myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

Having just asked for viewers opinions on Accommodation and Restaurant searches, may I now open this thread as a myTobago Wish List.

Please share your thoughts with me on improvements that could be made to myTobago, whether they be changes to existing material or additions. What new articles *, guides or other information would you like to see on myTobago?


* if anyone mentions “diving” they will immediately be allocated a “Not Funny” user status. It’s coming!

I know it is difficult to realize from UK and also a matter of money, but a webcam overviewing a nice spot in Tobago (Maybe Store bay or Mount Irvine beach) would be an attraction on this site. Visitors could have their daily look to minimize their appearance of addiction…. (Or maximize, it depends…….)

Hi Roland

A good suggestion and one that I have been thinking about for some time. The problem is finding a supportive business or individual who has a computer within direct cable distance of a good view and who would be prepared to have a webcam permanently attached to their computer and allow it to automatically upload a picture every few hours.

Sadly, such locations are in short supply. The other problem is that standards of IT knowledge and usage are limited on the island. It’s quite amazing how poorly even the top hotels are on the IT side. The system would have to be totally automated, foolproof and non-intrusive. I’ve no experience of webcams, but I did look into it before my last trip, hoping to take a simple webcam over and set it up. Not finding a suitable location, I dropped the idea, but I’m still hoping that we can achieve it sometime in the future.

Hi Steve,
BWI would make a nice spot for a web cam site? but I'm willing to bet they're not cable.

On to other ideas how about a meeting point in Tobago if any Forum members fancy a lime' and a chat.

Regards
Kevin

Hi Kevin

You've got a good point there. Manager Duane Kenny is one of the few "switched on" hoteliers on Tobago. I'm not sure what you mean by "bet they're not cable". Did you mean broadband? Either way, high speed access isn't necessary. I wouldn't propose a constantly updated photo - maybe once an hour would be adequate and the amount of traffic involved in that would be negligible.

The biggest problem at the BWI is that the offices do not have a good view of the beach (they reserve that for the guests I guess). Mind you, it's worth dropping a line to Duane so watch this space.

I wonder if there's a point where you may have too much information. I'm going back to Tobago for my seventh visit in February, but I can still remember the thrill of discovering all the wonderful things about the island in the first few visits before there was one-tenth the information available on the internet now. So I hit a few duds here and there hotel- and restaurant-wise, but I also was wonderfully pleased by so much. There's something about the thrill of discovery, of the unexpected, etc.

Hi Cornelia

You have a perfectly valid point, of course. However, with total respect I have only one thing to say to those who wish to pursue that avenue. What the heck are you doing in myTobago?

Just to clear up Kevins 'cable' comment... Steve mentioned cables in his first reply which as far as I am aware was a reference to the cable running from the web-cam to the computer, and whether any hotel/business would have a PC within a reasonable distance of a 'good view'.

I definitely think that Kevins idea of a meeting point is a good idea, but most of 'us' on the forum know when everybody else is going to Tobago, and if trips over-lap I think people usually contact ech other. I know that I met one of the other forum members while on Tobago by prior arrangement. I don't know how an official 'myTobago bar' would go down, I think we would be entering into the commercial side of things there.

As far as ideas go Steve, at the moment I am drawing a blank. I know that when we went to Tobago, it was the most equiped we had ever been going on holiday, as far as information goes, and that was entirely down to the current content of the website. My mum used always say, 'If its not broken, why fix it?'

Joe

I wish I wish...
...I wish there would be a possibility to reach only comments about the guesthouse you klick on in the list. now you reach the forum if available (like hilton, coc reef etc.). but as soon as the posts are in general accomodation comments you have to look for it page by page.
would be great if i could build up a list of all comments made on the guesthouse, hotel etc. where ever and when ever they are posted.
POSSIBLE

steph

Hi Steph

I know what you mean, but you have to draw the line somewhere. If I provided a separate sub-forum for every guesthouse in Tobago, you would have over 300 to look through just to find the one you're interested in.

