Divers seeking Accommodation Advice

[Darenda]

Hello Steve, reading your reviews, I would love to hear your opinion on where my family of 5 should look into staying for our trip in Aug? First is one end of the island worth considering over the other?? We are 5 divers, looking for a house/villa/cottage with atleast 3 bedrooms with access to dock so we can picked up for diving each day. Also want to consider the opportunities for easy walking to and from town as we shop for groceries and places to spend down time from diving. We will probably rent a car as the island seems to offer much to see from one end to the other!
Thanks for any direction you can provide.

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Darenda

Welcome aboard!

With preferences and budgets varying so hugely, I would never be so bold as to tell anyone where to stay. All we can do is to stay at as wide a variety of properties as possible across the hospitality spectrum and present our findings, trying to view each property as objectively as possible and, hopefully, through the eyes and mindset of the sort of holidaymaker who would consider that property in the first place.

Because the focus of your holiday is diving, your choices are severly limited. For more advanced divers, Speyside, up on the hilly Atlantic Coast is the place to be - but there are virtually no rental houses/cottages in that area and no "town" to speak of. Therefore, you will probably need to look in the more popular, but flatter, southwestern tip of the island.

Your best bet would be to have a really good study of all our dive section (menu: Out & About > Activities/Things To Do > Diving) which will give you a good backround. Then, choose your dive service. Then choose your accommodation.

Wherever you are, a rental car is essential if you are to get the most from Tobago. There are exceptionally few rental properties (or even guest houses or hotels, that are within easy walking of many shops, restaurants and other features).

Have fun. The more effort you put into research now, the more successful your holiday will be.

[Darenda]

Thank again for your information. I have contacted several Dive Ops you mention on this website. That information was very helpful. And we decided to rent a car!
Here are a few more questions:
Looking into flights can you confirm Tobagos airport?
Most flights from the US seem to arrive at 4:30 AM!! Are rental car places open then?
Can you tell me about the area of Bon Accord?
Is is safe to swim off of any beach, ie are there current concerns?
What makes Pigeon Beach so popular?
Are there any concerns about traveling in Aug to Tobago? Busy time? Weather?
Thats is for now, THANKS again

[Steve Wooler]

hi Darenda

1) Tobago's only airport is Crown Point International (TAB)

2) Caribbean Airlines is the only airline currently offering direct flights to Tobago from North America (JFK). Various other airlines offer flights to Trinidad (POS) but you then need to take a short 20-minute airbridge flight over to Tobago. See Tobago > Tobago Flights/Ferry Services > N.America for more details. I don't know the scheduled times of these flights, but was of the opinion that most flights got into Trinidad in the late evening - general too late to risk trying to get over to Tobago. No, rental services will not be open at 4:30am - nor the TAB airport, so I assume they're dropping people off by parachute. Perhaps they can deviate and drop you off over your accommodation. Only joking!

3) Bon Accord is adjacent to Crown Point. It is a very flat coral-rock area which largely consisted of mangrove swamps until much of it was drained and developed as a lower/mid-market rental villa development. It may not be the prettiest part of the island, but it is a very handy area to base yourself if you have transport. See Tobago > Maps & Regions of Tobago > Satellite for an aerial view of the area. Bon Accord is the area directly north of the runway.

4) Varies from beach to beach. See Out & About > Beaches & Bays. Warnings are given when there are known current/rip-tide issues at any bay.

5) Use the Satellite map mentioned above and zoom in - you'll see the reason. Best of all, download www.myTobago.info/maps/mytobago.kmz in Google Earth for even better view.

6) This is the 'low season' for international travellers - but a busy times with 'domestic' Trinidadian visitors. No issues. It is technically the wet season, but that doesn't seem to mean too much nowadays.



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[Darenda]

Steve! I love your response, my husband (being an engineer) is working on way to make our BCs work as parachutes! Thank you for the information and again your website has been a wealth of information. The more I read the more I get excited that this is the place for our vacation! I am searching "different" flight options now hopefully we will be on our way in Aug!