Sao Tome and PrincipeIsland
São Tomé Island
853 km² rising to 2,024 m out of the Gulf of Guinea.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
853km²
Area
188km
Coastline
2,024m
Highest point
Pico de São Tomé
185,000
People
29°C
Warmest sea
March
226km
To the mainland
When to go to São Tomé Island
Best for the beach from June to September.
The sea is warmest in March (29 °C) and coolest in August (26 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Largest island of São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé Island is an island in Sao Tome and Principe. It covers 853 km², with 188 km of coastline. Its highest point, Pico de São Tomé, rises to 2,024 m. About 185,000 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 226 km away.
Getting there
- São Tomé International Airport (TMS)airport on the island, with scheduled flights
- FerriesPonta Baleia - Ilhéu das Rolas, Praia Inhame - Ilhéu das Rolas
- 226 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From June to Septemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on São Tomé Island.
- 71beachesPraia P.M, Praia Santana, Praia Cabana and 68 more
- 11viewpointsRoça Agostinho Neto ( Roça de Cinco mil), Lagoa Azul, Praia Sete Ondas and 8 more
- 2lighthousesFarol da Lagoa Azul
- 4ferry terminalsPort, Ponta Baleia and 2 more
- 77named peaksPico Pequeno, Pico de Ana Chavez, Morro Pinheiro and 74 more
- 1volcanoesPico de São Tomé
- 50waterfallsCascata de São Nicolau, Cascata da Roça Blú-Blú, Cascata de Bombaim and 47 more
- 1castles and fortsSão Sebastião Museum
- 6ruins and archaeological sitesShipwreck, Roça Zafira, Antigo Forte and 3 more
- 1campsites
- 50hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 79restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
São Tomé Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside São Tomé Island, each with its own numbers.
75beaches and covesCoastya
1waterfallCascadyas
Beach with the warmest sea
29.2°C
Praia de Santa Catarina
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
75 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Praia Pantufo29.2°C
- Praia Inhame29.1°C
- Praia Pequena29.2°C
- Praia Lagarto29.2°C
- Praia Gamboa29.2°C
- Praia Melão29.2°C
- Angra Toldocove29.1°C
- Praia Ribeira29.1°C
67 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
1 waterfalls
on Cascadyas, the waterfall atlas
- Cascata de São Nicolau
Cascadyas is coming soonOpen Cascadyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 348 m above the sea. 43 % of it is below 200 m.
- 11 %0–50 m
- 32 %50–200 m
- 32 %200–500 m
- 19 %500–1,000 m
- 6 %1,000–2,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- São Tomé53,300 people
- Neves8,391 people
- Água Izé7,445 people
- Folha Fede6,685 people
- Riboque4,640 people
- Almas4,601 people
- Pantufo3,977 people
- Dona Eugénia3,605 people
- São Marçal2,866 people
- Rosema2,587 people
- Agua Porca2,048 people
- Bombom1,754 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 |
| Night low (°C) | 27 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 |
| Sea (°C) | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 28 |
| Rain (mm) | 140 | 130 | 173 | 168 | 108 | 30 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 96 | 157 | 141 |
| Wet days | 27 | 25 | 30 | 28 | 23 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 22 | 28 | 28 |
| Sun h/day | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.8 |
| Wind (km/h) | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.7 | −0.4 |
| 2021 | −0.4 | +0.2 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +1.2 | +1.6 | +1.1 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.4 |
| 2022 | −0.4 | +0.1 | −0.1 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.6 | −0.1 | −0.1 |
| 2023 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +1.1 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.7 |
| 2024 | +0.7 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +1.0 | +0.8 | ±0.0 | +1.1 | +0.5 | −0.1 | ±0.0 |
| 2025 | ±0.0 | +0.6 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +0.2 | −0.3 | −0.2 | −0.6 | −0.2 | −0.1 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Equatorial Guinea
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q233124) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Cascadyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.
beaches
Find your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit 
lakes
Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit 
mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.You are here
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Coming soonVisit