Beaches in Africa
Saint Gilles-les-Bains is a real vacation town full of holiday condos. The focal point is the nice promenade which runs along an attractive beach with shallow waters. Both the promenade and the main street inland is lined with pizzarias, restaurants and bars, which gets the place pumping during weekends in high season.
Réunion is not known for beaches, but Saint-Pierre is bit of a beach town. It's a nice town with a bustling center lined with modern shops, but to find Saint-Pierre's soul you need to head down to the waterfront. Here lie the yacht harbour, the promenade with restaurants and snack stands, and the white sand city beach with tranquil azure waters.
Banana Beach is a gorgeous golden sand beach with a gentle bend - like a banana. Though all beaches in Sao Tome and Principe are public, the palm filled shady grounds are runned by the Roca Belo Monte. There are pavilions, tables and even a bar. There is another and more local beach, Caju, a short walk through the trees.
The road to Boi Beach is really rough with mud and rocks, and the last bit is just an overgrown jungle track. But you will get rewarded with a wild and deserted beach with leaning slender coconut palms. Sea turtles come here to nest from October to April.
This long beach with golden sand runs in front of the Bombom resort. Luxury bungalows are scattered along the beach and on rocky outcrops under shady trees and slender palms. Since all beaches are public in Sao Tome and Principe, you can just enter the resort and use the beach. The small island Bombom of shore is connected with a long wooden walkway.
Is probably one of the longest and most beautiful beaches in all of Sao Tome & Principe. Not only is it long with plenty of leaning coconut palms, but it's a major nesting site for three species of sea turtles (Green turtle, Hawksbill and Leatherback). There is a small simple museum (only open in turtle season from October to April) and that is it. The dirt road is really rough, but very pretty.
A wonderful long and wild beach with lots of picturesque leaning coconut palms. The beach is a prime nesting site for sea turtles (Green turle, Hawksbill and the rare Leatherback) from October to April. There are three bungalows belonging to Jale Eco Resort - else the beach is totally deserted.
A beautiful lagoon with baobab trees and azure blue waters. There is a viewpoint with a small lighthouse. Lagoa Azul is popular in the weekends, when locals come to picnic.
A short bumpy dirt track leads down to this beautiful bay encircled by black cliffs. The beach is long and wide with grey sand. It's one of the few beaches where the palm trees are outnumbered by other kinds of trees.
Pool beach (Praia Piscina) is named after the natural rock pools. You can safely take a dip in the pool on the beach side. There is a viewpoint overlooking both the beach and the wild coastline, where waves crash against the black lava rocks.