Tobago: over-crowding

[Steve Pitts]

I don't know about you folks, but the main reason that my wife and I like Tobago is that is isn't over-run with tourists.

You can find places where you will be the only non-local and the trappings of those tourist essentials like souvenir stalls and foreign food outlets are thankfully few and far between.

Things are changing though - a 300% increase in airbourne tourists in the past few years and now Tobago is well and truly on the cruise ship route, with many being diverted from Grenada after Hurricane Ivan's devistation.

Having been at Pigeon Point resort when a small cruise ship stopped by last year, I hate to imagine the effect that the latest super cruisers will have on Store bay, P.P resort and other beaches that are on the itinaries of these floating hotels. Some of them carry 2,000 passengers.

I note from http://www.thetobagonews.com that the cruise season is underway and you may wish to check out when the happy cruisers will be disgorged, in order to avoid the more popular beaches within striking distance of the tour buses.

If on the other hand, you are more gregarious than me and don't mind sharing your peace and quiet with hundreds of other punters, then you could use the info on the tobago news site to plan your excursions accordingly.

Is there nowhere safe from mass tourism? - obviously not.

Cheers
Steve

[David Watkins]

Steve,I don't think the areas away from the lowlands will suffer much,as these ships are only in for 6/8 hours,so their passengers don't really have time to travel far.The prices in the PP and Store Bay will probably take a hike when the ships are in,but we,the wise,will know!!
Regards David,soon to be there

[Kevin Hampson]

Hi Steve,
The north of the island is even less commercialised than Crown Point I think that's why I enjoy going up to Speyside so much, I suspect it may be a while before mass tourism hits.

One of the down sides of Steve's site is that it has let the cat out of the bag on what a great place Tobago is. I saw quite a few people going about with MyTobago printouts the last time I was there.

Been back about a month and half, this site is the only think that keeps me going some days.

Regards
Kevin

[Brian Taylor]

why so negative.....
pidgeon point might be overcrowded now and then, but it is like the public pool of the island... it don't stand for the whole of tobago.
some guesthouses have been build in castara for example and they are booked, but you hardly meet more than 6 or 8 people on one beach at the time. some drive arround, some go in the forest....you would never feel/see hoe many tourists are really in the village at the time. I think this is typical for the remoter villages in tobago (speyside, charlottesville, black rock....).
so don't make the low lands the whole of tobago.

steph&ali

[Kevin Hampson]

Hi Steph&Ali


May be that’s why they call them the low lands!!

To be honest I would never call Tobago over crowded. Spend two weeks on the Spanish Costa’s in mid summer and it'll give you a whole new definition of the word.

Regards
Kevin

[Paul Tallet]

Brian is right, although I reckon the most populated beach is Store Bay rather than Pigeon Point due to the fact that there are charges to go on Pigeon Point.

I would wildy guess that 80% of visitors go to resorts and stay there apart from the odd organised trip somewhere.

But Steve P's point is the Cruise Liners ... I sat up in my chair when I saw that there are plans for these vessels to visit Charlottesville.

Can you imagine a great lump of a thing anchored in the bay?

Obviously, there are no visits to this place until the flood/mudslides are cleared up, but simple logic would question the notion of seeing several hundred cruise liner passengers tromping from the jetty through Charlottesville ... there would be a procession walking round the headland to Pirates Bay, the snack bars would be unable to cope ... and the Rum Punch would run out very quickly ... a horrible thought !!

Local businesses could have a field day but, seriously, I wonder how Charlottesville would cope overall if this took place over the longer term?

Scarborough would just about cope I guess.

Steve P has raised a very good point here.

The authorities are celebrating the windfall from Grenada's misfortune (maybe temporarily) ... but should they be evaluating this first ??

Regards

[Cornelia Montgomery]

I was in Charlotteville four or five years ago when there was a cruise ship anchored in the harbor. We thought, oh no, as we drove up. As it turns out, it was one of the smaller cruise ships carrying about 150 passengers who like to visit out-of-the-way ports that are inaccessible to those behemoths. Only about 10 people tendered ashore; we talked to one couple who said the rest had chosen to stay on board to use a special platform that the ship had for water sports. So the impact on Charlotteville was minimal. I don't think Charlotteville could handle those huge ships. It sounds that even Scarborough isn't prepared for some of the big ships that were sent there as a substitute for Grenada. The Tobago News quoted some passengers in Scarborough who complained about lack of wheelchair access and lack of shopping in town. There wouldn't even be enough vans and taxis to take 2,000 cruisers to Store Bay and Pigeon Point, would there?

