September / October ... Honeymoon

[Mark]

Hi,

we are spending our honeymoon in the Coco Reef resort for 3 weeks - from 15th september to about 7th October.

I know that this is the rainy season, but I'm still unsure what to expect, as the weather info still says 7 hours of sunshine, and 30 degrees C.

Can someone clarify all this for me, as we don't even know what to pack!

How much sunbathing are we likely to be able to do?

Thanks

[Steve Wooler]

I know it sounds confusing, Mark, but fear not.

There are very few days when it’s cloudy and rains all day – such conditions really are the exception, rather than the rule. Most of the rain falls at night, so you wake up to lovely fresh smells and it keeps the island so wonderfully green. If it does rain during the day, its often flash ‘storms’ in the sense that it clouds up in minutes, rather than hours, chucks it down for 15-20 minutes, then half an hour later there’s blue skies and you can hardly believe it rained. Mind you, it can chuck more rain down in those 15-20 minutes than five days of British drizzle. It’s seldom a problem – just enough time for a beer before you return to the beach – and the rain is always warm, so when it’s a light drizzle, lots of tourists (unlike the locals, who are very susceptible to colds when they get wet) don’t even run for shelter.

As far as packing goes – you ought to take at least two long raincoats each, waterproof over-boots and a minimum of two brollies. Only joking!!! Forget about packing anything for rain – if you do, you’re a lot more ‘sensible’ and practical that most of us.

Unless you’re absolutely intent on frying yourself, you’ll probably get in just as much sunbathing as you would do in the dry season.

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

[Steve Pitts]

Hi Steve

Lyn and I always pack a telescopic brolly each and keep them in our small backpacks when we're out and about. They take up no room at all and weigh next to nothing.
They have proven invaluable during the odd tropical downpour (if you're out walking, you don't get drenched and if you're on the beach, you don't have to dash for cover like everyone else). They also come in handy in the mid-day sun as a parrasol.
Come to think of it, I might start carrying one around with me here(Bristol) 95 degrees and rising. Phew!

Cheers
Steve

[Glyn Kirpalani]

Hi Steve

95f and rising in the UK?!!! I heard it is going to be a long hot august and that my ex-fellow commuters in London/elsewhere are suffering yet again and worse than normal. Your post has inspired me for my next Tobago marketing campaign in the UK press:

"Fed up with the tropical sun and heat in the UK? Come to Tobago to enjoy cooler temperatures, mostly air conditioned accomodation with pools and regular refreshing rain showers"

It would be worth a giggle and so ironic!

Keep smiling, hope it cools down soon (a little) in UK,
Regards
Glyn (refugee from the heat)

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Glyn

Well, at least it gives British Rail (or whatever they call themselves nowadays) a new excuse. Instead of snow or leaves on the line, it's now the heat. The say the lines are buckling (I thought it was just the management). We're so pathetic in this country. Do the rail networks make the same excuses in countries like Canada and Japan who have greater climatic variation than us? Me thinks not somehow!

Steve - thanks for the tip about those little portable brollies. A very sensible suggestion.

[Yollande]

Hi everyone, I know this thread is from quite a while back, but I was reading through it because my husband and I are planning a trip soon and the whole rainy-season vs. sunshine balance caught my eye. We're actually heading to Japan later this year, and even though it's a totally different climate, the packing dilemmas sound strangely similar.

Since we'll be moving around a bit, I was wondering if anyone here has had experience with the kind of sudden tropical showers you mention while staying in small hotels or beach resorts. Did you find that the weather made a big difference in how much you could actually enjoy your stay, or was it more like what you described above rain for a few minutes, then back to clear skies?

Just trying to get a feel for what to expect, both for Tobago and for planning our hotel stops in Japan. Thanks in advance to anyone who still checks in here.

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Yollande

Welcome aboard.

Planning an itinerary based on weather conditions has always been a challenge, but doing so in these times of global warming makes that 10 times more difficult. Yes, it is true that much of the time the rainy season is characterised by short sharp tropical downpours, the majority of which happens overnight or in the very early hours of the morning. However, there have been the odd years where the skies have been cloudy and rain more consistent for weeks on end. Hopefully someone who lives on the island and can speak from a more experienced point of view will add their comments.

[PaulMakin]

Increasingly hard to predict and Sept/Oct 2024 were quite different to this year.

Last year was hot. Like a fire. The absence of saharan dust until well into the season meant little filtering and gave rise to intense sunshine. The type of relentless sunshine where you stay indoors/shaded until around 16.00. Daytime temps in the high 30's but "real feel" well into the 40's. Night-time temps over 30 at times.

This year was breezy, sunny and relatively dry. In fact, WASA were trucking water into the south from time to time. More normal rainfall and only a few totally overcast days. Temps low to mid 30's, real feel mid-high 30's.

Generally there is an expectation of a mini dry season around Sept but no guarantees. Prolonged (2-3 days) wet conditions are rare but they can happen when the pressures north and south of the inter-tropical convergence zone are equalised. This gives rise to very static weather, which may be those cloudy and humid conditions.

It's a small island though and weather can pass by quickly. Despite the size, different areas can have very different conditions. To be more accurate, different sides of the street can have different weather sometimes.