Tobago is little paradise. The vibe & beauty of the islands was like nothing I had experienced before; that mix of positive human element in a beautiful environment is supreme good times. The diving, fishing & just hanging out was a genuine adventure.
Our adventure in Tobago began in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Note: Very few flights from major cities to Tobago directly & hence most travellers to T&T arrive to POS.
From there, the easiest way is to take a $25, government subsidized flight to Tobago, or take the more scenic $10 Ferry Ride from Port of Spain.
Arriving in Scarborough, the capital of Tobago was a real colorful experience. The first thing that struck me as odd was the presence of a massive (by Tobago standards) KFC right in the centre of probably what you would call the ‘downtown’ area. It really stood out as a recent, or nearly recent addition to an extremely retro and groovy style that everything had.
There were raw brick walls, rasta’s with knee low dreadlocks, fruit vendors, cars driving by blasting calypso & gas pumps that looked like they were from the 50′s.
Driving across the whole island felt good (mind you, its only 25km long). The scenery would change between lush jungles, over-hanging cliffs, clean, blue sea & a real interesting mix of people. The ‘architecture’ on the island is very unique as well; almost like an eclectic mix of European powers dragging the country in different directions. The architecture – was limited to very small constructions, ranging from mid cottages to straight up huts. Tobago was also exchanged by virtually all superpowers of the past; France, Portugal, Spain, England and more, many times over. This left a mark which in retrospect was interesting to experience.
We stayed at the Manta Lodge, Speyside; our choice being justified that our main motivation for coming to Tobago was the diving & we were told Sean Robinson (the dive shop owner at Manta Lodge) was the best in Tobago. The Hotel itself was nothing fancy but it was really cozy & family like. The bar was always open and welcome for guests to take drinks and fill in the ‘book’. The ‘kitchen’ was a momentous “Carribean Mama” who could very interesting dishes such as Stewed chicken, dumplings, macaroni pie & even made us fresh sushi after the fishing.
The diving in Tobago was really great, even though we came during the off-season we had a rather eventful 3 days of diving. We were slightly disappointed that we weren’t able to catch manta rays but it was a slim chance of seeing them in the off-season. The fishing was pretty specatcular too. Run by Mr. Frotty Da Silva, we caught 2 sail fish & a bunch more smaller ones.
Overall, Tobago is really a hidden gem in the Carribean, that is not over-run by Tourists who’s en mass presence forces a more sterile & system approach to tourism. We highly recommend visiting Tobago while it hasn’t been swallowed by the tourist masses.
Trinidad and Tobago
Tobago is little paradise. The vibe & beauty of the islands was like nothing I had experienced before; that mix of positive human element in a beautiful environment is supreme good times. The diving, fishing & just hanging out was a genuine adventure.
Our adventure in Tobago began in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
Note: Very few flights from major cities to Tobago directly & hence most travellers to T&T arrive to POS.
From there, the easiest way is to take a $25, government subsidized flight to Tobago, or take the more scenic $10 Ferry Ride from Port of Spain.
Arriving in Scarborough, the capital of Tobago was a real colorful experience. The first thing that struck me as odd was the presence of a massive (by Tobago standards) KFC right in the centre of probably what you would call the ‘downtown’ area. It really stood out as a recent, or nearly recent addition to an extremely retro and groovy style that everything had.
There were raw brick walls, rasta’s with knee low dreadlocks, fruit vendors, cars driving by blasting calypso & gas pumps that looked like they were from the 50′s.
Driving across the whole island felt good (mind you, its only 25km long). The scenery would change between lush jungles, over-hanging cliffs, clean, blue sea & a real interesting mix of people. The ‘architecture’ on the island is very unique as well; almost like an eclectic mix of European powers dragging the country in different directions. The architecture – was limited to very small constructions, ranging from mid cottages to straight up huts. Tobago was also exchanged by virtually all superpowers of the past; France, Portugal, Spain, England and more, many times over. This left a mark which in retrospect was interesting to experience.
We stayed at the Manta Lodge, Speyside; our choice being justified that our main motivation for coming to Tobago was the diving & we were told Sean Robinson (the dive shop owner at Manta Lodge) was the best in Tobago. The Hotel itself was nothing fancy but it was really cozy & family like. The bar was always open and welcome for guests to take drinks and fill in the ‘book’. The ‘kitchen’ was a momentous “Carribean Mama” who could very interesting dishes such as Stewed chicken, dumplings, macaroni pie & even made us fresh sushi after the fishing.
The diving in Tobago was really great, even though we came during the off-season we had a rather eventful 3 days of diving. We were slightly disappointed that we weren’t able to catch manta rays but it was a slim chance of seeing them in the off-season. The fishing was pretty specatcular too. Run by Mr. Frotty Da Silva, we caught 2 sail fish & a bunch more smaller ones.
Overall, Tobago is really a hidden gem in the Carribean, that is not over-run by Tourists who’s en mass presence forces a more sterile & system approach to tourism. We highly recommend visiting Tobago while it hasn’t been swallowed by the tourist masses.
Written by @TimurKhamitov