There is exactly one way to get to Saint Helena from the UK now, and it is by air. The RMS St Helena, the old mail ship, stopped sailing in 2018, so if an old guide tells you to take a boat from Cape Town, close it. We flew in April 2025, and this is how it works in practice, what it cost us to get there, and the bits nobody warned us about.
The short version
You can’t fly from the UK to Saint Helena in one go. You fly to South Africa first, then take a single weekly Airlink flight from Johannesburg to the island. There is also a seasonal Saturday service from Cape Town. Our route was mid Wales to Manchester, Manchester to London, London to Cape Town, Cape Town to Johannesburg, then Johannesburg to Saint Helena. We came home the same way in reverse.
Yes, that is a lot of airports. But it’s the only game in town.
Step 1 – Get yourself to South Africa
Any airline that gets you to Johannesburg or Cape Town will do, and there are plenty from London. We flew to Cape Town first, partly because we wanted a few days there anyway, and then took a domestic hop to Johannesburg. If you’re going straight for the island, Johannesburg is the simpler choice because the Saint Helena flight leaves from there.
Whichever you choose, treat the Saint Helena flight as the fixed point and book everything else around it. There’s one plane a week, so if you miss it you’re not catching the next one tomorrow. You’re waiting seven days. (I’d build in a night in Johannesburg before the flight, not a tight same-day connection.)
Step 2 – Book the Airlink flight
We booked through Trailfinders on 28 September 2024, about six months ahead, for two of us. The seats are limited and the flight is small, so six months felt about right and I wouldn’t leave it much later. The fare for the Johannesburg to Saint Helena return was £660. Do check the price directly with Airlink as well, because agents and the airline don’t always match.
The flight takes about 5.5 hours, and that includes a refuelling stop at Walvis Bay in Namibia. Nobody is allowed off the plane. You sit there while they fill it up and then carry on, which feels odd when you can see the airport out of the window.
Step 3 – Sort the cash before you leave
This is the one that catches people out. For a UK citizen there was no visa and no entry charge for Saint Helena. But there is a £20 landing fee, and you pay it in cash. Have the money in your pocket before you land.
The only place a UK visitor can easily get cash out on the island is the bank desk at the airport, and that’s only open when the weekly plane arrives. It’s not possible to get cash anywhere else unless you’re a local. So take enough pounds sterling with you as they are accepted everywhere, and don’t count on finding a cash machine in Jamestown.
There’s no free WiFi anywhere on the island either. You buy vouchers, and they only work in the place you bought them. Download your maps and your boarding passes before you go.
Step 4 – The landing (and the cancellation risk)
The weather is the real risk on this trip. The approach is over cliffs and the airport has no ILS, so if the cloud is low the pilot can’t just feel their way in. Flights can be turned back or cancelled, and with a weekly service that’s a big deal. We were lucky and the landing was fine. It’s the smallest international airport I’ve ever used, and a very small building after a very long day.
Take out proper travel insurance that covers cancellation and delay. We had it and nobody checked, but if the plane doesn’t make it you’ll be glad you did.
How long to stay
Because the plane only flies once a week and the airport closes for about 6.5 days afterwards, you’re really booking a week. We stayed seven days with no spare days at all, although our host would have been happy to be flexible if we’d had a problem. If you can, leave a day or two of slack at the South African end on the way home too.
What it cost us to get there
- London to Cape Town, Cape Town to Johannesburg: £450
- Johannesburg to Saint Helena return, Airlink: £660
- Landing fee: £20 each, in cash
- Taxis on the island: about £6 to £7 each way
Once you’re there, prices are friendlier. A sirloin steak and chips at the Blue Lantern was under £20.
A few things to know when you land
Our hosts met us at the airport and gave us an impromptu tour of the island on the way to the house,. About 4,000 people live on Saint Helena, and around 1,000 of them are in Jamestown. Good Friday shuts absolutely everything, and on Maundy Thursday there were pop-up bars on the harbour. Jacob’s Ladder has 699 steps.
On a boat trip we saw a whale shark and roughly 500 dolphins, and the wirebird, the national bird, turned up too.
That’s the whole of getting there. It’s more faff than most holidays, but it’s the reason the place is so quiet. Now go and find the £20 for the landing fee, in cash, before you leave home!