myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

Even though I'm Trinidadian, i havent really gotten the chance to explore Tobago (i knw, shame on me...) because ive only ever been there 3 times, for 1 or 2 days. Dont worry guys, i'm determined 2 make up 4 it this year as its my first self-governed vacation (i just turned 21)
anyhoo, does anybody know what are the best beaches for snorkeling in Tobago? Also, where can i buy Bake & Shark (i hear Tobago's is better than Trinidad's) and Crab & Dumplin' (ive never tasted this)?

Hi Carla,
Welcome to MyTobago. (Wow I got in before Steve )

There's a bit on shore snorkeling in the Sightseeing forum Angel reef is olso very good up at Speyside but you need a boat There are a couple of the glassbottom boat tours that run snorkeling trips out of Bluewaters Inn

I would think most of the shelterd Caribbean beaches would be good for snorkeling, but to get the best reefs you need to get a bit deeper.

Regards
Kevin

Hi Carla

I can still say "Welcome Aboard!" becuase Kevin forgot the exclamation mark.

For snorkelling, try Arnos Vale Beach - about the best on the Caribbean side.

For Bake & Shark, try the restaurant at the Airport (surprise, surprise!)

Forget the crab and dumplings. I know it's a popular local dish, but the crabs are too small and have so little meat. It's more effort than it's worth - although there's lots of locals who would disagree with me. I don't know the best place to get it though. Maybe somebody else will.

Thanx, guys.....
and it's an absolute pleasure to belong to this site! you have no idea how long i've been searching to find an online guide to tobago, i must say, this is the Very Best of the lot! this site has provided me with exactly what i needed to plan my trip and more! Well done, Steve & Jill!
I tell you... it's like a breath of fresh air to learn that so many other people love tobago- the little of it i've seen has convinced me that it's heaven on earth.

Can't wait till i'm on that plane across 2 Tobago!

i've heard arnos vale is good for snorkling, but the beach its awful if i say so myself. The drinks at the bar are also heavily over priced!

Hi Katie

I agree with you about the prices at the beach bar, but why do you think the Arnos Vale beach is awful? I think it's a lovely beach - although the building along the front don't do it any great favours.

Can u say 'GORGEOUS' ?!!! that pic of Arnos vale beach is awsome, Steve. I'm definitely going to try snorkeling there!!!!!

The beach is lovely and mostly empty and snorkelling is fantastic. Also the prices at the beach bar are no more expensive than at any other bar on such a location ie on the beach.
Wanda

Best place for crab and dumpling is Store Bay - any of the food stalls there (I know it's not Steve's cup of tea but all our Trini visitors love it!!)

Bake and shark, though, I have to say I would take a quick trip to Maracas before you get here.... I haven't found any in Tobago to beat it.

Snorkeling-wise, Arnos Vale is excellent. You could also try Mount Irvine (the rocks and reef by Mount Irvine Hotel Beach Bar are nice), or explore a bit further up the island to Castara or Englishman's Bay. Speyside can be good if you catch a local glass-bottom boat to get to the best sites.

Enjoy!

well i seem to be out voted. When we went it was very busy( all the guests must have been out in full) and the beach was covered in stones and coral, which wasn't very comfartable. If you want to know the best beach on tobago in my opinion i'll tell you, its back bay! Though most people don't know about it its gorgous. Its quite small but is very tranqual, and is surrounded by forest. The waves are the biggest i've seen on tobago if its a windy day, and there is an area just off it which is perfect for experienced snorklers, i didn't go in but my dad says it was the best snorekling that he did on the island in terms of what he saw. has anyone else been to back bay, what do they reckon to it?

Hi Katie

I'm a Back Bay fan too.

A little off the beaten track and it did have a dodgy reputation some years ago due to its remoteness and rumours of muggings.
Best to go in a group, rather than alone, for safety reasons.

Most of the times that I've been there, the waves have made it impossible to enter the water, let alone swim or snorkel safely. September seemed an ideal time to visit, as the sea was calm everywhere - even here.

Steve. You'll find a pic. of Back Bay, on that photo-CD that I sent a few weeks ago. Could you post it for me please?