[Paul Tallet]

Here they come ... says the Tobago News ...

4 cruise ships to call Saturday
Friday, December 10th 2004

Four cruise ships bringing almost 3,500 visitors are scheduled to call at the Scarborough Port tomorrow (Saturday). They are the Oceana, Prinsendam, Braemar and Sea Cloud II.
The Deutschland with 500 visitors will be in the Scarborough Port today (Friday). Also calling this week will be the Le Levant on Monday and the Sunbird on Thursday with a total of approximately 1,600 visitors.
Tourism Secretary Neil Wilson has said 43 vessels bringing approximately 40,000 cruise ship visitors were expected in Tobago during the current season and much more were to come in the next season with the $16 million extension of the quay at Scarborough.

Itinaries at the ready ... plan shopping trips to Scarborough carefully !!!

Regards

[Cornelia Montgomery]

Yes, and did you see in the same issue that major road repair work was undertaken while two cruise ships were in Scarborough? Seems that some roads were closed while directions were reversed on others. Major traffic jam in a small town. Tour buses and taxis couldn't ferry the cruise passenger around very well. I hope Grenada gets back to normal, soon, for several reasons.

[Joan Smith]

Sorry to disappoint you all, but in February I'll be one of the cruise passengers that you all seem to despise so much.

I spent 2 wonderful weeks in Tobago a few years ago, staying at the Kariwak Village. It was a thoroughly relaxing holiday, just enjoying the gardens and birdlife there, plus the beach at Pigeon Point. However there is more than one way to enjoy yourself, and last year I tried a Caribbean cruise for the first time. It provided a totally different holiday experience, and I'm repeating it in 2005. I was looking forward to seeing Tobago again, but from the reports on this website about Pigeon Point Beach and the views voiced about visiting cruise-ships, maybe it'll be best to just stay on board.

I've seen both sides of the coin in Grenada. I had a 2 week holiday on Grand Anse Beach. My husband and I used to watch with great fascination the cruise ship passengers arriving in droves by water taxi. It was fun to watch their antics but also great to see them depart so we had the beach to ourselves again. We felt sorry for them having so little time in such a beautiful place. However, we also noticed the desperation of the locals to make as much money as possible off these 'punters', so much so that when no cruise ship was in, most traders stayed away and bar facilities etc disappeared. Last year I was one of those cruise ship passengers in a water taxi and was happy to pay over-the-odds for a sunlounger for a few hours and a few beers, etc. Think about it. [/b]

[Cornelia Montgomery]

Hi, Joan,
I don't think anybody "despises" cruise ship passengers. I think that those of us who go to Tobago because it is uncrowded just may want to avoid being in the same place at the same time.
A cruise ship visit used to be rare, but no longer. I hope that Tobago doesn't end up being overdeveloped for tourism, with shops galore. When I go there, I get the feeling that Tobago would exist and prosper apart from tourism. I don't feel like it's a show being put on for tourists, as in some other locations I've visited.

[Anthony Mount]

Noticed Steve Pitts comments about cruise ships and the over crowding that this causes in some parts of the island. I too really enjoy tobago for its relative underdevelopment and lack of massed tourism and was slightly worried as we intend to stay in the Crown Point/Store Bay area this May how ever on checking his link to The Tobago News site it seems that the cruise season ends in april so it seems that you can plan around this if necessary. However who knows what changes will take place to accommodate these floating cities in the future who knows?

[Brian Taylor]

still feelthe topic should be called "crown-point over-crowding"
if tyou fear the crowds, you can go to as close as black rock or plymouth and still be in rach of all the "fancy" restaurants....
or you have a look at the rest of the island. if you stay in castara for example, you rent a car and in 30 min. (that would be me, flying low) better say 45min you are in scarborough and surroundings...or mt irvine area...
no cruiseships here.....
no crowds as long as not ALL of you out there decide to come here now....

have a lovely, cruise-ship-free holiday

steph