myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

We are a swedish couple, artist and writer, who plan to stay in the Caribbean for 6-8 month starting october 2004.

We are looking for an island off the beaten track - we are not resort-people - and prefere a genuine and atmospheric place.
We are looking for an island where the people are friendly and where we can feel "at home away from home".
A beautyful scenery is of high importance to us, and an ocean-view is a must-have.

We have been checking out several islands and Tobago is one of few favourites.

Is Tobago the right island for our long term stay.

Neither of us have ever been to the Caribbean but we plan our first trip in May.

Please help!
/Lotta

Lotta

Thank you for registering a user account on myTobago.info. I regret that the email address you used failed validation. There were no obvious typographical errors in the address you entered and so the account was deleted, possibly only a second or two after you had posted this message, or I would simply have reported it to you here. You must now re-register. Please check carefully to ensure that you enter a valid email address.

Reading your message, I would have said that Tobago is EXACTLY the right place for you. However, I can only suggest that you study our main site and the forum and form your own opinion. I shall be most surprised if you choose anywhere else.

Dear Lotta,

yes, Tobago is a place where most people would like to stay 6 - 8 month (incl. me )
B U T - you will not be allowed to do so !
Officially the longest possible stay as a tourist is 3 month.
Friends of us wanted to stay 8 weeks only, but at immigration they only got a visum for six weeks, after that time they had to go to the officials in Scarborough, there had to fill out a question list, to leave it there to be checked, to come back for a new visum and then were allowed to stay 8 weeks, but not longer.
6 - 8 month stay will be nearly impossible I suppose .

That might be possible with a work-permit but to get this is more than difficult and complicated.

Best regards
Ulrich

Hi Ulrich

I am glad that you have raised the important subject - often overlooked by Tobago addicts desparate to make a new life here - of immigration laws and visas.

I receive several emails each year seeking my advice on relocation - usually asking about banking, shipping, accommodation costs etc - I reply asking what visa arrangements the write has made - and usually never hear any reply. The rudeness of this does not bother me as much as the naiivety of folks who genuinely have given little or no thought to the rules!

My theory is that membership of the EU has left many folks ignorant of the fact that the "free movement of goods and labour" ends at the west coast of Ireland (Hi JOE!, Begorrah). I hear from immigration officers here that it always comes as a great shock to young (and not so young) Brits and Germans - the two main groups from developed nations wishing to reside here - when they are refused leave to enter at the aiport, or deported. One German lady built a beautiful expensive villa, assuming this would gain her residency - not so, and she is now barred from using it.

Enough of this rant - but Ulrich was right to raise the issue. One final point is that every application is judged on its merits - and if maintenance/accommodation issues are satisfacory, combined with an immigration officer NOT suspecting someone is intending work or settlement here under the guise of tourism, then it is possible to stay longer than 3 months without embarking on a dodgy marriage of convenience (which occurs here too). Note that the immigration department is just opening its first enforcement office here in Tobago, aimed at scooping up and deporting illegal immigrants from both rich and poor countries.

End of lecture!

I never did figure out if you had any Irish blood in you Glyn?!?!

Everytime we drive through Ballinasloe I look out for people with bad hips in the hope of catching sight of your relative

Joe

Hi Lotta!
Read yout topic a bit late. It is possible to stay 6 month. You just have to get a ticket that is valid for six month but the flight back must be dated for three month after you reach the island. you ask them for three month. Then you change your ticket to the later date and about ten days before you visa is finished you go with your passport and the extended ticket to the immigration in scarborough. they will give you a date for an appointment. they will ask you if you work here and how you can afford to stay so long and what you work home and will extend your visa for another three month (costs 100 TT$). I never heared of someone who they turned away, as long as you stay out of drugs and be friendly and nice with them (even if they might not be). I did it myself already last year. was no problem at all....
hope you have a great time.
steph

Fine to hear (read) that a longer stay is possible.
I only could report the difficulties of my friends.
They are just normal people, friendly middle-aged
architect with his wife. They have been in Tobago
ten times before already for longer stays but this time
were treated rather rude and unfriendly by the immigration-officer.
Seems as if it depends on who is the officer and how
he feels actually?!

Hi Joe

Yep, I am half Galway Irish as my mother was born and bred there and my pool old uncle Vivion still resides in the town (long after all his 10 siblings cleared off to Australia, UK etc etc) struggling, until recently, to and from the bogs to cut peat to warm his grange/water. When Caroline and I visited him in 1997 we felt as though we were visiting a time warp, but I understand the Celtic economy has changed all that now - then the place was charming and the people were truly welcoming. In fact I agreed with my mother that traditional Irish village life bore several similarities with Tobago village life, with slightly fewer Rastas.