Cheers
Steve

Hi Katie

You must have been very unlucky at Arnos Vale beach. I've never known it to be busy and the vast, vast majority of the beach is lovely white sand.

Yes, Back Bay is just about my favourite. We have to be careful, because there are several "Back Bays". One marked on several maps is located just west of Plymouth village. Ignore this. The Back Bay that you are referring to (I'm sure) is the one next to (north) of the Mount Irvine Beach Facilities. You enter it via an unmade track across scrubland, directly opposite Gleneagles Drive.

Here's a picture of it.

Ooops, as I'm typing, Steve's post has bounced in. Yes, he's spot on about the waves. However the two photos here were taken over a two-day period. In the first, the water's are calm. In the second, you can see Jill and my sister, Vicky, battling the waves - it was far too rough to get past the surf. In fact, Jill left a big beach towel on a rock. A big wave caught the corner and dragged it onto the sand. They found it impossible to retrieve it, even though it was just floating in the surf. Every time they got near, another big wave would come along and they would have to retreat. So, if anybody found a nice pink and yellow beach towel along Tobago's northern coast earlier this year, ITS MINE!

Hi Carla & Steve.
I've put this togther from some of my dive logs and a couple of dive books I hope it helps.
Snorkelling sites starting at Crown Point going up the Caribbean coast and ending up in Speyside.

Regards
Kevin

Crown Point
Ketchup Reef
Boat
Depth 3m+
Small reef of the north end of Milford Bay
Good corals and sponges
Fish- young Angelfish, butterflyfish, parrotfish, snappers & grunts.

Caribbean coast
Angle Reef
Boat
Depth 2m+
Southwest end of Buccoo Reef
Sandy plain with a good coral spur. Sometimes poor vis due to current picking up debris.
Fish- young Angelfish, butterflyfish, parrotfish, small rays & morays

Buccoo Channel
Boat
Depth 5m+
Part of Buccoo Reef marine park (Glass bottom boats do some snorkelling trips do don’t walk on the coral on the main art of the reef it really does a lot of damage)
Good coral channel
Fish - Angelfish, butterflyfish, rays, nurse sharks, & moray eels

Mount Irvin Wall
Shore/boat
Depth 6m+
South west end of Mount Irvin Bay, rock wall with gullies Christmas tree worms in sheltered spots, some fire coral.
Fish – Gobies, wrasse & parrotfish.

Arnos Vale
Shore/boat
Depth 2m+
Sheltered sandy bay, reef with coral spurs and sandy gullies.
Fish – Barracuda, triggerfish, jacks, squid and damselfish

Colloden Bay
Shore/boat
Depth 7m+
Sand plain with coral out crops and a couple of old ships anchors.
Fish - Goatfish, rays, young trumpetfish, morays, creole Wrasse, & blue chromis.

Englishman’s Bay
Shore/boat
Depth 3m+
Rocky edges to both sides of the bay, coral & bolder field off the northern point.
Fish – Filefish, trumpetfish, small barracuda & silversides

Bloody Bay
Shore/boat
Depth 6m+
Sandy bay turtle grass, poor vis in rainy season due to run off from the river, northern edge of the bay has some old wreckage covered in concreasion
Fish – Stingrays, cushion sea stars & urchins.

Man of War Bay
Cardinal Rock
Boat
Depth 7m+( shallow nearer the shore)
West end of MoW bay
Rock gullies and walls sea fans and coral
Fish – Sergeant Majors, goatfish & damselfish, barracuda in deeper water

Booby Island
Boat
Depth 2m+
North f Cambleton Bay
Rubble plain, fire coral.
Fish - Yellowhead jawfish, blennies & silversides

Pirate’s Reef
Shore/boat
Depth 4m+
Right hand side of Pirate’s Bay
Rocky ridge poor coral.
Fish – mostly young Angelfish, butterflyfish, parrotfish, small rays & flounders

Long Rock
Boat
Depth 6m+
Just outside MoW bay NE of Charlottville
Rocky not much coral or sponges
Fish - Lots of small fish gobies & blennies cleaning station for larger fish.

