beach bar etiquette

T Heie · Post by **T Heie** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 6:52 am

While strolling Tobago beaches (I've learned some require payment), is it proper to pop in on a hotel's beach bar even if you're not a guest?

Many more intriguing questions like this to come.
Also, when is the 2005 Angostura Sail Week; I can't find a calendar that goes beyond Carnival 2005.
Cheers

Post by **Steve Wooler** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 7:22 am

Hi T

As far as I’m aware, there are only two beaches that require payment. Pigeon Point is the best known. A beautiful beach (provided the hordes from a cruise ship have not taken it over) but your consciences must determine if you are prepared to visit this beach. The second is Canoe Bay, a pretty little bay with extremely shallow protected waters on the Atlantic side, half way between Crown Point and Scarborough.

You will find very few hotels with beach bars that you can pop into – there are simply so few hotels. But yes, where there is a hotel, as far as I know you will be welcome to pop in for a drink or a meal. However, it’s always best to say you are non-resident and will be paying cash before you order, just to be sure.

The Angostura Yachting World Regatta is held from a Sunday to a Friday on the second week of May – so if you’ve got a 2005 calendar, you can work out the dates.

T Heie · Post by **T Heie** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 7:53 am

thanks, Steve. I'm enjoying this site tremendously.
a question: does the island go bonkers when Angostura makes port? in other words, overcrowding (nothing like Carnival, surely), but all the same. is it a good week to be on the island?

Dave Guest · Post by **Dave Guest** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 8:51 am

Hi T

We were lucky enough to be there for the sail week this year and from our perspective it didn't seem any busier than the week before. Apart from all the yachts out in the sea that is

The only downside was that the trimaran yacht (?) that does island tours wasn't available due its participation in the sail week so were unable to do our desired boat trip.

Dave

Joe King · Post by **Joe King** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 8:53 am

Hi T,

We spent the week of the regatta in Crown Point this year, and it made absolutely no difference as far as we could see. There were a few more people in the restaurants etc but definately nothing to put you off going that week. We tried watching some of the races but they were very hard to follow, particularly when we didn't know when they had actually started racing etc!!! The boats are fantastic though.

As far as the beach bars go, if you see a bar with a barman behind it, then go for a beer

Peter Allday · Post by **Peter Allday** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:06 pm

We spent quite a lot of time at the beach by the Mount Irving hotel (as stated in the previous snorkling threads) and the one time that my daughter who is 3 was caught short I took her up to the beach bar to see if they would let us use their facilities and the barman came out and said that it was for Hotel guests only. This was before we had even said what we wanted. In the end we had to walk around to the next beach and use the public facilities there.

This was the only un-welcoming time we had in Tobago, but you would think that for a 3yr old they would make an exception.

Post by **Steve Wooler** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 2:29 pm

That amazes and dissapoints me, Peter. Shame on the barman and Mt.Irvine. Crickey, you would probably have been the only person to use the facilities - after all, there's never more than a small handful of guests at the Mt Irvine and most of those will be out playing golf. It seems ridiculous even keeping a beach bar open for their own few guests so ridiculous that it's not open to the public. All part of the reason that the hotel and golf course are in such a dire situation I guess.

Paul Tallet · Post by **Paul Tallet** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 9:15 pm

Interesting ... If I feel like a chill I go to the Mount Irvine Beach early, hire a chair and smile at the hotel hosts that wake up around 1100 and then want me to move and give them their shade under the trees.

Maybe the facilities are only provided if you hire stuff or use the resturant because, otherwise, I have had no problem there ... my kids even worked out an authentic way of playing bat and ball in the loos ... seems like some version of squash !!!

Of course, whilst the kids were enjoying themselves, I derived an enormous amount of pleasure in watching the hotel guests get bombed by all the ants falling out of the trees they sequestered from me !!

But that's life ... I have never had a bad moment on Mount Irvine Beach ... good snorkelling there too.

Paul

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beach bar etiquette

beach bar etiquette

...except at the Mount Irving Beach bar