Santo Antonio

About Santo Antonio

Santo António is the main town on Príncipe, the smaller of the two islands that make up São Tomé and Príncipe, a country in the Gulf of Guinea. The town is tiny, with a handful of colonial-era buildings, a small church, and a central square surrounded by trees. The island has about 8,000 residents and feels genuinely remote. Ships anchor offshore and passengers tender in. Príncipe was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2012. The interior is dense tropical forest with towering volcanic peaks and endemic bird species. Praia Banana, a crescent of golden sand backed by jungle, is one of the most photographed beaches in West Africa. Roça Sundy, a former cocoa plantation, has been partly restored as a guesthouse and marks the spot where Arthur Eddington confirmed Einstein's theory of general relativity in 1919. The local currency is the São Tomé dobra, but euros are often accepted. Fresh fish, grilled banana, and local chocolate are the things to eat.

Port Location