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Tobago Travel Tips
Tobago Travel Information
Come and enjoy while it's still undeveloped

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Tobago Travel Tips
Tobago Travel Information

From the beginning, Europeans considered Tobago one of the backwaters of the world, the perfect place for castaways.

Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe was set on Tobago. Walt Disney built a tree house in a huge Saman tree near the town of Goldsborough for filming Swiss Family Robinson. (The tree house, left as a tourist attraction, was destroyed by a hurricane. The Saman tree, now covered with bromeliads, still stands.)

Tobago has always endured second-rate status to oil-rich Trinidad, with which it is politically joined as the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Electricity didn't arrive on Tobago until the 1950s. That's probably why Tobago still retains its unusually laid back feel and charm. You don't yet find huge shopping malls or high-rises as on Trinidad.

Instead, Tobago still retains a rare old-time Caribbean feel and charm: slow living and friendly and genuine people. Plus good diving and hiking.
(See Things To Do)

For birders, Little Tobago is like a page out of the Galapagos.

Culture and heritage are still an important part of everyday life and celebrated annually in Tobago's Heritage Festival. (See Tobago festivals)

Bush medicine, based on herbs and other natural ingredients, is still popular. Including this particular arthritis remedy: "To relieve pain, go to the bee keeper and have some bees sting your joints." The treatment is guaranteed to lessen your arthritis pain: not because the bee stings hurt more but because the procedure really works. Just re-apply bees periodically as needed.

Tobago is sometimes compared to the shape of a turtle's back; a very long and thin turtle. Most people live on the edge of the shell, on the coast, while the steep center is largely unpopulated.

The Main Ridge Reserve, a protected recreation area, covers almost two-thirds of the island, running like a spine on a northeast-southwest angle.

Although Tobago is located 22 miles off Trinidad's northeast tip, whether it also was once part of South America is debatable. Scientists who believe it was not say this explains why Tobago does not harbor any poisonous snakes, compared to Trinidad 's four poisonous types.

Further, the variety of bird species differs considerably for two landfalls so close together. For instance, Tobago has about 20 birds that do not live in Trinidad.

One of the best places for bird watching is at Little Tobago, a 243-acre uninhabited island about 1.4 miles off the coast of Tobago proper. Little Tobago, which takes almost a day to hike completely, is considered the easiest place in the Caribbean to view large numbers of the sleek and majestic red-billed tropic birds.

Little Tobago is a 20-minute boat ride from Speyside, the island's scuba diving headquarters. The marine life around Speyside is excellent though visibility is sometimes affected by runoff from the Orinoco River. Manta rays particularly seem to like the conditions, though the animals haven't shown up as reliably in recent years.

You can count on leatherback turtles to nest on Tobago's beaches every spring and summer. The challenge is being at the right beach at the right time.

Essential Information

Detailed Background: Facts & Map
This CIA report includes Trinidad

Arrival Briefing
What You Need to Know If You Go

Trinidad & Tobago Calendar of Events
What's happening where & when

Tobago Tours
They arrange activities, day trips

Major Attractions

Argyle Falls
Tobago's Tallest Falls

Fort King George
Offering a great view of Scarborough

Heritage Festival
A true cultural celebration

Little Tobago
Reminds me of the Galapagos

Main Ridge Reserve Hiking Trails
One of Tobago's main attractions

Local Saying:
"Cut eye doh kill."
(Angry words don't kill)