My trip report

Deb & Tom · Post by **Deb & Tom** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 7:04 pm

My husband and I returned Saturday from a 8 day trip. We stayed in Castara in the Beach House Breadfruit Grove apt. Overall it was a very nice trip-a few problems-but they luckily worked out ok. I will try to group topics as they are on this site, which was helpful to me. Then Steve can chop it up if he wishes. I should preface with the fact that we are pretty independent travelers who enjoy spending a lot of time exploring the island we are on. Secondly we like to snorkel a lot. Accommodations- I highly recommend Beach House. Being on the beach is really important to us so this was just right. Some of the other Castara locations seemed to be pleasing to those we met and talked with, but for us they were way to far from the beach and quite a climb. It is a very hilly island! I can only say good things about Beach House-well supplied, clean, everything as promised. It is very open-part of the charm. It was noisy there when the children came to play on the beach-but this was their break period. It wasn’t bothersome. There was enough foliage between the shore and our balcony to feel separated. If you want quiet, however, you may want to see if school is in session. Again, I would highly recommend Beach House. Well worth the reasonable price.
Food/restaurants-As I suspected, little was open over the long holiday. We went to Scarborough to the market and grocery and bought enough to keep us going-also brought a few things with us. The Penny Saver on the main road from the airport has the greatest variety. The K-Mart on the corner of Claude Noel Highway and Wilson Rd was also a good place. We had one “local meal” which was very plentiful, but we didn’t care for the taste-that is just us. Had lunch at Blue Waters-burgers were good. We intended to have most dinners out, but it didn’t work out- Not sure I should say why, but anyway…We had a lovely dinner at Pelican Reef, a very nice place with excellent service. Everything tasted very good, we would have went again, really, but I ended up getting violently sick that night (my belief is something bad that I ate-hate to use the food P word). The next day I was ok, just squeamish. After that horrible night, I couldn’t bring myself to go out to dinner. It did slow me down. But we had some nice meals that we prepared in the room. Food isn’t that important to us anyway. Wish I had the courage to go to Indigo, I did want to try that. Oh, BTW, if you stay up-island and plan to travel about for the day, bring clothes for the evening with you. They are serious about dinner dress codes and most places don’t start serving til around 7p. If you stay out of the down island area, there is little available other than local food.
Car rental-Our agent arranged a 4WD Suzuki for us with 4A rental. There was a mis-communication between them apparently and no one was there to meet us when we arrived at about midnight. Luckily we got a ride to the house of 4A and were able to get it. Tho well used, it was very comfortable, satisfactory and we added MANY miles to it. We did get a flat, but went to Scarboro’ and had it repaired for a couple dollars-easier than wasting time trying to locate the rental dealer as we had no phone. If you wish to go to a lot of the bays, I HIGHLY recommend you consider a 4WD. Some have very precarious access roads, but are worth the trip.
Sightseeing/trips/activities- The roads were roughly what we expected. But if you are not experienced in island driving, this may not be the island to start with-more switchbacks than some. Distances do require a transport of some kind. Fort George now has only 1 open building (small museum) and one unrestored building you can walk into. The rest are not open. The S’boro market (the inside part) was fascinating to see. We went to Ciao Café for a treat twice. Then had a drink at the bar next door-PERFECT place to sit and watch the people go by! I tried to arrange a snorkel trip with Alibaba, but couldn’t connect with him to schedule. The first half of the week was excellent snorkeling. Castara Little Bay is very good-one of the rays popped up behind me in the water when a group of us were talking! King Peter’s Bay was also good. It rained some of the second half of the week which significantly affected the snorkeling-very cloudy. I was surprised how affected it was. That was very disappointing. Mt Irving and Arnos Vale appeared to be very good too, but too cloudy that day. Mt Irving had a nice beach bar very close and a very nice shop next door-Wish I knew the name of it. The woman in the shop was very nice, very informative about the island. We talked for quite a while. We went out with “Fear Not” to snorkel Angel Reef-had the boat to ourselves. It was nice considering weather-further out from shore-not as much runoff. Bring your snorkel equipment with you, there is not much available if you wish to buy. We went to the Mt Pleasant goat races on Mon-that was a lot of fun! Never did make it to Sunday school.-we were too tired!! The bakeries-wonderful bread!
People-The people are friendly if you say hello to them first. Make the attempt. We gave rides to residents several times on their way from job to home, etc. We didn’t get harassed by anyone, but spent little time on the more populated beaches. Those who vend on the road will accept a firm no thank you. We never felt at risk, but did use our safe and closed the room up when we were gone. We also use a snorkel bag and don’t leave any valuables on the beach no matter what island it is. Well there is my haphazard report. If you have questions, feel free to email me.

Post by **Steve Wooler** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 8:07 pm

Hi Deb & Tom

Thanks for your wonderful report - that's just the sort of stuff our readers want, I'm sure.

Reading your report, one thing sprung to mind that I felt I ought to mention again. Be very, very careful when taking any rental vehicle, whether 4x4 or not, down any trail leading to remote beaches. Strictly speaking you probably will not be covered by insurance as the insurance is bound to strictly exclude "off-road" use of the vehicle. I mention this becuase I know somebody who got into trouble and an awful lot of cost when the suspension of the vehicle broke while doing just that some years ago.

Julia C. · Post by **Julia C.** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 9:25 pm

Steve Wooler wrote:Thanks for your wonderful report - that's just the sort of stuff our readers want, I'm sure.

Absolutely!

Sorry to hear about your upset stomach Deb.
One question - what is the dress code?

Are long trousers and T-shirts OK?
If anyone knows of any restaurants on the Island that require jackets and ties please say - 'cause we'll need to avoid those!

Brian Taylor · Post by **Brian Taylor** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 9:53 pm

hi deb & tom
soory you did not find us. hope you had a great holiday anyway (sounds like it, exept for the rough night).
normally you can get in touch in most of castara restaurants. they call, we come...
nice report! got hoocked?

hi julia!
no dress code in castara

(except no bare back in restaurants)
very comfortable place to be....

steph&ali

Post by **Steve Wooler** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 9:59 pm

Hi Julia

There are no restaurants on Tobago where jacket and tie are required dress and it is something you will seldom see other than at the very top of the tree. All the better quality establishments – which means most of those with “Restaurant” in the name, expect "smart casual", which means long trousers and a shirt with collar (worn open). T-shirts are always a bit iffy if you’re talking about proper restaurants, rather than local bars, fast food joints, pizza houses, etc – much the same as at home, to be honest.