São Tomé e Príncipe

tickets terms & conditions

Neuter Campaign + Emergency lectures + traveling in the most beautiful country, not yet found by tourists!

Dates:

2026 - SOLD OUT

February 20-27, 2027 - SOLD OUT, join the waitlist for future campaigns

Educators:

Carolina Albuquerque, DECVIM Specialist in Internal Medicine will deliver emergency CPD/CE.

Mafalda Iria (DVM) and Helda Neto (DVM) will teach you spay/neuter techniques.

Program:

The trip is 50% travelling + 50% neutering street dogs

Saturday: Fly with TAP at 10.30 from Lisbon to São Tomé, arriving at 17.30. Two 4x4 will be waiting (to be driven by 2 participants). Drive 1h to Mucumbli, where you will sleep - all the rooms booked have a sea view.

Sunday: Visit Mucumbli's private beach, Santa Catarina tunel, and hike to a hidden waterfall. Drive 30min to Hotel Praia or Kriola, where you will sleep for 4 nights.

Monday-Thursday: Neuter campaign from 9.30 until ~17.00 at Zuntapata. The beach is right across the clinic, take a swim at the end of each day, at sunset. On Thursday, after the campaign, drive 30 min to Eden Valley where you'll eat a great homemade dinner and spend 2 nights.

Friday: Enjoy the pool and waterfall. If there are baby turtles, you will help the local charity release them in the sea! We will do 2h of online lectures in the evening.

Saturday: Drive 35min to the mountains, visit Monte Cafe and have lunch at Casa Museu Almada Negreiros. Shop at the capital in the afternoon, and fly back at 22.25 with TAP, arriving in Lisbon at 5.00 the next day.

What is included in the ticket?

- 7 nights in great hotels: Mucumbli, Eden Valley (both are boutique hotels) & Hotel Praia or Kriola, click on them to view

- 7 breakfasts

- 24h of neutering high numbers of dogs

- surgical education

- 2h of lectures on Emergencies

- CE/CPD certificate

- 4x4 rental for 4 days

- sightseeing planned for you

- 24h support (local and online)

Room options/cost:

All this for £600 in a room for 2 people (this is the cost per person; single beds or double bed & private bathroom) or £950 in a private room for 1 person. The cost is the same for vets, nurses, students and non-vet professionals.

Hotel Praia and Kriola are simple, as are most places in this country. If you prefer, for an extra £290 (room for 2 people) or £450 (room for 1 person), I can book you in at Omali, a beautiful high-end hotel located at walking distance from the campaign. This is the extra cost per person to stay at Omali, instead of Hotel Praia or Kriola, for the 4 nights of the campaign.

What is not included in the ticket?

- Lunches/dinners, petrol (not possible to prebook)

- Flights

Flight tips:

You can only fly direct to São Tomé from Lisbon and a couple of African countries. There are no direct flights from any other airport in Europe, America or Asia. You have two airline options: TAP and STP Airways. The cost is similar, but STP flies only on Saturdays and frequently delays flights by 24h. Airlines departing from Africa also frequently delay/cancel flights, so I strongly advise you to book with TAP. TAP flies in and out on several days, but Saturdays flights are 2h shorter! The country consists of two islands, one called São Tomé an done called Príncipe. If you want to visit Príncipe, STP is the only airline flying there, with fares from £65 each way when booked months in advance.

Do you need to organise anything?

Only your flights. Ohana organises everything else!

What are the most beautiful places in this country?

- The ones we will show you!

- The South

- Príncipe island (similar to the South)

You need a minimum of 2.5 days (beyond our 7-day mission) to visit the South or Príncipe!

We will send you the best places to stay, restaurants, contacts of trusted guides, etc :)

How will the campaign work?

Vets will learn the best spay/neuter techniques and work independently without an assistant. Vets with surgical experience will neuter dozens of animals, building surgical skills and confidence! Students, vet nurses and techs prepare the dogs for surgery, injections and post-op.

Students can't operate solo in São Tomé (they can in Ecuador! See here!). Unlike our Ecuador campaign, dogs in São Tomé are not on oxygen, inhalant anesthesia, or monitoring, as these are unavailable in a country facing poverty. Surgeries need to be fast for the dogs' safety. Students (and vets with little surgical experience) can assist the surgeon, and do part of the surgery. But if your goal is to do many surgeries, our educational Ecuador campaign is better for you!!

After the campaign, you can stay at the vet clinic for weeks-months doing an externship. There's no cost for this (you cover only your expenses) but the level of surgical exposure on normal days is not comparable with the intensity of the campaign. If your goal is to perfect your surgical skills, start with the campaign.

I'm not a vet, nurse, tech or student, can I join? Can I bring my family or friends?

Yes! Non-vet professionals are always welcome in our courses & missions - you don't need to have a vet friend in the campaign. You can help in the campaign, recovering animals from anesthesia and removing IV catheters; or if you prefer, you can explore the island during the day, then reconnect with the group in the evening. The principle is the same for everyone: the ticket covers your expenses and a small donation towards the campaign.

Is São Tome e Principe safe?

Yes, the country consists of two islands and you can walk around alone in both.

Why are we doing this?

Our mission in Africa started in 2024, when I travelled to São Tomé e Príncipe and witnessed horrific animal cruelty. I started visiting schools to teach children to treat animals kindly. Since then, I have printed 2000 children's books that educate children on animal welfare, employed a local teacher who continues to deliver this education at the schools full-time, funded 4 neuter campaigns (in collaboration with Veterinarians Without Borders - Portugal), and bought a pick-up 4x4 for the local charity AMA to transport animals for vet treatments. Change the life of a street dog, donate here.

Where can I see footage from previous missions?

Our 2024, 2025 and 2026 missions in this country were INCREDIBLE, click here to view the highlight folder 'Africa' on our instagram @ohana.animalcharity.

Are the tickets or deposit refundable?

They are not, as we have to pay expenses in advance and these are not refundable to us. But we can resell it for you (there are always people who couldn't get a ticket) or you can transfer it to a friend, so your money won't be lost! Remember that all money received will be used in the neuter campaign.

What are the payment options?

Google pay, debit card or transfer. Bank transfer results in more money for the animals (compared with payment via the website) because there are no fees. See details for bank transfer.

Thank you!

We are beyond grateful for the support offered by Servive (Grupo Nuzoa). Without them, we would not be doing ultrasound courses, which are funding all of our work in Africa! They are incredible people who care about helping people in developing countries and their animals! If you too would like to support this mission, email us or donate.

Welcome to our Ohana Family!

Carolina Albuquerque,

DVM MSc MRCVS CertAVP DipECVIM-CA EBVS and RCVS Recognised Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine

Proud co-founder of Ohana Animal Charity