This blog post is about the Top 5 Things to do on your visit to Tobago!
I visited Tobago, a sister island that is part of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, in May 2022 for 12 days.
I even have a extremely precise courting with the island due to the fact each of my dad and mom have been born there. I had been journeying the island of Tobago on the grounds that I changed into nine years old. As an adult I have a deeper appreciation for its uniqueness and beauty.
COVID-19 Travel Requirements
Trinidad & Tobago had some pretty stringent testing requirements when I was traveling there. As a non-national of the country, I was required to complete a questionnaire and have a negative PCR test to enter. To learn about current COVID-19 requirement visit the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Health Website.
Getting There
I booked my trip to Tobago for May 2022 because I found an amazing roundtrip fare on Scotts Cheap Flights from IAH (Houston International) to POS (Port of Spain, Trinidad). The fare was $250 (yep) on American Airlines (AA)! I booked immediately and paid $325 roundtrip as the quoted $250 was a basic economy rate and I don’t fly Basic Economy. I like my carry-on to be included in any fare that I pay and I like e flexibility of upgrades which is excluded when you book Basic Economy with AA.
American Airlines is my least favorite USA airline but they fly regularly to Trinidad’s Piarco International Airport so often the best rates can be found with them or via Caribbean Airlines which has flights out of Miami International and JFK International Airport. Once I booked my flight to POS (Piarco International), I went to the Caribbean Airlines website and promptly booked my transfer from Trinidad to Tobago.
It is important to understand that Trinidad and Tobago are two separate islands that forms a single Republic. To get to Tobago, fly into POS (Piarco International) and then connect on a separate flight via Caribbean Airlines to its smaller sister island of Tobago. You will fly into ANR Robinson Airport (aka Crown Point International Airport/TAB). At the time of the writing of this blog post, Caribbean Airlines is the only airline that flies directly to Tobago from the United States of America. Roundtrip tickets from POS to TAB are usually about $50 USD ($25 each way) but can be higher during Carnival season or if you book same day or same week.
Tickets can sell out so booking promptly after confirming your flight to Trinidad is key. There is a ferry that travels between Trinidad and Tobago but it takes longer and requires transfer from Piarco to Port of Spain to get to the ferry. I recommend flying instead of the ferry. Flights are 18 minutes each way and much faster than the 3.5-hour ferry ride. For more information about the Trinidad and Tobago Ferry visit their website.
Currency
Trinidad currency (TTD) exchange is about six TTD to one USD. I do not recommend exchanging money at the airport it is probably better to use an ATM machine when you get into the Crown point area.
Communications\phone service
While my phone carrier did work in Trinidad and Tobago to keep my cost down, I opted to purchase a BMobile Sim card at Piarco airport upon arrival in Trinidad provided me with unlimited data and calling for 30 days and cost about $40 USD. Service was decent for the most part throughout my stay.
Finding Accommodations
Because my flight was arriving later in the evening from Houston via Miami, I opted to spend the night at a hotel near the Piarco airport in Trinidad. I made this decision because transfers from Trinidad to Tobago are often inconsistent and delayed. I chose to skip the hassle and risk of missing my connecting flight and planned a flight into Tobago for the following morning. I booked a stay at The Grand Diamond Hotel in Trinidad through Booking.Com. I swear by Booking.Com for hotel accommodations if I am not using my Hilton Honors to stay at a Hilton my preferred hotel chain.
The Trinidad Hilton is an amazing property but too far from the Piarco airport for a one-night stay. So, I opted for The Grand Diamond Hotel. The property is a short less than 10-minute drive from the Piarco Airport. The staff at the Grand Diamond were incredibly accommodating. My flight from Miami to POS was delayed a bit and it took about 40 minutes to get through customs due to COVID-19 documentation that had to be reviewed by the customs personnel. I was not out of the airport until about 10:00 pm.
The hotel sent a transfer to pick me up at the airport and they also provided a transfer back to the airport the following morning. This service was included along with a delicious Trinidadian breakfast of bakes and saltfish the next morning at their restaurant. As I knew I would be needing to stay overnight in Trinidad for my return to the USA, I immediately booked another night’s stay at the Grand Diamond because of how easy and wonderful their staff is. The hotel is not fancy, but it is clean and welcoming especially after a late-night arrival I generally do not recommend that women traveling solo arrive after sundown but in this case, it could not be avoided on both ends of my transits to and from Tobago.
Upon arrival in Tobago the next day I stayed with a relative for a couple of days and then I checked into a Short-Term rental that was a 10–15-minute walk to Store Bay (10 minutes), Swallows Beach (9 minutes), and Pigeon Point (15 minutes) beaches.
The best place to stay is in Tobago if you want to be close to social activities and great beaches is the Crown Point area. I found my short-term rental in Crown Point on Airbnb but many wonderful short-term rentals can also be found on sites such as VRBO and Booking.com so always make sure you check them all out prior to making a choice.
If I am on a solo trip for more than 4 nights, I prefer a short-term rental to a hotel and I shared 4 reasons why I like Airbnb better than hotels for solo travel on my YouTube Channel. Since I was in Tobago for 10 days I opted for a short-term rental and I was not disappointed. It was conveniently located, nicely appointed, and conveniently located not just close to multiple beaches including my favorite – Store Bay, but it was also walkable to multiple bars and restaurants on the Milford Road strip the main road running from the airport through the Crown Point area.
Getting Around Tobago
Getting around Tobago if you want to venture outside of the Crown Point area can feel complicated if you are not prepared. But if you know what to do it doesn’t have to be. The best way to get around in Tobago is via Car Rental, Taxi, or Private Car Service.