The easiest way when looking for specific comments on any particular guest house is to use the Search facility at the top of the forum pages and search for that property.

thanks steve.
will try that. I'm just one of these users who don't really know how the whole thing works and dreams of things that could be possible.
my next wish is one others had already:
keep it as easy to use as it is now....

steph

Steve,

Though I'm new to your site, I'm pleased to have found such a valuable resource. It is really great for doing research prior to my next visit (Jan 1st 2005), and I expect that I might take the CD with me on my next trip however ....

The bulk of the really useful information is contained within the forums, and I would guess that many questions get asked over and over again. It might be useful to list some of the most useful replies and information on the main web pages, so that even detached from the internet, we can find most of what we are looking for. I like the idea of filtering some of the visitor comments on the properties, to web pages (also for restaurants).

Other examples (and apologies if they are already on the main pages, I've not found them yet) might be:

Car Rental contact details (top 10? especially those bookable via Internet) Internet Cafe's, Pharmacies, Doctor's Surgeries, phone & SIM rental details, useful amenity stores (main supermarkets, the 'english' supermarket that we discovered on our last day of one trip), telephone kiosk locations, and even perhaps some of the main attractions like the art galleries? Finally, there are many more annual events of interest (Kite flying competition at Plymouth on 28th December last year?) that should really be listed in a table, apart from the basic carnival dates and goat racing etc.

I understand the reasons for you not wishing to advertise commercial interests on the site, but imagine the predicament of someone trying to find an emergency doctor's or dentist's surgery on New years day, when the internet cafe's are not open? I know that many of the larger Hotels can supply this kind information, but to those of us on a budget in remote self-catering accommodation, it is not quite so easy.

Steve

Hi Steve

Thanks for your input. There are a few things that you've mentioned which are on the "planned" list and a few more than have now been added. Thanks!

Yes, as you say, the forum is the really useful section. However, trying to distil all that information would be a nightmare of a job. What is useful to one person may not be to another. As far as consensus of opinion on accommodation and restaurants (and other businesses) go, the comments expressed here directly affect the comments we apply in the accommodation listings and in the Restaurants listing in particular.

The vast majority of the other information you mentioned is already on the site. Sadly, getting to it all is not the easiest of tasks. The site has grown and grown over the past two years and the navigation structure is in tatters. Even as notification of your post popped into my Inbox I was banging my head against the desk trying to design a workable drop-down menu structure for the new site. It’s proving a nightmare with over 50 separate sections/articles.

Anyway, that’s my break over so back to the job of laying out those 58 menu items into no more than eight main menus. Thanks again.

sounds to me like Yes Tourism owes you a BIG favour - why not ask them if they could put a webcam somewhere on your behalf!

One very good reason - the view from their office is naff! (Sorry Yes Tourism)

Hi Steve

Thanks for the input, but you obviously missed the thread two below this one pinned to the top of this forum - "myTobago Visitor MEETING Board". This is there for exactly that reason. Its only been there for a month or so and this is the quiet summer, so its too early to see how it's going to go.

Hi Steve W. and Steve F.
Steve, I can imagine that Steve F would wish this list somehow more structured. Especially when many more planned visits would be posted, it would be handy to make selections on a certain period of time, resulting in an "output" of a list of names. Have no idea if this would fit in this Forum-software tool.
Personally I would call something like this "nice to have" and definitely not "need to have".
A little browsing through the posts would be no problem, you could remove the ones that are in the past.

Many regards,
Roel

Hi Roel

Yes, I know exactly what you mean and agree. However, it would be somewhat difficult to organise within the structure of the forum, other than by having a thread for each month of the year. This would be no problem and I'll gladly do it, but before taking on the extra work I want to make sure that there is a demand for the feature. If traffic in the current thread builds up, then I'll set the thing up.

Hiya,

This may have been mentioned before so I appologise if it has.

My Mytobago wish list would be for there to be a photo gallery that people could sent in their pictures of the place.

I think it would enhance reviews good and bad and enable those who haven't been to the island get a better feel of it.

I know very little about what this would entail so sorry Steve if it would be a Nightmare to implement.

Regards

James