Heaven on earth! (Trinidad & Tobago)

Member Name: happyshopping21

Product:	Trinidad & Tobago
Date:	21/09/08 (66 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Perfect stress buster

Disadvantages: None

All Caribbean islands are beautiful, but there's something different about Tobago. I have been to a couple of the islands and I have to say Tobago is now firmly in my planted in my soul. I loved the island, the people and the perfect weather.
Walking on the beach you really do expect to turn a corner a meet Man Friday...the island is perfect and beautiful and any stress you arrived with will be washed away in the warm Caribbean Sea. I travelled to Tobago a couple of years ago with my husband and two children. My children loved the holiday. We stayed at the "Rex Turtle Hotel" and we had a ground floor apartment with a patio leading directly onto the beach.
Facts:-
Tobago is only 26 miles by 7 miles wide, and has a population of only about 50,000.
The central part of the island is covered with the oldest rain forest in the western hemisphere.
The wildlife in Tobago won't kill you. There are no poisonous snakes, no man eating sharks, box jelly fish or pole jumping, bird eating spiders. There are mosquitoes, so you should make sure you take along some relevant protection. There have been isolated instances of Dengue Fever from mosquito bites in the past, so do consult your GP before travelling.
Warm and sunny with fresh trade winds.
Average temperature: 30C (86F)
the sea can be as warm as your bath, and is warmest in the rainy season. Jumping into the sea during a quick tropical rain burst on the beach is great fun. And the re-emerging sun will dry your towel in no time.
The flight time is 8 hours; we flew with BA from London and had a regional link. Tobago is - 5 hours GMT in the summer and -4 GMT in the winter.
Getting around the island:-

Getting around the island is easy. You can hire a jeep for around £40 a day and petrol is really cheap....don't get caught out there a very few petrol stations so don't wait until the last minute to refill like I usually do or you will get caught out!
We decided to rent a taxi, partly because we have always found that taxi drivers are great tour guides...we were not left disappointed. Our Taxi driver named his price at the beginning but then took us on short detours around the island and pointed out places of interest and told us some interesting facts. We kept to the same driver for the fortnight and we felt like we had made a friend at the end of our holiday. Doyle...our driver even took us back to his home and let the kids try on carnival costumes!

Things to do:-
Diving - go to Speyside and swim with the Manta Rays. Trips to Goat Island and little Tobago can be arranged from here...both Islands are bird sanctuaries. We never went so I cannot advise if it was worth it or not.
The Nylon Pool - Take a glass bottom boat ride to the Nylon pool - an amazing turquoise shallow pool of water way out to sea where you can jump out of the boat and wade around up to your waist and play finding Nemo in the water. The locals tell you to swim in the water and it will knock ten years of you!
Nightlife - Head for Sunday school the island's hottest weekend event - an open air dance and music fest next to Buccoo beach. Starts off around 9pm with a fabulous show by the Buccaneers - one of Tobago's finest steelpan bands - and then the reggae and calypso starts. Beer and rum is cheap. There's barbecue and street food stalls, and the few shops there stay open late....Not to be missed!
Tours - Wayne Gray is a Certified Tour Guide, and if you're planning a trip to the rainforest or waterfalls of Tobago you really must go with a qualified guide. He also does reef tours, bird watching and fishing trips.
Food - If you get the chance to have Bread Fruit Pie...grab it with both hands it's delicious; a savoury dish with cheese.
Roti is good and available everywhere...a sort of curry in a flour tortilla.
Blue Crabs...yummy but fiddly

I loved Tobago and was really pleased to hear that the Government is aiming to control the volume of hotels that are being built to try and keep the beauty of the island perserved. I would go back in a heart beat!

Summary: Stay away I want it all myself..