Car Rental
You can rent a car at Crown point international airport. Booking.com has plenty of options. Please note that in Trinidad and Tobago they drive on the opposite side of the road then in the United States and Mexico and several other countries. For that reason, I do not feel comfortable driving on the island.
Taxi
There is no Uber in Trinidad and Tobago but there are taxis. However, the taxis do not quite work the way those of us in the west might expect. Cars that are licensed as taxis have license plates that start with the letter “H.” H means for Hire which is how you know they are a legal and licensed Taxi. But there are many other drivers that also provide taxi services with their private cars. All private cars have license plates that start with the letter P. Additionally taxis pick up multiple people on their routes. So, if you hail a Taxi, you will not be the only person riding in the taxi there will be other people i.e., strangers that will be in the car with you.
Ordinarily, this would be fine with me but because we are still in a “Panini” I opted not to use Taxies during my trip. I did not feel comfortable getting in a private car that was not licensed, and I also did not feel comfortable sitting in a licensed taxi with strangers during a pandemic mask or no mask. For that reason, I opted for a private car service.
Private Car Service
There are private car services available in Tobago. I found my private care service through a personal referral and on TripAdvisor. Reading a review ahead of booking gave me the confidence to use the service. I used CP Tours and Taxi Service owned and operated by Mr. Chris Perry. I was definitely not disappointed. I contacted Mr. Perry ahead of my trip. He arranged for a driver to pick me up at the airport and deliver me to my aunt’s house where I stayed for the first week of my visit.
He also arranged for the same driver to take me on the excursion to Speyside and Charlottesville and the same driver was also available to pick me up and run me on some regular errands that I wanted to do. Mr. Perry checked in after each transfer and he also checked in regularly throughout my stay to ensure I got where I needed to go. At all times I felt safe secure and respected during each transfer. It really gave me a lot of peace of mind not having to worry about how I was going to get where I needed to go. While I also have relatives on the island, I liked having my own way of getting from here to there, and having the private car service to call a needed was a Godsend!
Because I was staying so close to the beach, I really didn’t need a car every day because I was able to walk to most of the places where I wanted to go. This kept the cost of transportation at a reasonable level for me.
The fare for transfers on average was about $7.00 USD one way. The day excursion to Speyside and Charlottesville was more but definitely reasonable for the time and distance. I was definitely pleased with CP Tours and Taxi Service and would recommend them. If you’d like to get in contact with Mr. Perry and read his reviews you can do so on TripAdvisor.
For the total 10 days trip, I spent under $250 USD for transfers around the island. Much of what I spent was on the one-day excursion that was multiple hours long from Crown Point to Speyside, Charlottesville, and back with multiple stops along the way.
Here are my Top 5 Things to do Tobago. These are not the only things I did but they are and were my favorite things. At the end of the Blog Post, I also suggest some other activities to consider.
1. Hang out at Store Bay & eat all the food at Miss Jeans
2. Take a Glass Bottom Boat Cruise with Cool Running Boat Tour
3. Take a scenic ride around the island and visit the Argyle waterfall, Speyside and
Charlottesville. Have lunch at Jenna’s Treehouse in Speyside or Sharon & Phebs in Charlottesville.
4. Visit Buccoo beach, get breakfast @Luvenias then rent a boat and go out and see the
reef.
5. Walk down to Swallows Beach and grab a drink seaside and take a dip. Then head over
to Pigeon Point for a bite and another swim.
Here’s a video with more details about my five top favorite things to do In Tobago:
Other things to do:
Fort King George
Visit Fort King George. Fort King George is a perfect place for pictures for “the gram.” The mountaintop Fort has stunning views of Scarborough Bay and the town of Scarborough the capital city of Tobago The Fort was once a military base built by the British.
The museum on the grounds has pre-Columbian artifacts found in Scarborough alongside old Tobago maps and photographs.
Admission is free To visit the grounds but to enter the museum is about five dollars TTD
Turtle Beach
If you are a nature lover you will love Turtle Beach. Visit turtle beach in the evening during nesting season and see the Turtles come up on the beach to lay their eggs Turtle nesting period is usually from March to August.
Birdwatching
Go birdwatching!! There are incredible varieties of birds all across island. The hummingbirds are in abundance as are birds and species that I can’t even name! Book a tour via Viator, TripAdvisor, or GetYourGuide and go see some birds!!!
Last Words
Tobago is an absolutely beautiful island unspoiled in many ways. It is not overdeveloped like many other Caribbean islands and that is part of its charm. You will not find large chain hotels on the island but they are small boutique hotels as well as short-term rentals that can be found on Airbnb and VRBO.
I stayed at an Airbnb for about seven days of my stay and I enjoyed it very much. It was a very short walk to the beaches In the Crown point area.
Tobago is a wonderful place for solo travel for women over 40. It is safe yet it has lots of relaxing things to do.
Walking is pretty easy sidewalks are relatively wide and level. If you stay in the Crown point area you can walk to most places including bars and restaurants and restaurants all along the road leading to Store Bay and the Airport in either direction. While you may need auto transportation to sightsee the island and go beyond the Crown point area into places like Scarborough, Castara, Speyside and Charlottesville, which I highly recommend, if you choose to stay in the Crown point area you probably don’t need much transportation assistance. You can walk most places easily and feel safe and secure.
There’s a Sunday night dance party every weekend called “Sunday school“ in Buccoo so if you are a person who likes dancing you have a great time doing that. There’s also nightly music and nightlife all along Milford Road heading towards the beach and there are fun beach bars to be found in Store Bay, Swallows Beach, and Pigeon Point all within walking distance in the Crown point area. If you are traveling alone use common sense personal safety precautions and you should be fine.
Visit Tobago you’ll be glad you did!
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