Managed to scare myself

[LisaJ]

I feel like a bit of a fool writing this as I am not one to be scaremongered, but at the same time I don't want to irresponsible or naive!

We are planning a holiday to Tobago and have booked to stay in a small villa in Bon Accord. It gets good reviews on this site and seems to have a locked driveway and good alarm system from what I can fathom from the reviews.

Is this enough?

The reason I am asking is because, by chance, I stumbled across the awful news reports about the crimes on villa occupants over the last couple of years and it has caused some concern as we are travelling with our little boy.

Please could someone advise on the following:

I have seen some villas which include a guard between 6pm - midnight. Why these times and not overnight too?
Is a guard the norm or overkill? Would a security guard in this area seem out of place and therefore attract more attention? (We aren't flashy or wealthy!)
We thought it would be nice to walk to eat in Crown Point area in the evenings.....will we be better off driving our hire car there...or getting a taxi even?

Sorry for all the questions. We have travelled to 5 other islands but always stayed in hotels, hence being a bit green on the subject.

Thanks all

Lisa

[Steve Wooler]

Hello Lisa

Welcome aboard!

No need to feel a bit of a fool; your concerns are only natural.

Answering questions about personal security is always fraught with potential risk. Security - or at least one's perception of it - is a very subjective matter and will be hugely influenced by where you live and what you consider 'acceptable'. I can therefore only offer my personal opinion based on many years of visiting and staying on Tobago and coming from a very 'safe' rural East Anglian home location.

I simply can't comment on the villa you are staying at because you don't give the name and even if you did, the chances are I wouldn't have intimate knowledge of it. I can only tell you that I have stayed in Bon Accord many times and have never had any form of manned night-time security or even locked gates. In fact we will be in Tobago throughout February and March and during that time will be spending a total of 11 days in two different villas in Bon Accord.

Yes, some villas do provide nightime security - or offer it as an optional extra. It would be irresponsible of me to tell you that it is not necessary. All I can say is that we would personally 'take the risk' rather than feel that we are living under lock and key. The day I feel that security guards are necessary is the day that I will close this website and move my interest to another destination.

I have no idea why villas would offer security until midnight. Cost I imagine. I would have thought it far more important to have security AFTER midnight, not before, if you're going to have it.

With regard to walking to restaurants, it depends hugely upon exactly where you are staying. Bon Accord is a large area. The golden rule is the same whether walking or dirving - avoid wearing lots of bling, carrying expensive cameras, and/or falshing the cash. Same as in any holiday destination basically.

Don't worry, you'll have a wonderful holiday.

[LisaJ]

Hi Steve,

Thank you for your welcome and your lightning fast response!

The villa is New Timbers on Alfred Crescent and has 5 good reviews on this site. On the google map is It is one of 3 identical ones in a row, L-shaped with bright white roof, just above . (I say this for reference, not in expectation of a personal opinion). The owner said its a 10 min walk to Store Bay Beach area.

Your response is much appreciated and I kept trying to remind myself of the dozens of incident free villa holidays that other people take every day in Tobago.


Kind Regards
Lisa

[Ronald]

Hi Lisa

I´ve seen New Timbers on the satellit map, and I would say it is situated on the border between the Crown Point area and the Bon Accord. Your satellit map, Steve, is really great to use. I stay by a local family in Bon Accord, the local village further away on the map.

You will not get a taxi to pick you up where you stay, unless you already have the phone number to a specific driver. You can find a car to take you home, if you can stop them nearby the Air Port, but taxis in Tobago doesn´t have a Taxi-sign, and in the evening you will have problem to see the different between a "real taxi" and those privat taxis who take passengers without beeing a legal taxi.
An other problem is that these route-taxis has fix prizes from A to B, but when they "go-inside", means leaving the main road, they add some more TT-dollars. And if they see you are a new visitor, some taxis often make you pay more than necessary, because you are new and doesn´t know the fare.

