Going to the equator again was an absolute must as soon as I arrived in Sao Tome and Principe, a small island in West Africa. I flew to Sao Tome from Luanda, the capital city on Angola and the flight took just over 2 hours. I had already been to the equator in Ecuador in 2023 and Uganda early in 2024. The equator goes through a nearby island, not the main island in Sao Tome and Principe. Getting there was a must and took a bit of logistics to sort out the plan.

Step 1- Take a trip to the beach departing to Ilheu das Rolas about a 2 ½ hour drive from the airport.  Most of the hotels in Sao Tome’s main island will have a driver available or know someone, price is about 20 Euro, $25 each way, the roads are a bit messy, but some really good views along the way and not a lot of traffic.

Step 2- Try to locate someone with a boat, once arrived at the nearby beach. Most of the locals will know someone and there are many fishermen nearby who can also help. The boat takes about 20 minutes to get to Ilheu das Rolas, try to get there early in the morning, just in case there are any holdups or weather issues.

Step 3- Once arrived on the island,get one of the locals to show you the route to the equator because it’s not very well signposted. Once you find the route, it takes about 20 minutes to find the equator line which is located close to the top of a mountain.

Step 4- Find a boat back to the main island and make sure that it’s not too late, just in case you miss the last couple of boats departing or if gets too dark, or other malfunctions that may occur.

Once arrived on the main island, locate someone going in the direction of the airport which is close to the city, price should be anything from 20-30 Euro back, $25-$35, and it should take about 2- 2 1/2 hours.

That’s it, pretty awesome mini adventure and a must if visiting Sao Tome and Principe, one of the few Portuguese countries in Africa.