Guest Report

[Ryan Palmer]

Just recently my wife and I cashed in some airline miles for a trip to the Caribbean since we are expecting a second child and didn't forsee another chance for an alone trip in the near future. We left our son with the grandparents and ventured off to the less travelled (in comparison to other Caribbean spots) Tobago. It is definitely a unique and beautiful island.

When people say don't try to rush things in Tobago, they mean it. That was a challenge for us, but worth it. We got to Tobago late at night after an hour delay in Trinidad. We had arranged for our rental car to be delivered to us at the airport through Sheppy's. This is a very impressive businessman. Laid back, but very helpful, respectful and professional. Despite being an hour late with no way to reach him, he was there with the car and had called ahead to our accomodations to let them know we would be running late. He also ensured we got good directions and led us out of the city.

We drove only about 35 minutes to our turnoff where Jason, our host waited to help us find our way. (at 11:30pm or so) Driving upto the driveway was disconcerting when we saw a junk car sitting on its roof, but just past there was the gate to our beautiful accomodations. The host live on top of the hill. With about a day's notice they will prepare very delicious meals for breakfast and/or dinner. It's served on a long balcony with a full view of the ocean. Jason's a local and is a great cook. Dinner there was $10pp and thus cheaper (and better tasting) than most other places we ate. His wife, Isabelle (Swiss), made a great passionfruit ginger jam and always greeted us with a smile. They were very hospitable hosts.

Now, the accomodations were just about perfect. It's a little one bedroom cottage located down the hill and hidden by thick tropical growth. This place provides complete privacy and a gorgeous view of only ocean, trees and birds. The breeze is refreshing and necessary as without it things can be hot here. The place does not have A/C but if you ask the hosts, they'll provide you with a fan to keep on you at night. The living room french doors open onto a wrap-around deck with very comfortable reclining chairs to do nothing but "lime" in. The decor is very tasteful, colorful and has a local flare. Just outside the main door is a private path with a locked gate at night that leads directly to you own private beach. Our favorite place on the entire island was the cottage, especially the deck. And it wasn't even our honeymoon!

This is a good location if you want to explore the island as it is centrally located. But, if you prefer to stay near the touristy area, Crowne Point might suit you better.