Príncipe Island: one excursion each morning, with free afternoons
- Accommodation at the listed hotels: Roça Santa Luzia, Inhame Ecoresort, Hotel Omali and Hotel Bom Bom
- Half board: 17 meals (8 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 7 dinners), including lunch at the Almada Negreiros Museum restaurant and the tasting lunch at chef João Carlos Silva's plantation
What's not included
- Single room supplement, for anyone who prefers not to share (on request)
- Drinks with meals
- Tourist tax of €2.10 per person per night, paid in cash on arrival at the airport
- Travel insurance (recommended; we can arrange it)
- Personal expenses, laundry and gratuities
- Excursions and activities not listed in the itinerary
- Anything not listed as included
Frequently asked questions
All your questions answered
Notes
Preço por pessoa em quarto duplo partilhado: 3.100€. O quarto é partilhado com outro viajante do mesmo sexo, atribuído pela agência. Quem preferir dormir sozinho pode reservar quarto individual mediante suplemento, sob consulta e sujeito a disponibilidade.
Grupo reservado a viajantes que viajam sozinhos, pensado para maiores de 50 anos. Grupo reduzido: máximo de 12 participantes; a partida realiza-se com um mínimo de 2 inscritos.
Sinal de reserva: 1.600€ por pessoa. A reserva só fica confirmada após o pagamento do sinal, e a viagem deverá estar totalmente paga 30 dias antes da partida.
Documentação: passaporte válido e, quando aplicável, visto ou registo eletrónico. Cidadãos portugueses estão isentos de visto para estadas curtas. A vacina da febre-amarela é recomendada e pode ser exigida consoante o país de origem ou de escala.
Esta é uma viagem de descoberta em grupo, não um evento de encontros nem um programa de emparelhamento.