taxi and access to arnos vale and castara

[Patricia B]

hi-new to your forum. have the day from a cruise ship and want to snorkel,snorkel,snorkel. have mobility challenge and can not use a boat ladder. can swim quite well. narrowed our choices down to the above beaches. how do you access arnos vale? would there be places to rent a sunbed at castara and get some local food? could i leave my "stuff" at these beaches-not valuables but towels,etc? want to avoid vendors,dead coral and noisy bars. have i chosen the right spots? thanks so much for you time and info.

[Simon Partridge]

Hi Patricia,

Arnos Vale Bay is probably the best snorkelling on Tobago. Access is easy through the Arnos Vale Hotel, having parked your car or been dropped off it is a short walk to the beach. Sun loungers are available for hire, the beach bar serves drinks and there is a beach restaurant. All rather expensive though and not the best food on the island. Having snorkelled in the bay you could always go up the hill to the hotel and have tea and feed the birds. The tea is however not that good and rather expensive, but the birds are numerous and fascinating especially the humming birds. Have a great time, chill & enjoy.
Someone else will no doubt give you the low down on Castara.

[Lisa Keith]

Hi Patricia,

Castara is beautiful, but I don't know it particularly well. I'm sure one of the other forum members will be able to give you more details! Arnos Vale, however, I know well. It's a quiet beach and the snorkelling is excellent and you can walk straight into the sea. The reef starts, quite literally, about 3m from the waters' edge. However, there are two or three steps down from the hotel to the beach (the easiest access to the beach is through the hotel there). From the steps, however, there's only about 6 metres to the waters edge. There's (roughly!) a 100m walk from where the taxi will drop you off to the beach itself (as the driver to take you right into the hotel. If he follows the road all the way down to the bar, it's only about 10m to the beach). I guess, mostly it depends on your level of moblity-challenge! I wouldn't worry too much about leaving towels etc., on the beach but - as you say - nothing that would ruin your vacation to lose! The island is still safe, and any likelihood of a problem is truly minimal, but why take chances?! I'm sure, whether you choose Castara or Arnos Vale, you'll have a great time.

Lisa.

[Paul Tallet]

There are several vendors that rent out sun-beds on Castara Beach. You have to swim out a fair way to see the best snorkelling, but you may enjoy following the very lagre sting rays along the surf.

Arnos Vale is expensive if you use the hotel facilities but better chances of a good snorkelling experience.

If you are a bit leggy I would suggest you enter the sea at the left side where it is safer in case you lose your footing in the waves ... then swim out and round ... if you enter the sea from the middle you go straight onto sharp coral which is risky.

Regards

[Patricia B]

thank you so much for the quick replies. i am chuckling over the term"leggy".here it would mean long,lean legs-not exactly me! i will ask the cab to get me to the bar. plan to do both spots and find lunch at castara. we assume the hotel could call us a cab when we are ready to leave for castara if none come along within a reasonable amount of time. again'thanks for the friendly info.

[Lisa Keith]

Hi Patricia,

In your position, I'd be inclined to ask your taxi driver if you can book him for the day. That way he can come back to collect you from Arnos Vale at an agreed time, rather than having to call. I've known cases where taxis have been called to Arnos Vale, but because it's off the beaten track, they get better offers en-route, or turn up later than you'd like as they've dropped off others... Most of the taxi drivers will be quite happy to devote the day to you and shouldn't be particularly expensive. If you change your mind then, and decide to stay at your first destination longer - or go sooner than you anticipated, you're not waiting around. Especially considering you've got an embarkation time to consider. Tobago is a great place, but I'm thinking that you'd definitely like to finish your vacation as planned! You can always come back to Tobago for an entire holiday! If you decide to book a driver for the day, make sure to pre-agree the price with him before you get into the car. There are (approx!) TT$6 to US$1, so make sure you know which currency he's quoting you in! Most places (and people!) will be quite happy to take US$ as it's readily accepted on the island.

Let me know if you need anything more!

Lisa.

[David Watkins]

Patricia .Heavenly Bay at Castara would be my option there is a bar and restaurant right on the beach the reef is almost on the beach access is easy.
David

[Gisela Grell]

Hi Particia,

Liza said it all! but I would like to ad some things.

As far as I understand you stay only one day and then it could be a bit tricky to see both beaches. Note that it takes you almost one hour by taxi to go to Castara. Little Bay in Castara has a bar and corels close to the beach, also sunbeds. And its only 3 steps from the parking lot to the beach (5 steps from the beach to the bar). As Liza wrote it would be a good idea to book a taxi driver for the whole day. It will not be much more expensive than for three or four different drives.
From Castara to Arnos Vale will also take an hour by car. I don't know Arnos Vale well but heard only very good reports.
As for your beach things like towels you can leave them almost everywhere on the island when you go for a snorkel. Maybe you better leave the jewelerys on the boat
Enjoy Tobago