Driving at night

[Barry]

Hi Steve,

Seventy two hours to go and the whole family are buzzing. I thought of something I would appreciate your advice on.

One of the aspects of the holiday we are all looking forward to is trying out the diverse range of restaurants highlighted here. I will be at a villa in MT Irvine but would like to try out places in the other towns and villages. I seem to remember reading both here and possibly on the FCO site, that driving at night is not advisable. Is this primarily due to the standard of the roads and the more "relaxed" local driving habits or is there a threat of crime. With everything I have read here I would be surprised if it were the latter but I felt I ought to check. I have driven in some pretty awful places in the past - rush hour in Naples takes some beating - and feel pretty confident about driving at night almost anywhere. I would not, however, wish to subject my family to the risk of carjacking.

I would be very grateful for your thoughts on this and of course anyone else who could advise.

Said it before, but once again great site and thanks for your help.

Barry

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Barry

Fear not! If you've driven in Naples, London or Paris then driving in Tobago will be a total kiddy's party. No, I've never heard of any security problems, day or night. Obviously you must apply the same normal common sense you would at home and that includes not stopping and giving lifts to strangers at night. We went out almost every evening during our last visit and some of the restaurants (such as Amadeus) are miles from anywhere. Let's put it this way, I spend a lot of time in London and automatically lock all car doors when I get inside the M25. This would never even cross my mind in Tobago.

Have a great trip and let us know how you get on.

[Barry]

Thanks Steve, my mind is at rest - as I suspect it will be for much of the forthcoming two weeks - along with the remainder of my body. Thanks for your very promt reply.

I will definitely contribute to the site on my return, it is the least I can do after all the assistance I have received here.

Regards

Barry

[Neil]

The only thing that I would advise is to try and stick to the lowlands area. The more mountainous areas have some fairly hairy spots even during the daytime!!