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Tobago Travel Tips Tobago Travel Information |
Come and enjoy while it's still undeveloped | |||
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From the beginning, Europeans considered Tobago one of the backwaters of the world, the perfect place for castaways. Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe was set on Tobago. Walt Disney built a tree house in a huge Saman tree near the town of Goldsborough for filming Swiss Family Robinson. (The tree house, left as a tourist attraction, was destroyed by a hurricane. The Saman tree, now covered with bromeliads, still stands.) Tobago has always endured second-rate status to oil-rich Trinidad, with which it is politically joined as the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Electricity didn't arrive on Tobago until the 1950s. That's probably why Tobago still retains its unusually laid back feel and charm. You don't yet find huge shopping malls or high-rises as on Trinidad. Instead,
Tobago still retains a rare old-time Caribbean feel
and charm: slow living and friendly and genuine
people. Plus good diving and hiking.
For birders, Little Tobago is like a page out of the Galapagos. Culture and heritage are still an important part of everyday life and celebrated annually in Tobago's Heritage Festival. (See Tobago festivals) Bush medicine, based on herbs and other natural ingredients, is still popular. Including this particular arthritis remedy: "To relieve pain, go to the bee keeper and have some bees sting your joints." The treatment is guaranteed to lessen your arthritis pain: not because the bee stings hurt more but because the procedure really works. Just re-apply bees periodically as needed. Tobago
is sometimes compared to the shape of a turtle's back; a very long and
thin turtle. Most people live on the edge of the shell, on the coast,
while the steep center is largely unpopulated. Although Tobago is located 22 miles off Trinidad's northeast tip, whether it also was once part of South America is debatable. Scientists who believe it was not say this explains why Tobago does not harbor any poisonous snakes, compared to Trinidad 's four poisonous types. Further, the variety of bird species differs considerably for two landfalls so close together. For instance, Tobago has about 20 birds that do not live in Trinidad. One of the best places for bird watching is at Little Tobago, a 243-acre uninhabited island about 1.4 miles off the coast of Tobago proper. Little Tobago, which takes almost a day to hike completely, is considered the easiest place in the Caribbean to view large numbers of the sleek and majestic red-billed tropic birds. Little Tobago is a 20-minute boat ride from Speyside, the island's scuba diving headquarters. The marine life around Speyside is excellent though visibility is sometimes affected by runoff from the Orinoco River. Manta rays particularly seem to like the conditions, though the animals haven't shown up as reliably in recent years. You can count on leatherback
turtles to nest on Tobago's beaches every spring and summer.
The challenge is being at the right beach at the right time. Detailed
Background: Facts & Map Arrival
Briefing Trinidad
& Tobago Calendar of Events Tobago Tours Major Attractions Argyle
Falls Fort
King George Main
Ridge Reserve Hiking Trails "Cut eye doh kill." (Angry words don't kill)
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