As far I can see, you will have max 10 minutes slow walk up to the main road, and than you are quite close to the Colours Restaurant & Bar and other places nearby the junction for Pidgeon point. To walk all the way to Crown Point Airport should take an other 20 minutes.

As you see on the map, there are some smaller restaurants around the junction to Pidgeon Point. The best, in my opinion, is Cafe Coco. See the map, the road goes to the left and than an other goes to the left again, the restaurant sign is yellow on Steves satellit map.
It´s not the cheapest, but I´ve been there every year, but not every evening, when I´m in Tobago, and my opinon is that they serve very good food, and the price is not high for the standard! And as you can see on the map, there´s quite many restaurants to choose between nearby the Airport Area.

I don´t know how the street lights are on the way to the main road, but the main road has good street light, at least good Tobago standard.
Even if it´s not a very long walk up to the Air Port Area , I guess the hot and humid air might give you more problems during your walk compared with the lenght itself.

So, you are the only one who can say "I prefer to take the car" or "I prefer to walk to the junction, but I take the car when going to the Air Port Area".

Good luck and I wish you a plesant stay
I´m going down next week, will in all spend 6 months in Tobago and Grenada or the Grenadines, all together.
No snow for me this winter!
Ronald

[HelenaVM]

Hi Lisa

I felt that I wanted to respond to your post, because my boyfriend and I own one of the villas on Bon Accord - just around the corner from the villa that you are looking at.

You raise some interesting points and I would perhaps be able to offer an alternative insight to that offered by Steve. All useful information for your review and nothing more than personal opinion!

If I can respond to your queries directly.

We are one of many villas that offer security for the hours that you have suggested. We have been coming to Tobago for many years and we began offering security as a result of customer demand. The hours are primarily driven by the times that people use the open areas. After about midnight, our visitors have tended to be in bed and then they are tucked up in the villa, in a secure property with an alarm. (I am of course speaking for our place here and not making assumptions about you villa.)

The thinking is that If the visitors are not out and about within the compound (e.g using the pool and garden areas) then there is little risk. I would say though, by way of explanation, that we have never felt under threat, observed or scared when in Tobago - irrespective of the time of day.

Ultimately, villas owners are offering what their customers want - irrespective of whether it presents a fair or representative picture of the Island. In that regard I agree with Steve. In my personal view, It is a 'nice to have' rather than mandatory - and speaking from experience, our visitors welcome the benefit.

You ask about security guards in the area. Well, there are what I would refer to as 'pool villas' in the area. This means that there are villas locally in the vicinity of yours that have a common manager. As a consequence, there are a couple of guard huts around and a visible presence. It is reassurance rather than overt 'policing/guarding' and I would never feel uncomfortable or wary as a consequence of seeing their presence. I would hope you would agree.

Steve suggests it is more critical/relevant to have security after midnight. I personally disagree. As I suggested earlier, when a property is secured, I think it presents a challenge that most opportunist thieves cannot be bothered with. We have an unblemished record and we offer the same level of security that you have been offered.

Your final query related to walking to meals/evening entertainment from your villa. All I can tell you is that we (and our guests) invariably walk to meals/drinks/entertainment after dark from the same crescent as your proposed villa. I have never felt under pressure, scared, concerned or vulnerable in all the years that we have visited Tobago (often many times per year.) I would absolutely endorse Steve's advice regarding bling/cash etc and I have to say that walking back later at night, it has been reassuring to walk back and see our security in the mid-distance, making sure we are home with care and attention. Again, we've never found locals to be anything other than polite, gracious and caring. Accepting that there are bad apples in every barrel, if you follow the advice offered on the site, I have no doubt you will have an excellent time - and I will be there enjoying it all myself from the 19th November! Can't wait!

If you need to know anything else, please ask!

Best regards

Helena

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Helena

Good point, well made! I didn't think about such perfectly valid reasons for having 'evening' security rather than all-night. With so many visitors living in high-security compounds at home - particularly Trini visitors - it's not surprising that having a guard on duty makes them feel more secure.

[LisaJ]

Thanks so much Helena for taking the time to respond. It is really appreciated!

Lisa