Trinidad & Tobago - Geodyssey

Tobago
Around Tobago
Crown Point and Tobago’s Lowland South
The south of Tobago is the more heavily developed and populated part of the island with the majority of the
hotels, car rental companies, restaurants, and craft shops. Geologically it is a fl at coral and limestone plateau
and the main beaches here–Store Bay and Pigeon Point–have powder-fi ne white sands. The island’s airport at
Crown Point is almost at the western tip.
Store Bay
Just two minutes from the airport, is a small beach with calm, clear, blue-green water and a sandy bottom,
located between the Crown Point Hotel and the Coco Reef Resort. Behind the beach are a number of food
stalls and a craft village selling a range of batik, jewellery and leather goods. Boatmen off er deep sea fi shing
and morning trips out to the reefs in glass-bottomed boats.
Pigeon Point
This is the most photographed place on the island with glittering sands set off against a backdrop of coconut
palms and almond shade trees. Out at sea Buccoo Reef protects the calm, clear turquoise water of Bon Accord
Lagoon. It’s certainly a beautiful spot and the calm sea is perfect for children. Don’t expect to have the beach
to yourself: it is a popular excursion for escapees from the all-inclusives and visiting cruise ships.
Buccoo Reef
Tobago’s most accessible reef, stretching all the way from Pigeon Point to Buccoo Bay. It is home to 40 species
of hard and soft coral, and is rich in marine life, from tiny jewel fi sh to reef sharks and barracuda. In the past
the coral has been damaged by the dragging anchors of the glass-bottomed boats, though the boats are now
supposed to anchor only on dead coral. Trips to Buccoo Reef usually include the Coral Gardens then a stop
to bathe in the Nylon Pool. Here a large sand-spit within the lagoon creates a pool of shallow water which is
luxuriously heated by the sun.
Scarborough
Scarborough is the largest town, with nearly half the island’s population. There is a pleasant, well-labelled
Botanical Garden displaying local brightly fl owering trees and fl ora amid broad sweeps of lawn. Nearby an
orchid house displays most of Trinidad & Tobago’s indigenous species. Scarborough market is an excellent
place to examine Tobago’s exotic fruit and vegetables and enjoy the stall holders’ sales patter.
Fort King George, set high on Scarborough Hill, gives a vantage point over the whole town. Founded by the
British in 1777 as a barracks and parade ground, it was later captured by the French then changed hands
many times, as did the island itself.
Central Tobago
Tobago Forest Reserve
This is the oldest protected rainforest in the western hemisphere, a haven for 123 butterfl y species, 210 bird
species, 16 species of lizards and 17 of bats, plus armadillo and forest deer. Much of this mountainous region
is diffi cult to access, but there are several authorised nature trails, the most notable being the Gilpin Trace. In
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Little Tobago
This little island, just a mile across, is a bird sanctuary
popular with walkers and birders. It hosts one of
the largest seabird colonies in the Caribbean and is
reached from Speyside by pirogue or glassbottomed
boat–a 15 minute trip over coral reefs across Tyrell’s
Bay, passing Little Goat Island.
Local guides will lead you up fi rst through fan palms
and gumbo limbo tree forest (yes, that’s right!), then
a xerophytic area to the scrubby cliff side nesting
grounds of the Red-billed Tropicbird.
These lovely birds can be seen all year round but are
especially prevalent from October to June. From a
cliff top vantage point, where Sir David Attenborough
fi lmed for ‘The Trials of Life’, there are great views of
them and of other sea birds in fl ight: brown boobies,
bridled and sooty terns, laughing gulls. Magnifi cent
Frigatebirds and Red-footed Boobies nest on nearby
St Giles Island where much of the vegetation is
smoothed horizontal by stiff breezes off the sea.
Birds of Paradise, once introduced to the island, are
no longer present.
Little Tobago was once a cotton plantation so there
are good (but very hilly) walking trails.
GEODYSSEY | TOBAGO www.geodyssey.co.uk/tobago 020 7281 7788