What's on in São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe through the year

Shoulder season — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 Nov – 28 Feb (usually)), Gravanito, the little dry spell (15 Dec – 10 Feb (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 Nov – 28 Feb (usually)), Gravanito, the little dry spell (15 Dec – 10 Feb (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Busy — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

• Season

  Gravana, the dry season

  1 Jun – 15 Sep · usually

  The cool, dry, often overcast months when the roads to the south of the island are reliable and the humidity finally eases. Mornings can be grey for a week; that is the gravana rather than bad luck.

Busy — Independence Day, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  Independence Day

  12 JulNational holidayClosures

  The 12 July holiday marks 1975. Government offices, banks and most shops in the capital close, and the day is marked with music and football rather than a parade. Source ↗

• Nature

  Humpback whales

  15 Jul – 15 Oct · usuallyWhale season

  Humpbacks come into the Gulf of Guinea to calve during the southern winter and are seen off the island's east and south coasts. Boats run when the sea allows, which in the gravana it usually does.

Still on: Gravana, the dry season (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Gravana, the dry season (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)), Humpback whales (15 Jul – 15 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Gravana, the dry season (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually)), Humpback whales (15 Jul – 15 Oct (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Humpback whales (15 Jul – 15 Oct (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Nature

  Sea turtle nesting

  1 Nov – 28 Feb · usually

  Green, hawksbill and olive ridley turtles nest on the beaches around the island through the wet months, monitored nightly by the Programa Tato patrols. Watching is guided only and torches are kept off the sand. Source ↗

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  Gravanito, the little dry spell

  15 Dec – 10 Feb · usuallyDry season

  A short break in the middle of the wet season with clearer skies and calmer sea. It is unreliable in both timing and length, but when it lands it is the best diving and boat weather of the first half of the year.

Still on: Sea turtle nesting (1 Nov – 28 Feb (usually))