myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

My boyfriend and I are staying room only at Turtle Beach in Courland Bay at the end of June. I have decided that I might upgrade us to Breakfast as well each day and then we can pick and choose where to eat and have a bit of variety. Can anyone advise how much would be sufficient to take for food and drink each day. I am not a big eater, he is, and he is not a big drinker which unfortunately I am! I am not bothered about eating at top knotch restuarants all the time but don't want to get stuck with burger and chips all the time either. Many thanks in anticipation.

Hi Nisha

You need to be aware that there are effectively no restaurants within walking distance of the Turtle Beach. You will either have to hire a rental vehicle or rely on taxis. As regard daily spend, I would hate to hazard a guess. Your best bet is to pay by card at the restaurants, otherwise you are going to have to take quite a lot of cash. However, having just responded to your previous post, I appreciate you only have a Solo card. Its a bit hard to know what to suggest, to be honest.

Thanks Steve. I am a little hesitant about going full board at Turtle Beach as I find it restricting eating at the same place all the time but am definitely leaning towards the full breakfast option to set us up for the day.

I am going to rely on cabs to get around. Is there anything near Courland Bay accessible by foot? As we are staying (at the moment) room only we were hoping there would be a supermarket nearby.

Nisha, unfortunately there are no supermarkets within walking distance of Turtle Beach. In any instance, I don't believe the Turtle Beach rooms have mini-fridges or kitchenettes, so there's a limit on what you can buy and keep in your room.

To get to any shop/supermarket or another restaurant you would need to take either a hotel taxi, or one of the route taxis that ply that route. That can get to be a hassle, so you should consider renting a car if you are not going full board at Turtle Beach. This will give you more flexibility regarding where you go for your meals, plus you really need to move around to explore Tobago.
Clyde

Nisha

You can rent a fridge and kettle at Turtle Beach - not sure of the cost though.

Jill

Nisha,

To catch a cab everywhere is going to bump up ur costs quite considerably... Trust me it all adds up. By the time you get to the end of ur stay and add it all up you could have rented a car for a few days. The trouble is with the Turtle, catching a car as quite a lot of us do can be difficult and sometimes not wise on that road. Not saying you will be going out all the time as the beach there is lovely. But I am sure you will want to get around. To me, renting a car for a few days is a good deal. If your'e interested in that then I can recommend Sheppy. He is based near to the airport. Cars are in great condition and price too. He will deliver the car to the hotel for you. There are no hidden extras with Sheppy and his company. i.e. he looks after you and doesn't think about how much he can get out of you.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT use Lady in Red. you only have to read the reports in this forum to understand why. Sheppy however is just the best.

Thanks everyone for your valed advice.

Tiff - contacted Sheppy and have reserved a car for a few days whilst in Tobago. Only provisionally booked it for a few days but I am sure that come the time when it is due to be returned we will want to keep it to get around for the duration of our stay

Nisha,

As far as what you would spend per day to eat out, we spent on average $200TT per person per day, which is $35US. A couple of nights we ate at more upscale restaurants and the price jumped to about $60US or $360TT for the day. We drink mostly beer, so that keeps the alcohol portion of the bill really low -- as we seek out places where caribs are only $7-$9TT. Another way to keep your costs down are to eat a nice breakfast, make sandwiches or salads for the beach if you have a refridgerator, and eat a large, late lunch during happy hour. We'd get huge portions of fish or chicken, veggies, macroni pie and salad for $40TT. Too much to eat in one sitting, but great for late-night leftovers!

Nisha,

Glad to hear that you have got things sorted re the car. You never know, May bump into you while you are there. I have found out today that I too will be out there at the end of June. If you're down towards Pigeon Point pop into R & Sea divers. Thats where I will be limin....

There are places to buy food near Turtle beach. Sorry to correct Clyde but having just been to the supermarket in Black Rock last Wednesday thought I'd point it out. It is not one of the big supermarkets (not a Penny Savers) but it would have enough supplies for breakfast/lunch and sells snacks, crisps, drinks etc. To walk there turn right out of the hotel and walk on the road, or through the wooded area, round a few bends and up hill slightly the supermarket is on the right hand side in Black Rock village. It takes about 10 mins on foot.

There are also some take-away type places there - Pizza Boys and a more local food type of place, can't remember the name of that one.

Caragh

Caragh, I knew about the (small) supermarket in Black Rock, but walking for 10 minutes with your arms laden with the inevitable Caribs and bottled water plus snacks and other items is not my idea of a "short walk"!

Clyde

Fair enough Clyde ... we did only buy a few bottles of rum and small stuff and went late afternoon when the sun was cooler. I figured afterwards that you may have known about that shop but to me (who has a problem with my ankle and dislikes walking) it seemed an easy walk.

Guess I hadn't though that much about carrying the shopping back to the hotel....