Scarborough (Tobago)

Introduction

Scarborough is the largest city and capital of the island of Tobago and the fifth-most-populous in Trinidad and Tobago. Scarborough became the capital of Tobago in 1769. In Western Tobago, at the confluence of the Atlantic Ocean, Scarborough is the economic and cultural centre of the region of Tobago. The estimated population in 2011 was 25, 530. The City Skyline is dominated by Fort King George, an 18th-century fortification named after King George III which now hosts a historic/archaeologic museum. Scarborough's deepwater harbour was built in 1991; before that ships were forced to anchor offshore.

Neighbourhoods

• Bacolet
• Bethel
• Carnbee
• Lambeau
• Signal Hill
• Orange Hill
• Patience Hill
• Providence
• Roselle
• Mount Saint George
• Lowlands

Weather

The climate is tropical. 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 parts of the Caribbean, Scarborough'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 Car

Scarborough is served by the Claude Noel Highway.

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.

Eat

• Salsa Kitchen Tapas Restaurant, 8 Pump Mill Road, ☎ +868 639-1522. Not a typical tourist type restaurant, tucked away on a side street in the outskirts of Scarborough, some taxi drivers call it the hidden kitchen. By reservation only, small and intimate, there are only 5 tables, seating a maximum of 20 at a time. Seating is on a terrace illuminated by miniature lights, surrounded by enormous greenery and banana trees. The food is all cooked fresh to order, coming mainly in Tapas style. A variety of different dishes including, fish, pork, beef tenderloin, shrimp, garlic bread, salads, pizza, lobster and scallops are available. Many of the dishes are Creole in flavor with a Caribbean twist. There is a small bar featuring a wide range of rums among the usual beverages and house wine is available by the carafe.

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet and e-mail is available in lots of inexpensive cybercafes around the island, and most hotels have access and will charge you a small fee for use, usually a few TT for an hour.

Wi-Fi access is available in a few places such as Piarco airport, Movie Towne and select hotels and restaurants. It is free of charge right now but this is subject to change. EVDO and EDGE broadband access are also available, but may require contracts and a service commitment. Some hotels and guest houses provide free high speed internet. Always inquire if you don't see it listed on their web site, as it may have been added recently.

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Trinidad's international area code is 868 under the North American Numbering Plan. From the U.S. and Canada, it's no different than calling other states and provinces (1+868), but costs more.

Trinidad and Tobago currently has two active operating mobile telephone carriers - bmobile and Digicel. They both operate under the GSM standard, with bmobile using the 1800MHz frequency band, and Digicel using the 850MHz and 1900MHz frequency bands. There are roaming agreements with GSM carriers such as AT&T (ex Cingular) in the US, however the cost to roam may be prohibitive and calling within Trinidad may incur international toll charges. One can purchase a prepaid SIM card and GSM phone from Digicel or bmobile stores for as little as TT$100 and use that card in an unlocked GSM phone for the duration of their stay. You can also purchase a phone with SIM for that price. CDMA (Verizon) phones will work in Trinidad and Tobago. They will appear to be active due to TSTT's EVDO data only network, but you can make or receive calls on the CDMA network.

There are payphones around the island which use pre-paid cards available from most shops and supermarkets. If you are lucky enough to find a working payphone, you can use either 25 cent coins or calling cards with an 800 number to access them.

Post

The postal service is run by the Trinidad and Tobago Postal Corporation, TTPost. Postal rates are available on the TTPost website. Post offices are located close to the center of town in many places with red drop-off boxes in some places. Thanks to restructuring of the postal service, TTPost has become comparable to the postal service in many developed countries and is generally reliable.

External Links