First trip in January

[Patrick M]

I'm a pretty seasoned independent traveller (mostly in Mexico and Central America) but articles like this are making me wish I'd chosen another destination for January.

http://www.eturbonews.com/13272/trembling-tt

I understand there is violence everywhere but many Tobago travellers on this site have also mentioned the unfriendly service in restaurants, etc as well as locals who seem not to like tourists very much. Our goal this year was an island not too developed that we could explore, meet local people and hang out at semi-deserted beaches. From what I'm reading on this site as well as the news, many of the local people will resent us, restaurants will provide surly service and exploring deserted beaches may well be dangerous. We'll be there on January 9 but, if we were planning it now, we'd be on our way to Tortola for the 4th time instead of Tobago for the first.

[Ronald]

Hi Patrick

I´m sure that you will get answers from others too, both peoples living in T&T as well visitors, but here´s my opinion as a person who know peoples both in Trinidad and Tobago, going every year for 4-6 weeks, and I came to T&T for the first time 1989.

I´d read your link, and as far I understand he were both in Trinidad and Tobago, he, James, say "After six days of traveling, I felt lucky to escape with my life and limbs intact. I am American (white male), and felt completely unsafe traveling anywhere while in Trinidad and Tobago, where I normally am confident that I can avoid dangerous situations, places, and people."
This person might feel unsafe when travelling in T&T, but he can for sure not say that he´s a kind of expert of T&T after 6 days in Trinidad & Tobago as a whole. I say, 2 days as a minimum are gone for arriveal, departure and travelling between Trinidad and Tobago, so in all he did spend 4 days on 2 islands and become an "expert"! Absolutely NOT!

He say "but found that TT is violent, dangerous, and simply not a place any tourist should ever consider visiting in the near future, especially white tourists". In Trinidad one have to know WHAT to do, HOW to do, WHEN to do, and also WHAT NOT to do and HOW to behaive.
A person how go around as he sems to do, "I do as I always do everywhere" can get serious troubles in Trinidad. Somemone who understand to adapt to "local rules", and how to avoid to be a target for criminals, they doesn´t have problems, not even in Trinidad.

James also say, "It was the most unfriendly and subtlety racist country I have ever visited — there were no smiles. I had multiple well-meaning residents warn me to take special care". So, it seems that he did get information from locals about what to do and how to do. Beeing unfriendly when they told a visitor important facts? How many visitors use to be robbed in Florida? That happens many every year, even when they are into cars! And "subtlety racist country", what about that in US?

“Sunday School” was a joke — I left early as it seemed like an invitation to robbery and murder of anyone who looks like a tourist". He maybe did expect something else for visitors, but this is an old local party, not made up for visitors. And mostly visitors in Tobago like that it ´s NOT a "tourist-event", it´s a real local thing.

"Pigeon Point, the premier beach, was basically deserted." Into many countries, even Florida, visitors use to be found on some popular beaches nearby hotels and business centres, but in Tobago it isn´t so. Peoples like to be on smaller beaches spread out on the Caribbean side as well the North coast, there are also some nice beaches on the Atlantic side where a visitors from hotels canb eb seen, as Bacolet Beach. But James seems to feel "I know best" so he did choose a beach nearby Crowm Point and "this is Tobago a bad choise"

Sorry Patric, if you are going around both Trininad and Tobago in the same why he did, you might feel the same. If you take your time and treat locals with respect, you will have a good time. Tobagonians do NOT like when visitors come across and play big master, they doesn´t like such at all. And Trinidadians doesn´t like susch at all, you can get troubles if you act like that into wrong time and place!

Instead to take this mans letter as a fact, read what other peoples from US write into this website. Many from US go year after year, would they come back over and over again if they did feel unsafe?

Read and learn
Ronald

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Patrick

Welcome aboard!

There is very little I can say other than to endorse Ron's replies - and he is more than qualified to pass real judgement. It was clearly a very biased report. This site is NOT about Trinidad (an island I would no longer visit other than in the company of a local who really knows their way around) and so I can't comment there. However, his remarks about Tobago don't really reflect the island I know - as the hundreds of reader reports posted on this site in the last year will endorse.

