Trinidad and Tobago

  • Destination Info

    About Trinidad and Tobago

    With only 1 week to explore, we decided to focus on Tobago as it’s a more laid-back island than their high-energy neighbour Trinidad. We had a fabulous time. The nature was incredible and readily accessible. The people were extremely friendly and always willing to help. The food was delicious and it was great always being by the ocean (and eating fresh seafood). I had dreamed of diving in Tobago and I must say (like many places now in the world), the coral and wildlife are not so spectacular but we managed to still enjoy the reefs. It was fun hitchhiking around the island and just going with the flow and seeing how each day would unfold. It’s not touristy at all and because of that, there is not a huge infrastructure for tourists. Just the way we like it!!!!

  • Eat / Play / Shop

    Eat / Play / Shop

    EAT:

    -great to check out Sunday School in Buccoo on Sunday night -lots of people setting up tables by the road with home-cooked meals (lots of dancing and steel bands playing all night

    –Charlotteville Shark Shacks for lunch

    Places to eat in the south (never ate at any of these but read about them):

    -The Deck (Buccoo)
    -Kariwak Village (Bon Accord)
    -The Seahorse Inn (n. Buccoo)
    -El Pescador (Buccoo; good at lunch to see fisherman coming in)

    NOTES:

    -only take taxi with “H”
    -can hitchhike from beach to beach (just pay driver a small sum)
    –http://www.mytobago.info/security.php   (safety precautions)
    –https://www.theguardian.com/travel/series/island-guide-to-tobago  (“Top 10”)

    CONTACTS:

    –Ricardo/Kieran (own Moon Over Water bar in Pleasant Prospect – near Mt. Irvine); 868 709 9698;richardomaximin@hotmail.com; Kieran drove us around Tobago on longer drives; Ricardo – the dad, drove us around Port of Spain)
    -Newton George – ornithologist: took us on an amazing bird watching tour      http://www.newtongeorge.com     

     

  • Itinerary

    Itinerary

    We flew from Toronto to Port of Spain on Caribbean Airlines then caught a plane from POS to Tobago

    (things that are underlined are placed we visited; the rest were on our list but we never had time to visit)

    Sunday, March 12

    –Pigeon Point (nice beach but need to pay to get in; try kite-surfing; soca, jet ski, cruise crowd is a turn off)
    -boat trip to Buccoo Reef and Nylon Pool (snorkeling but most killed)
    -Bon Accord Lagoon kayaking; SUP in mangrove; No Man’s Land
    -Crown point (diving; Crusoe Cave; spearfishing near The Shallows)
    -Bioluminescence Tour
    -Store Bay (read it was too touristy)

    Sleep: Reef View Apartments (Reefviewapts.com; Ms. Patsy; 1 868 680 7264; info@reefviewapts.com)

    Monday, March 13

    –Mount Irvine Bay (surf lessons with George, great snorkeling right off the beach)
    -Island Girl (catamaran from Mt. Irvine to Castara – snorkeling at Cotton Bay, bbq lunch)
    –check out Hibiscus Heights in Stonehaven Bay 

     Tuesday, March 14

    –Arnos Valley Bay (go to Arnos Valley Hotel grounds)
    -drive late afternoon to Parlevateur

    Stay: Gloucester Place (loved the hosts – an American couple; great pool; highly recommended)

    Wednesday, March 15

    -Charlottesville (northern fishing community; pastel houses; kayaking)
    -Pirate’s Bay
    -Speyside(diving)
    –Little Tobago (snokelling)

    Thursday, March 16

    -Rainforest Tour with Newton George (to Main Ridge Forest Reserve; 868 754 7881; newton@newtongeorge.com)
    –Parlatuvier (fishing village; French-Carib look with color houses)
    –Castara beach (in Little Bay, visit daily fish market; snorkeling okay; waterfall; go for dinner Wednesday night to see drumming)
    -Englishman bay (very secluded; flanked by emerald forest; stunning beach; snorkeling okay)

    Friday, March 17

    -Scarborough (Argyle Falls- 15 min. walk-hike up to 2ndtier for natural Jacuzzi; Fort King George; Bacolet Beach- Swiss Family)

    Fly back to Port of Spain, Trinidad

    Saturday, March 18

    -visit pan yard
    -Fort King George
    -Royal Botanical Garden (not great)
    -Red House Parliament in Woodford Square (not great)
    -Magnificent Seven (group of elegant mansions in Queen’s Savannah – no great)
    –Caroni Swamp (ibis birds at sundown; evening kayak; nirvana for nature lover; mangrove lined waterway)

    Other Ideas for Trinidad (we only had time to really explore Tobago, POS and Caroni):
    -Covigne river gorge: rive hike
    -Asa Wrigt center (amazing flora and fauna; bird watch, swim nature pools, forest walk; Pax Guesthouse)
    -Maracas Beach (40 min north-east of POS; famous; popular; good liming; bake and shake)
    -Maroni Swamp
    -Toco Beach and Galera Point
    -Manzanilla/Mayaro
    -Monastry Mt. Benedict.
    -Waterloo temple
    -Debe (for real good East indian food)
    -Brasso Seco
    -Chaguaramas (in west = Gasparee Caves)
    -Tamana Bat Caves (watch them leave at dusk in spiral formation)
    -Grand Riviere turtles: north coast; leatherback turtles
    -Guapano gorge (sounds good)
    -La Brea: bird watching
    -Best surfing: Blanchisseuse, , San Souci, Grande Riviere

     

     

     

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