Seashells collecting - which beach is the best?

[Dave]

Where is the best beach to collect some dead shells (not living moluscs) ? Do you know? Dave

[Steve Pitts]

Hi Dave

My wife is an avid collector of sea shells. She likes to bring home two or three, wherever we go on holiday, to remind her of time spent in the sun.
We have never found Tobago to be a rich source of shells.

On the exposed Caribbean and Atlantic beaches, the steepness of the beaches and strong undertow claws most shells back into the ocean, busting them up to form the superb sand that Tobago is famous for.

On the sheltered beaches of Pigeon point and Canoe bay, the reefs protect the lagoons and shells don't get washed up in any numbers. Early mornings are likely to reveal anything left by the receding tide.
You might find dead sea fans, ripped from the reefs by storms and swells, at both of these beaches. I don't think that you are allowed to remove them from the island though and could get them confiscated at customs on departure or on arrival back home.

Lyn has found plenty of interesting driftwood though, from huge ocean going logs to tiny eroded bits of bark and twigs. There are also lots of interesting nuts and seed pods washed up.

Happy beach combing.

Steve

[Linda P]

We found four large (empty) conch shells on 'no mans land' during an excursion with Frankies, they stunk to hell and had to be soaked in a bucket of bleach and scrubbed before we could even bring them inside our apartment! other than that all I found were pieces of coral which I am sure I will get around to making a really creative mobile with at some point - at a much lower cost than the ones I saw for sale!

Linda

[Joe King]

Pelican Island was the only spot where we saw any kind of shells. You will need to get a boat out to it though. There are also lots of pieces of dead coral which are a lovely alternative to shells.

[Marc Jones]

We found a fair few at the beach by the airport, ie the one you fly right over as you land.