Q. My wife and I are going to São Tomé at the end of November for a week's holiday. We are flying with Taag, the Angolan national carrier, which we used to Portugal earlier this year and found very good.
I've been trying to hire a car but am finding it very difficult - are there car hire companies on the islands? We've also booked to stay in an Airbnb which looks out over the sea. What are the things that we should see and do on the island? - Philip EngelenA. São Tomé & Princípe are a former Portuguese-ruled archipelago in the Gulf of Guinea. Discovered by Portuguese explorers João de Santarm and Péro Escobar between December 1471 and January 1472, the first settlement was established in 1493.
Over the next few centuries, the islands became transit points on the transatlantic slave trade and it is the mestiςos - mixed-blood descendants of Portuguese colonists and African slaves - who now make up most of the nation's people.The island's main attractions include the wonderful Fort São Sebastião which was built in 1575 and now houses the São Tomé National Museum. Also highly recommended is a tour of one of the roςas, the former cocoa plantations which once formed the backbone of the economy. Some of the plantation villas are now guesthouses while others are slowly disappearing into the encroaching forests.
If you like colonial architecture then take a stroll around town and take your fill of ornate villas, Romanesque churches and the wide plazas so beloved of colonial town planners. Don't miss out on the vibrant market either.
Finally, be sure to visit Obo National Park, which is actually two parks - one on São Tomé and the other on Princípe. The terrain in the park (which accounts for 35% of the islands' surface area) includes volcanic outcrops, rainforests and waterfalls tumbling down to white and pristine beaches made of black volcanic sand.
Got a question for one of our experts? 
We can help with your destination dilemmas and visa puzzles and suggest itinerary ideas. Mail us at travelmag@sundaytimes.co.za...