Travel to St. Helena

This beautiful island belongs to England, but at the same time, is extremely far from it. It used to be an English colony, and now an island kingdom state with partially limited control. The climate is significantly different from the British. St. Helena is located in the tropics and is exposed to the sea, so the island is warm enough, but fogs are just as common.

This island became famous thanks to Napoleon. He lived here in exile in the last days of his life. The tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte is one of the main attractions of the area, however, it is empty, because the remains have long been transported to France. Most likely, the burial place of Napoleon himself attracts so many tourists here. But besides Napoleon’s house and grave, there is something to see.

Not everyone knows where the island is. It is quite far from the entire continental world, namely in the Atlantic, between South America and Africa (it is not for nothing that Bonaparte was exiled to this island).

It is not easy to get to St. Helena, but perhaps on the international ship “RMS St. Helena. ” This flight delivers everything and everyone to the island. There is only one city (it is also the capital) – Jamestown, only here you can rent a house or find a hotel room.

There are several options for stopping: hotels, private homes or a boarding house. There are three hotels here, the cost per person is about the same – from 40 to 90 euros (depending on the room). The boarding house is one, and its cost per person is up to 55 euros. The budget option is to rent a house with a local, then the price will not exceed 30 euros per person. Agreeing with them is easy with basic knowledge of English.

The capital has everything: restaurants, cafes, pubs, attractions and even an agency that organizes excursions and tours. The celebrations, festivals will be pleased, there is the opportunity to work out various sports: swimming, football, shooting, cricket, golf, diving.

Excursions on the island are very diverse. Some of them are held on sharaban (open crew). Tourists prefer to visit boat trips to see dolphins, see the coastline. There is a tour for history buffs with the name “Following Napoleon’s footsteps”, the route includes a visit to the grave and the commander’s house. If you book an excursion to the garden in advance, then you can visit it. Private guides offer something more diverse and unusual.

At first, life on the island may seem stagnant, but, on the contrary, the people here are very active. Therefore, in addition to the main holidays, they independently organize their own fun in the form of festivals.

For example, festivals dedicated to running, cooking, art and culture have already been held here. During the first, several races took place at once: climbing to the top of the stairs in 699 steps, a marathon, a race to the peak of Diana, as well as 3 and 10 kilometers. The second is the real joy of the islanders. All comers prepare dishes, observing the theme, after which the audience tries and evaluates the result. And the third was called to unite different ethnic groups and cultures.

And instead of a conclusion, I would like to write 6 useful tips for a tourist planning a visit to St. Helena:

1. Once upon a time there was a pound on the island as a currency, but now only euro is accepted here.
2. Grab a jacket and closed shoes here, because the weather can make a joke.
3. There is no time translation here, the time zone is the same as in England.
4. Shops are closed on Wednesday and Sunday.
5. There is Wi-Fi throughout the island, so grab a laptop.
6. Buy an adapter for an outlet (the same as you need in the UK).

Jamestown
The capital of the islands of St. Helena and their main seaport, Jamestown was founded in 1659, when the English West Indies company built a small fortress on the shores of James Bay. Subsequently, the fort, named after the Duke of York (later James II), grew into a city that completely retained the features of its “progenitor”. Jamestown, sandwiched between the slopes of the mountain ranges, still essentially consists of a single street stretching along a narrow valley between the edge of the sea and the eastern hills (height up to 150 m). Most of the houses in the coastal part of the city are structures of the old fort, rebuilt in our days under shopping and residential complexes. All this gives the capital of the islands a very characteristic appearance, which looks especially colorful against the backdrop of the blue of the ocean and the red-brown surrounding rocks.

The main attractions of Jamestown are considered the residence of the Governor of the Plantation House, St. Paul’s Cathedral (both 3 km south of the city center), the complex of the old customs building, which served as the reference point for Napoleon Bonaparte, the Longwood estate, where he died in 1821 (4 km west cities), the Proteus House complex (the place where Napoleon spent his first night on the island in 1815), the fort complex (built in 1659, rebuilt in the 1860s), now used as the Government Savings Bank office, St. James (1774), the so-called “Jacob’s ladder” (1829).