Ask anyone for Vivion Griffen (St Brendan's Terrace) and say hi from his favourite nephew - he would be dead touched, as would I! He may have hobbled to the pub of course, but rarely gets out these days.

All the best

Hi,

We are well aware of the regulations, and that was to be my next question IF we decide to try to stay in Tobago.

BUT at the moment we are not sure that we are going to choose Tobago for our long term stay (that was my _first_question... - your opinions about Tobago as a place to stay for a few months).

We are probably visiting Tobago for the first time in May or early June, and after that first visit, step 2 is to find out if we are welcome to stay for a few months. I am going to have my income monthly from Sweden during our half-year abroad, and I hope that can help to get a permission to stay in - for example - Tobago on a long term basis.

Still , I am not sure that Tobago is the right place for us but I would like to ad thet the http://www.mytobago.info in very convincing and a suberb website!
Best regards,
Lotta

Hi Brian!
I figured out you stay in Castara (visiting your website).

During our visit i may/june we choose from staying at the Blue Mango Cottages in Castara or in Charlotteville.

I am afraid it is a bit isolated in Castara? Do we need to rent a car to get there?? Is it difficult to get from Castara to Charlotteville?

I would be happy to know!

/Lotta

Hi Lotta

Tobago is not for everyone – some people I know would HATE it, in the same way that I might hate the places they love. So, will Tobago be right for you? Who can say? You can only read the comments of the 700+ people who have posted messages in this forum and try to guess whether they sound like "your sort of people" (not counting John Hill, of course). Let’s just say that if the descriptions of the island portrayed here sound to your taste, then that’s EXACTLY what you will find when you arrive in Tobago and if not – then come back and publicly humiliate me. Have a great trip and start planning long term.

Hi again Lotta

I don’t think Steph visits the forum on a very regular basis, so I’ll answer and she can confirm when she comes online.

Both Castara and Charlotteville are relatively isolated villages. Charlotteville is much the larger of the two. To get the best out of Tobago, you need to rent a car wherever you stay. If you don’t have a rental vehicle, you could always get from the airport to Castara by taxi (US$35-40 I would guess) and likewise from Castara to Charlotteville (I’m guessing, but probably around US$40-$45). Hope this helps.

Hi Steve,

Thank you for the information, it really sounds like a good idea to rent a car...

Our "problem" is the difficulty to choose islands. There are so many and we are staying for 3 weeks only...

We are going to both Saba and Bequia to visit some friends and then we are choosing from Tobago and St Lucia...

Since you know our important "mission" - we ae doing reseach for our long term stay, not just have a great time on vacation, do you recommend us to stay in Castara or Charlotteville (with a car)? Or would you recommend some other village in Tobago.

And how many days should we stay? Is 4-5 days enough to get a picture of Tobago?

Please help!
Lotta

Three weeks is not a long time.

I love Saba. It is a truly unique and fascinating island - but I would go stir-crazy there within just a week or two. No beaches, no real swimming, only a couple of places to eat/drink.

I haven't stayed on Bequia, but it's so small that I suspect I wouldn't want to stay there for more than a week or two.

It’s quite a few years since I visited St Lucia. It's twice the physical size of Tobago and has three times the population. It’s undoubtedly a very nice island, but it never "grabbed" me the way Tobago always has.

I've never stayed in Castara - although we plan to correct that next year - so can't really comment. We did stay in Charlotteville a few weeks ago and loved our stay. I can certainly recommend the village – it really is the “true” Tobago.

4-5 days will give you an oversight of Tobago, but you would need a lot, lot longer to gain anything more than a superficial introduction to the island.

It's nice to know tha so many people wish to re-locate to Tobago and
complain that the immigration officials are rude, however when the situation is reversed and West Indians attempt to migrate to Europe/USA the treatment that we receive is not just rude, we are treated like criminals ! Therefore the rules work both ways and should be applied accordingly.

Hello,
I would just say, that if the positions were reversed, would we in UK be happy for anyone coming in as a visitor to be granted right of permanent relocation? The immigration officers are likely to have good and bad days in UK as well as Tobago and I do think it is a bit of a cheek to expect the Tobagonians to welcome visitors on a permanent basis. It is their country after all, and it does not have the infrastructure to support a significant quantity of immigrants with European expectations of healthcare and social support. Having a house on the island, we should love to spend more time there but we are very sensitive to the fact that this may not be possible. Visit, enjoy but don't expect to stay for ever!