This is an old version of http://sainthelenaisland.info from June 2010, which is for curiosity purposes only.
To see the up-to-date version of this page go to http://sainthelenaisland.info/visitors.htm.

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St. Helena Island Info

Information for visitors

About St. Helena

Visitor Information

Other Information

Legal

Visitor Information

Come and discover our island

We are pleased to provide some information for anyone considering visiting St. Helena. You may also be interested in our ‘Pictures’ page and our detailed features. And if the only thing you know about St. Helena is that Napoleon Bonaparte died here, you may be interested to read some fascinating facts about him. Click here if you fancy a walk.

Skip to: Where is St. Helena? How to get here Weather and Travel Advice A souvenir of your visit St. Helena Place-Name Puzzle Learn about St. Helena Money More Detail A longer stay?

Where is St. Helena?

15°58‘48"S 5°45‘0"W
Approximately 1,200 miles west of the Angola/Namibia border
in the South Atlantic Ocean

Click here to see a large map from daylightmap.com

One of the giant tortoises at Plantation House;
click the image to read more about Jonathan

Outline map, showing the location of St. Helena

Interactive map, by Google™ Maps

Sailing ship the Bark Europa during its visit in May 2009

How to get here

Come here on your yacht, or travel on the RMS St. Helena, seen below in James Bay
(Read more on our ‘The RMS St. Helena’ page; for bookings see the RMS St. Helena website)

Visiting yacht in James Bay

Travel on the RMS St. Helena, seen here in James Bay

Weather and Travel Advice

How about St. Helena at Christmas?
How about St. Helena at Christmas?

The weather on St. Helena is one of the island's more unusual features. It can be sunny and calm in one place, and wet and windy only a few miles away. The site indexed below gives a general island view.

Remember also that St. Helena is in the Southern Hemisphere, so our summer runs from (roughly) November through to May.

Travel advice for St. Helena is available from various sources:

The UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office.
The St. Helena Tourist Office.
If travelling on the RMS St. Helena further advice applies in relation to your journey.
The St. Helena Government also provides information on local medical facilities and insurance requirements
.

A souvenir of your visit

Souvenirs from the Moonbeams Shop

You can buy attractive souvenirs of your visit at the Moonbeams shop in Jamestown.

And if you've taken so many photos your camera's memory card is getting full you can have your photos transferred to a CD or DVD, to make room for more - just ask in the shop for details.

St. Helena Place-Name Puzzle

While you are here you could try to find out why some of the island's places have the names they do. At first sight some of the names seem quite illogical. For example:

	Alarm Forest: One of the island's more peaceful spots
	Barren Ground: Lushly vegetated
	Bottom Woods: Housing area on high ground
	Cow Path: Housing area in one of the drier parts of the island, with no pasture and no longer any path (though the historical people are trying to find it)
	Donkey Plain: Quarry area - no sign of any donkeys
	Horse Pasture: There are no horses on St. Helena
	Lemon Valley: No lemon trees
	Levelwood: A steep valley
	Longwood: No trees
	Old Woman's Valley: A strenuous walk, only for the young and fit
	Prosperous Bay: Deserted area with no economic value
	Scotland: No lochs or mountains

Maybe the answer can be found at the Tourist Office . . .

Learn about St. Helena

To learn about St. Helena probably the best place to start is the Wikipedia article on St. Helena. You could also usefully read the "Homepage of Saint Helena" which is full of intereting and useful information on many topics and some fascinating old photos. There are also more useful links on our ‘Related Sites’ page. And don't forget our slide show ‘Images of St. Helena’.

St. Helena National Trust

St. Helena's history and environment are discussed on the St. Helena National Trust website.

"The world was not left to us by our parents,
it was lent to us by our children"
(African Proverb)

Money

Local money - the St. Helena Pound

The local currency in St. Helena is the Saint Helena Pound (SHP) which is linked at parity to the British Pound (Sterling; GBP). Notes and coins are similar in denomination and appearance to their UK counterparts. Banking services on St. Helena are provided by the Bank of St. Helena from whom further information may be obtained. A currency converter is available from XE.com.

More Detail

As if being a beautiful sub-tropical island paradise is not enough, St. Helena has many interesting aspects. Some of them are mentioned here. If there is something about St. Helena that we have not covered please contact us and we'll try to add it in.

Click on the links to learn more about each subject . . .

Skip to: Diving Island Donkeys Jacob’s Ladder Jonathan the tortoise Napoleon Bonaparte The RMS St. Helena ‘Seabirds’ Walking St. Helena The Wirebird

	Diving For old wrecks . . . and anyone else.		Island Donkeys Formerly the backbone of St. Helena transport
	Jacob’s Ladder Stairway to heaven?		Jonathan the tortoise The world’s oldest resident?
	Napoleon Bonaparte Some things you maybe don’t know about him		The RMS St. Helena The last operating Royal Mail Ship
	‘Seabirds’ ‘Gygis alba’ to be precise		Walking St. Helena Well off the beaten track
	The Wirebird Bird on a wire?

A longer stay?

Curious Little World - A Self-Imposed Exile on St. Helena Island, by Rex Bartlett: Front Cover (Click to see the full-sized image, opens in a new window or tab)

Think you might want to stay here permanently? The island is idyllic, the people are friendly, there are no snakes; what more could you want? Before you sell up, read the book Curious Little World - A Self-Imposed Exile on St. Helena Island, by Rex Bartlett. As Rex writes, "You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll be glad it's not you. And you'll wish it was."

Across the top of Old Woman Valley, showing High Hill on the left