[Paul Turnstill]

it looks to me that this article is written by a rascist "white american" scaremongering to stop people visiting a beautiful island.

we visited tobago last january for 3 weeks. we spent the first few days worried regards security but soon relaxed and realised that the majority of the tobago people are friendly and glad to see tourists.
we stayed in the village of parlatuvier which is one of the remotiest parts of the island. some days we were the only people on the beach apart from the local fisherman coming and going. not once were we approached by any locals and when we approached them for anything (fresh fish etc) we were treated nothing but respectfully and courtiously.

we also travelled around the island in a hire car, just the 2 of us with no guide.there were certain villages that we were wary of stopping at but on the whole everywhere we did stop and visit we felt safe and welcome.

we visited sunday school and apart from the high prices you may pay for food there never once felt threatened or intimidated by "locals". watching the steel bands perform was amazing and the musicians were happy for you to take photos and some even took time to demonstrate to the watching crowd how to play them.

we arrive back in tobago again this coming january the 27th for another 3 weeks of heaven. this time we are staying in the pigeon point area mainly because we prefer the beaches and the facilities there. we will again be regularly touring the island visiting remote beaches this time with my 2 teenage children with us.


on 8th february my partner charlotte and i will be married in pigeon point, we cant think of another place in the world we want to be married than in tobago.

we then visit the carnival in trini under the watchful eye of family who live there before returning home.

when we visited tobago last january we felt safe. as long as you take the necessary steps that you should take visiting any foriegn country you'll be fine.

i expect tobago to be no different this january.

[Patrick M]

Thanks for some excellent observations. I heartily agree that the author appears to be totally out of line based on his limited time in the island. My concern about the trip is due to a number of things,including the news items I find when I google Tobago as well as Steve's comment in another post that "Tobago's tourism industry is in terminal decline."

We'll be there on in January for a week near Parlutuvier and a week in Crown Point and plan to have a great time.

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Patrick

Don’t take my often emotive comments too seriously. From the perspective of your holiday next month, the comment is irrelevant. Long term, it’s a slightly different matter.

Tobago had a great future to look forward to in tourism. Sadly, the laid-back nature of Tobagonians meant that neither the local populace nor the administration were ready or capable of grabbing the bull by the horns and taming it. Visitor numbers peaked three or four years back and have increasingly fallen off since, due to rising prices, falling standards and a worsening security situation. The local government is largely made up of pension-chasers lacking in commercial experience. They appear incapable of bringing even the simplest project to successful completion without major delays and allegations of corruption. After a brief period of affluence (entirely due to tourism) Tobago is in serious danger of sinking back into a future based on hand-outs from Trinidad.

Please believe me, I desperately hope that I am wrong in this assessment. However, as much as I love Tobago I cannot adopt the local attitude of sticking my head in the sand and viewing the island through rose-tinted spectacles. I have lost count of the times that locals have said to me “visitors will always come to Tobago because our island is so beautiful and we are so friendly”. Get real guys!

So, my advice to tourists is simple: Get to Tobago now! Experience this wonderful island while you can. At this moment you have a great choice of hotels and other classes of accommodation. The island has to wake up QUICKLY and act NOW. Hotels, guest houses, rental villas, restaurants and other facilities are already starting to close in increasing numbers. If visitor numbers fall further, direct flights will be withdrawn and this will compound the decline. If the trends of the last few years aren’t reversed, Tobago will have little vestige of a tourist industry within 10 years.

Please, please let me be wrong.

[Andy K]

Patrick,

it is very unfortunate and counterproductive that people like the writer of the quoted article are allowed and able
to write such nonsense in the internet for everybody to read and possibly make wrong conclusions.

I sincerely second Ronald's and Steve's comments.
There is room for improvement in terms of service in Tobago, but you will most likely enjoy wonderful holidays.

Racism does exist in T&T, but you are unlikely to experience this as a tourist to any extend.
Tourists are generally welcome independant of their race.
(Many Tobagonians do not like anybody from outside their island to permanently LIVE in Tobago. This includes
native Trinidadians just as much.)

Personal attitude and manners of the (tourist) customer have of course a big impact on the reaction of the (service) person, as most people here are not trained and also too proud to accept rude manners and arrogant behaviour of customers.
Friendly words and a smile usually "move mountains".

Enjoy your holidays in Tobago !