Niche travel specialist highlights “secret paradise” Sao Tome as 2024 top destination

An independent travel specialist, which creates bespoke holidays to the Portuguese speaking islands of the Atlantic is predicting a surge in interest in one of the world’s least visited island paradises.

Archipelago Choice, which has just been awarded “Best Small Travel Company to Iberia and Micronesia” has been creating personal holidays based on decades of travelling and exploring these unique island archipelagos (23 in total).

They typically cater for “active” walking, hiking, snorkelling and whale watching travellers, keen to soak up some winter sun and get off the beaten track in the likes of the Azores, Madeira and Cape Verde.

However, co-founder Ian Coates, who set up the business 25 years ago, has pinpointed an even more remote and less-visited destination as his surprise pick for 2024, as experiential-led travellers seek to discover their own unspoilt piece of paradise – Sao Tome (and Principe).

‘At the risk of opening the floodgates and ruining the peace, Sao Tome and Principe are tropical island paradises, delightfully un-touristy with just 15,000 visitors per year (based on 2021), and are ready to be explored by the discerning traveller.

‘Now, travel to São Tomé and Príncipe will not be your usual mainstream travel experience, but they are most definitely an experience not to be missed if you are looking for something a little different.

‘That said, there’s plenty to occupy you once you arrive. You could be hiking through tropical rainforest, relaxing in hammocks listening to the swish of the waves and unusual sounds of the forest, diving or snorkelling with tropical fish, kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding in lazy lagoons or visiting cocoa and coffee plantations.’

It has been a busy year for Ian and the Archipelago Choice team, capped with the win at the BTAs, which are the largest consumer voted travel awards in the UK, whose endorsement of listed companies is what the results are based on each year.

The secret to their success is deceptively simple says Ian;

‘We’re travellers first and foremost. All our holidays are tailor-made and put together following our own extensive experiences of travelling around the islands.

‘That is what helps us to discover some incredible spots and experiences that are truly “off the beaten track” and are not in the standard list of destinations that you might find with a quick browse.

‘Take Sao Tome for example. There’s roughly 15,000 visitors per year although that will increase with the redevelopment of the likes of the stunning Bom Bom Resort (scheduled for May 2024). It is unspoilt, with around 90% of it covered with lush, virgin rainforest which is home to around 900 species of plants – with 130 found nowhere else.

‘In fact,. São Tomé and Príncipe combined have the highest density of endemic bird species worldwide – that’s right, even more than the Galapagos!

‘The surrounding ocean, the Gulf of Guinea, is one of the world’s hotspots of marine diversity, and the islands’ beaches are vital breeding grounds for the biggest variety of sea turtles in central Africa.

‘Tiny Príncipe is blessed with lofty mountain peaks and staggering rock towers carpeted in dense tropical rainforest. Meanwhile, on its coast you’ll be mesmerised by beautiful golden sandy beaches, fringed with palm trees and lapped by the warm and inviting ocean.

‘We’d advise that the best times to visit are January, February, and March although the new Bom Bom Resort will be well worth waiting for too. Don’t wait too long though, the secret is out!’