Tobago

Introduction

Pigeont point

© beppe

Tobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean Sea, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada.

Geography

Tobago has a land area of 300 km² and is approximately 40 kilometres long and 10 kilometres wide. It is located at latitude 11° 15' N, longitude 60° 40' W, slightly north of Trinidad. Tobago is primarily hilly, mountainous and of volcanic origin. The southwest of the island is flat and consists largely of coralline limestone. The hilly spine of the island is called the Main Ridge. The highest point in Tobago is the 550-metre Pigeon Peak near Speyside.

Cities

• Scarborough

Sights and Activities

• Tobago's rain forest reserve is the oldest preserved rain forest in North America. Tours can be arranged by many operators on the island.
• Tobago's Argyle Falls are an easy 15-minute hike takes you to the island’s highest falls (don’t stop at the first pool). You’ll need a guide (check for the official badge). There’s an admission fee of about TT$20.

Events and Festivals

Tobago International Game Fishing Tournament

This annual fishing competition was founded by a group of anglers in 1995 and has since grown into an international event. Taking place in the beautiful bay of Charlotteville on Tobago around Easter, entrants vie to catch the largest fish, usually a marlin or barracuda.

Buccoo Goat and Crab Race Festival

This quirky festival takes place annually on Easter Tuesday at Buccoo on Tobago. Groomed goats on leads are raced to the finish line by human runners in jockey outfits accompanied by much pomp and ceremony. Crab racing is a slower affair that involves big blue crabs being directed by humans with a string towards the winning point. Afterward, the crabs are usually cooked and eaten.

Tobago’s Heritage Festival

Tobago’s Heritage Festival is the biggest event on the island, comparable to Trinidad’s Carnival. It was established about 25 years ago to preserve the region’s unique traditions and culture. Week-long celebrations takes place in the villages in late July and early August each year, and feature the language, food, music, and dance traditions of the island.

Weather

The climate is tropical, with mostly warm/hot and humid conditions and temperatures around 30 °C during the day and around or slightly above 20 °C. There are two seasons annually: the dry season for the first six months of the year, and the wet season in the second half of the year. Winds are predominantly from the northeast and are dominated by the northeast trade winds. Unlike most of the other Caribbean islands, Tobago's southern location means they are generally not within the hurricane zone, and rarely suffer from hurricane damage.

Getting There

By Plane

There are flights from Europe and the Caribbean that arrive directly at the Tobago International Airport (airport code TAB) in Crown Point. Those include Antigua, Barbados, London, Frankfurt, Atlanta and Grenada.
There are numerous flights a day from Port of Spain's Piarco International Airport in Port of Spain to Tobago as well.

By Boat

Ferries run between the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, between Port of Spain, Trinidad and Scarborough, Tobago. Cost of the ferry is TT$ 50 one-way for the fast ferry and TT$37.50 for the conventional ferry. Fast ferry sailing time is under 2 hours. The conventional ferry takes 5 1/2 hours. Schedules change frequently, and can be found at the Port of Port-of-Spain website.

Getting Around

A road map, with enlargements of the larger towns, can be found at Skyviews.

By Rental Car

Car rental on Tobago is easy to arrange and there’s plenty of choice of vehicles. Prices vary, but expect to pay between $TT 300 - 600 per day. Four wheel drive jeeps are popular with tourists and do cost more than cars. Local companies are generally reliable. You may pay less and the hub caps probably won’t match but most companies have a 24 hour assistance service and offer good local driving advice. Traffic drives on the left and you national driver's licence or international driving permit is needed. Roads are in decent shape.

The first letter of the registration number of the vehicle indicates the vehicle’s licensing class:

• P – Private/Non-commercial vehicle
• H – Taxi
• R – Rental Vehicle
• T – Commercial Vehicle/Truck.

The practise of renting P-registered private vehicles to visitors has long been endemic in Tobago. Some visitors request "P" cars to not look like tourists, but be warned that the normal hire-and-reward insurance does not cover vehicles registered for private usage. Having a 'P' plate does not automatically mean that the vehicle is not insured for rental. Rental Agencies can get hire-and/or-reward insurance but doing so is the exception, rather than the rule.

By Taxi

Official taxis on Tobago aren’t marked in any obvious way, but their license plates start with an “H”, whereas private cars license plates start with a “P.” Some of the cab drivers have a car with a P though, thus their own car. These “PH” cabs, as the locals call them, aren’t generally any cheaper than official cabs, and provide a danger in that their insurance coverage doesn’t cover carrying passengers (assuming they have insurance at all), and so in the event of an accident you as a passenger could find yourself not covered by health insurance.

By Bus

Regular buses run between Scarborough bus station and Crown Point, Buccoo, Plymouth and Roxborough. The service is cheap, but the buses are crowded. Buses theoretically run to a regular hourly timetable, however don't expect punctuality.

Eat

There are a large number of tourist restaurants in the Crown Point area. The Pasta Gallery is highly recommended and is very reasonably priced. Pizza Boys is a pizza chain that mostly does take away and is also of good quality. For a good beach bar option see Buccaneers on grafton beach. The burger and chips are great and it is right on the beach. The sea house inn is just up the road and is an upmarket alternative with quite a varied menu. For fish lovers the Fish Pot is located near grafton beach and is recommended. There is a KFC and a Subway in Scarborough.

A lot of cafes and restaurants don't take European debit/credit cards, even if they have the sign in the window. The main problem seems to be with HSBC cards.

External Links

Simply Tobago written by British tourists, and My Tobago are both decent sources of information on Tobago Tourism.