Sept 05 trip to tobago (?trinidad)

[Arnie Drury]

Hi there, fantastic website
Any info/advice welcome

We are a couple of (usually) independent travellers with new baby (1year in Sept) looking at 3 weeks away and Tobago and poss Trinidad look a good option

I can get a direct Virgin flight for us Thurs-Thurs in Sept for approx £950 all inclusive as part of their sale (ends 28th this month). A direct 8hr flight is appealing with a small baby.

We would be looking at spending most of the time on Tobago but poss spending a week or so on Trinidad (eg Asa Wright centre, north coast, ??Port of Spain) in the middle. We were thinking of some time in Scarborough/Arnos Vale) at the beginning of the trip and then ending in Speyside/Charlottesville at the end for RandR and diving/snorkelling

Any advice most welcome

1 - accomodation, willing to pay a bit more for ambience, balcony, restaurant on site, bath etc; min 3-4 days each place because of clobber
2 - side trip to Trinidad - is this worth it, how long and where
3 - OK for babies
4 - too late for turtles I presume


Thanks

[Emma]

Hiya,

I do not have much advice but i can say that it is too late for turtles sadly, we were desperate to see them when we went this Easter but the your guide 'King David' told us that they would come in June.

I am sure it will be fine for your baby, just beware of the sun. If you get up early then he could stay in the sun with lots of sun tan lotion on, early morning when it is weak rays (even then it is still strong)

From what I have heard Trinidad does not have as nice beaches as Tobago, and it is much more built up and busy. Do be careful in Port of Spain as there are a lot of Pickpockets

I am sorry that I cannot answer the other questions

Hope you have a great time
Emma x

[Ronald]

Hi
It´s not true that there are no nice beaches in Trinidad, but it´s true that Trinidad isn´t depending on visitors in the same way as Tobago. So therefore there are NO "tourist areas" like in Tobago. But there are big, wide, nice beaches on both the north, east and the south side of Trinidad.

You should see the whole Trinidad as a "big city" and act according to that. It´s easy to get in trouble if one try to move around as you do in Tobago. It´s not possible to, as an example, to stay nearby PoS and cover the island by car for a few days, Trinidad is too big for that.

Crime is also much higher in Trinidad, visitors aren´t a specific target, but if one are into wrong area at wrong time...things can go wrong at home too, no different.

Asa Wright Centre inside the rainforrest is nice for peoples who like nature and birdwatching, but it´s far to the beach from there.
For a daytrip to a beach, I would choose Maracas Beach on the north side. It´s long and wide, there´s smaller restaurants too into the area. And the trip over the mountains via Maraval is also special in some ways.

An other place for the side-trip, if Asa Wright Centre isn´t a must, can be Laguna Mar in Blanchisseuse, also on the north side of Trinidad. The place is situated on each side of the road, in the rainforrest between the mountain and the sea, theres a lagoon too.
This place is a place where poples go to relax, have a nice time in a peaceful area, because there are NO shopping malls No discos and so on. It´s really country side.

Laguna Mar is/built own by Fred & Barbara Zollna, he´s born in Germany but live in T&T since many, many years, Barbara is a Trini. They can also arrange a pick-up at Piarco Airport and they can also arrange tours to different places which peoles are interested of. They also have a guesthouse in La saiva, a valley between Pos and Maraval.

If you are interested, go to http://www.lagunamar.com
Sorry if I did spell something wrong or so, but I´m fromSweden you know.
Ronald