Discover Trinidad & Tobago 2016 — 25th Anniversary Edition

Sightseeing & more!
Round-the-island tour
If you start early and hand-pick your stops,
you can tour the entire island in a day. (See
our favourites below to help you choose.)
If you start in Crown Point or Shirvan
Road, head north, where you’ll soon come
upon the bucolic fishing villages along the
Caribbean coast. The road takes you from
the southwest’s undulating limestone terrain
to mountainous hard rock formations
along the Main Ridge forest reserve. Magical
Charlotteville occupies the northern tip,
before the road curves back around to the
more rugged Windward coast.
Speyside is the jewel of the northeast, the
island’s diving Mecca; Goat Island and Little
Tobago lie offshore. Jemma’s Treehouse is a
popular place to stop for lunch on a roundthe-island
tour. The Windward Road then
snakes southwards along the east coast to
Scarborough, Lowlands, and back to Crown
Point. As a bonus, if you’re visiting during
turtle nesting season, you can arrange to go
turtle-watching in the evening. (See more below,
under our turtle-watching section.)
Popular tour types
Tour operators offer tours
specialising in bird-watching,
turtle-watching, snorkelling,
diving, hiking and waterfalls,
stand-up-paddling, mountain
biking, sunset cruises, or coastal
and round-the-island tours by
land and sea. Some will let you
customise your tour for a bit of
everything.
Stuff of literary legend
It’s almost certain that Daniel Defoe
used Tobago as the basis for the island
in his classic novel Robinson Crusoe;
some claim Robert Louis Stevenson
did the same for Treasure Island.
Leeward/ Caribbean coast
Fort Milford: a perfect spot for enjoying
a Tobago sunset overlooking the Leeward
coast; only a few cannon and walls remain
Kimme Museum (The Castle): the late
German-born sculptor Luise Kimme produced
arresting larger-than-life wood and
bronze sculptures inspired by local culture.
Fellow sculptor Dunieski Lora Pileta now
manages the museum/atelier. Reservations
are required. 639-0257, luisekimme.com.
Fort Bennett: a beautiful lookout point
over Stonehaven Bay, complete with a little
pavilion and small garden
Buccoo Reef & Nylon Pool: a must
on any visit to Tobago. Stretching from Pigeon
Pt to Buccoo Bay, Tobago’s largest
reef (comprising five reef flats) is home to
some 40 species of coral. The Nylon Pool is
a warm, metre-deep sandbar in the lagoon.
Glass-bottom boat tours often depart Pigeon
Pt and Store Bay twice (or more) daily
Bon Accord Lagoon Bioluminescence:
the glowing blue-green light here is caused
by millions of phytoplankton emitting flashes
of light to startle predators as they pass
by. Tip: jump in and watch your starry outline
light up the water. Stand Up Paddle Tobago
offers tours
144 discovertnt.com