Be the only traveller: Destinations you’re likely to have all to yourself

Part 1 – São Tomé & Príncipe: Africa’s best-kept secret

Yours are likely to be the only footprints across the butter-yellow sands of these islands off the coast of West Africa. It was only just over a decade ago that the first hotel was built here, and the country exudes a local candour and innocence that is untarnished by tourism.

Photo courtesy of HBD Príncipe

Photo courtesy of HBD Príncipe

Personal connections

Interactions with local people are authentic and spontaneous on Príncipe. The inhabitants are naturally curious and friendly, and visitors can interact as much or as little they please. Strolling along a beach you may encounter a fisherman hauling in his nets and find yourself with a fresh catch of the day for dinner; a youth shinning up a ringed tree trunk may offer to cut you down a coconut too; a group of children playing on the beach may invite you to join their games.

Nature is the drumbeat of this island

At only 20 miles long, with pockets of habitation, the island of Príncipe is draped in lush rainforest. Birdlife reigns supreme; among the 143 species, 28 are endemic. Príncipe can make the rare claim of having no venomous creatures. The safety and abundant generosity of nature is illustrated in a story often told by locals of an 8-year-old boy who lost his way deep in the forest one day, to be found six months later, safe and well, nourished by plentiful forest fruits, mangoes and coconuts.

Photo courtesy of HBD Príncipe

Photo courtesy of HBD Príncipe

Chocolate heaven

On a trek through the forest, you may stumble across remnants of the island’s history: arches and tracks of the old railway which used to transport cacao, incongruous with their natural surroundings yet woven into the vegetation that has claimed them.

‘The Chocolate Islands’ was a title this country earned as a principal exporter of cacao. Several artisanal producers today excel in the art of chocolate making, including Claudio Corallo. An expat Florentine, he started off working in a shipping container and now sells his exquisite bars around the world, including at London’s luxury retailer Fortnum & Mason. Claudio opens his workshop on São Tomé island to visitors and shares his secrets during tastings.

Here Be Dragons

The islands are a model example of tourism combining sustainability with luxury. The three hotels on Príncipe are owned by conservationists. They all harness income from tourism to invest in protecting the islands. The owners of the luxurious Belo Monte hotel founded the NGO ‘Forever Príncipe’, which conducts several conservation programmes, in which guests can get involved. Philanthropist entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth set up the ecotourism and agroforestry group ‘HBD’ (‘Here Be Dragons’: cartographers’ shorthand for ‘terra incognita’), and founded the NGO ‘Fundação Príncipe’.

The efforts of such conservationists have made a genuine difference: razing of rainforest for a palm oil plantation was prevented as officials saw the beneficial effects of tourism. Locals proudly tell stories of turning from poacher to game keeper: a beach protector on a turtle hatching walk recounts how his father would take turtle eggs to sell.

Photo courtesy of HBD Príncipe