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Foreign Office Advice
Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2003 1:25 pm
by Cas S.
Post Recreated: Originally posted - 13 September 2002
We picked up our tickets recently and were amazed to see that there is a travel advice for Tobago. It advises - Do not visit isolated beaches and use taxis after dark. - We were certainly planning to visit isolated beaches! We were under the impression that Tobago was a reasonably safe place ! Comments please!!
Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2003 1:27 pm
by Steve Wooler
Post Recreated: Originally posted - 13 September 2002
Hello again Cas
Fear not! The Foreign Office obviously has to take a particularly cautious approach. They give much the same advice for pretty much everywhere. Check out
http://www.fco.gov.uk and then use the “Country Advice” link. To get a balanced view, view the advice for a range of countries – particularly those that you are familiar with.
The primary problem is that Tobago is part of “Trinidad & Tobago”. The Foreign Office (and just about everybody else) treats it as one unit. In practice, the population of Tobago is less than 5% of Trinidad and culturally and ethnically they are different worlds. The advice in the FO warning would be very appropriate to Trinidad – which I understand has become a relatively dangerous place, by Caribbean standards. I heard a good saying during my last visit – “Trinis (Trinidadians) think of Tobago as a good place to go for a holiday. Tobagonians think of Trinidad as a good place to go and get mugged”.
Nowhere in the world is totally safe and you must apply common sense wherever you go. However, I am personally convinced that Tobago is no worse than anywhere else and a damned site safer than the vast majority of destinations. I’ve never experienced any problems on the isolated beaches, nor spoken to anyone who has. However I do have some sympathy with the advice about taxis. Again I’ve never experienced/heard of problems, but I wouldn’t personally hail a general taxi at the side of the road in Tobago – but then I wouldn’t get into an unmarked minicab at night anywhere here in the UK. Use private taxis, not route taxis. Let your hotel arrange your first taxi and take the driver’s card (he’ll almost certainly give it to you anyway). People often use the same taxi throughout their visit, having found a driver they like.
Common sense - that’s the main deterrent required. Have a great holiday – I know you will. Please let us have a full report when you get back.