St. Giles Islands
South St. Giles
Boat
Depth 6m+ fast drift
Bolder field and coral domes
Fish- Snappers, grunts, stingrays, tarpon & kingfish

Speyside
Bateaux Reef
Shore/Boat
Depth 12m
Rocky ridge running out from the north end of Bateaux bay.
Only possible when calm otherwise to much surge around the rocks.
Fish - Tarpon & barracuda

Angel Reef (yes another one)
Boat
Depth 3m+
Sloping fringe reef on the west side of Goat Island
Good coral & sponges,
Fish - Angelfish, parrotfish, lobsters

Japanese Garden
Boat
Depth 3m+
Small reef off of Goat Island (Glass bottom boats do some snorkelling trips)
Slow drift, can be choppy close in to the Island, coral, sea fans, barrel & tube sponges
Fish – Angelfish, damselfish moray & snake eels

Flying Mata
Boat
Depth -.2m+
West of Little Tobago Island (Glass bottom boats do some snorkelling trips)
Drift into sheltered bay, coral rubble sea fans, sponges.
Fish – fast drift, Angelfish, butterflyfish, parrotfish, snappers, grunts & manta (if you get lucky)

Black Jack Hole
Boat
Depth - 6m+
Off south end of Little Tobago Island
Small sheltered bay, gentle current, coral rubble plain.
Fish - black jacks, creole wrasse, & blue chromis.

Hi,

in my opinion more beautiful beaches than the Arnos Vale beach exist, but, as it was mentioned before, it is a good snorkeling area.

It was the only time that I swam inside a huge swarm of small fish (don't ask me which kind of fish) and I could not touch any of them, no matter how hard I tried. I felt a little bit uneasy remembering those TV reports where big predators hunt in these swarms.

But they are not such near to the beach (10m from the shore), aren't they?

In 2001 I visited Boavista, Cape Verde, and I could observe a 2m shark with its head on the beach, out of the water, trying to hunt a small 0.5m shark who had escaped and preferred to die outside the water. Another day I took a bath at a place where an angler standing next to the shore used a fish as a bait, which was so large that others would have considered it as the catch of the day.

But I am sure (protecting coral reef, knock on wood) that such things cannot happen in Tobago...


Greetings,

Achim

http://www.alewand.de/fotos/tobago/fo26.htm

i Visited in august and the waves where larger but i enjoy jumping waves (though they where also nearly above my jumping reach). I went in the afternoon, and the beach looked lovely, even nicer than in the picks! the sea was a lovely turquoise colour, and it wasn't windy, so the waves weren't quick and easily breaking, they where the type that last for ages!
The place i meant for snorkling is just round the corner, my dad said he saw a huge moreal.

Back bay is my favourite beach, when i was younger i called it my private beach because it was deserted everytime i visited, but when i went this time it was quite busy ( well about 15 people, busy for back bay!!)

I think in general though the end of most beaches are goodish for snorkeling. the end of places like stonehaven have good snorkeling. I saw turtles, a stingray and all the other things you see in tobago. So for somewhere good to snorkle go to the end of most beaches.

Mount Irvine wall and the adjacent reef next to Back Bay are indeed very rich in marine life and can offer some good snorkelling too, but just a word of caution to attempt this area only when the sea is very calm, and even then be aware that there is often a surface current coming off the point there that can be quite a challenge.

One of the advantages of Arnos Vale is that it is very sheltered and snorkelling is comfortable there almost all the year round.

I agree with Katie though that there is good stuff to be seen in many of the bays - a good reason to throw your mask, snorkel and fins in the car/jeep whenever you are out and about!

I loved Arnos Vale, snorkelled it twice in 3 days.

I got the bug bad, I even snorkelled on Courland Bay so smitten was I!

Oh how I wish I was there today.

PS, go with Cocomotion to Emerald Bay, I saw squid for the first time there!

Hi Mark,
You should have a look at Babbacombe Bay in South Devon around March to mid April the squid use to lay eggs and from may the place is full of the little buggers. Really facinating creachers they change colour if you stroke them.

Bit colder than Tobago about 10 deg C according to my dive log.

I have seen them off Coco Reef too but I don't recall seeing any while I was up at Speyside so they may just be on the Caribbean side I don't know.

Regards
Kevin