Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
139km²
Area
95km
Coastline
948m
Highest point
Pico de Príncipe
7,344
People
29°C
Warmest sea
March
213km
To the mainland
When to go to Príncipe
Best for the beach from January to March and from July to August.
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.
Island off of the coast of Africa
Príncipe is an island in Sao Tome and Principe. It covers 139 km², with 95 km of coastline. Its highest point, Pico de Príncipe, rises to 948 m. About 7,344 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 213 km away.
Getting there
- Principe Airport (PCP)airport on the island, with scheduled flights
- Ferries1 ferry terminals on the island
- 213 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to March and from July to Augustbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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On the island
What you find on Príncipe.
- 41beachesPraia Campanha, Praia Seabra, Praia Boi and 38 more
- 4viewpointsPraia Banana, Oque Daniel, Miradouro Terreiro Velho and 1 more
- 1ferry terminals
- 7named peaksPico do Príncipe, Pico Mencorne, Pico Papagaio and 4 more
- 2waterfallsOquepipi
- 1ruins and archaeological sites
- 9hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 23restaurants, 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
Príncipe in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Príncipe, each with its own numbers.
46beaches and covesCoastya
8mountainsPeakyas
Highest point
947m
according to Peakyas
Beach with the warmest sea
29.3°C
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
46 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Praia Inhame29.3°C
- Praia Guegue29.3°C
- Praia São João29.3°C
- Praia de Santana29.3°C
- Praia Salgada29.3°C
- Praia do Periquito29.3°C
- Praia Pequena29.3°C
- Praia do Novo Destino29.3°C
38 more on CoastyaOpen Coastya ↗
8 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Pico de Príncipe947m
- Picos de Mencorne701m
- Pico Negro
- Carriote
- Barriga Branca
- Morro Papagaio
- Pico João Dias Pai
- Morro de Este
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 173 m above the sea. 74 % of it is below 200 m.
- 15 %0–50 m
- 59 %50–200 m
- 21 %200–500 m
- 5 %500–1,000 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.
10 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Santo António1,156 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 27 |
| Night low (°C) | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 |
| Sea (°C) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 |
| Rain (mm) | 141 | 136 | 205 | 202 | 175 | 75 | 40 | 37 | 98 | 226 | 232 | 155 |
| Wet days | 26 | 24 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 21 | 29 | 29 | 27 |
| Sun h/day | 4.9 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 3.9 | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 5.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 14 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 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 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.1 |
| 2021 | +0.1 | +0.4 | −0.2 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +1.3 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.4 |
| 2022 | −0.1 | +0.3 | −0.1 | −0.2 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.5 | −0.2 | −0.2 |
| 2023 | +0.3 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +1.1 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.7 |
| 2024 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +0.8 | +1.1 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +1.3 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +0.5 | −0.1 | +0.1 |
| 2025 | +0.1 | +0.6 | +0.2 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.5 | +0.1 | +0.1 | −0.2 | −0.5 | −0.3 | −0.1 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
São Tomé Island
Sao Tome and Principe853 km²2,024 m178 km away
Bioko
Equatorial Guinea1,950 km²3,011 m254 km away
Islet of RolasSao Tome and Principe2.0 km²110 m205 km away
CoriscoEquatorial Guinea16 km²44 m229 km away
Bonny Island
Nigeria220 km²22 m315 km away
Brass IslandNigeria162 km²32 m327 km away
Annobón IslandEquatorial Guinea21 km²598 m392 km awayMondoleh Island
Cameroon96 m329 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q210636) · 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, Peakyas — 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.
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