Trinidad & Tobago? Sounds a fine holiday destination. Like many people, I had vague ideas of sunny beaches and warm people, hot food and cool cocktails.
Somewhere to relax.
It was only a few days before my flight that I started to read about crime levels.
"In Trinidad, there’s a high level of violent crime," the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office warns: "Gang-related attacks and shootings are increasing around the city centre of Port of Spain...Violent criminals often carry out attacks in vehicles, ranging from the threat of violence to sexual assault and robbery, kidnapping for ransom, rape and murder."
Surely it can't be that bad I thought, until I checked the Canadian and Australian travel advisories, which say much the same thing. The U.S. Department of State is blunter:
"Reconsider travel to Trinidad and Tobago due to crime...Violent crime, including assault, kidnapping for ransom, sexual assault, home invasions, and murder, is common... Avoid traveling alone, particularly after dark...The recent increase in gang-related violence has taken place in areas frequented by tourists and expats."
I've been to several dodgy destinations without worrying too much, but was sufficiently alarmed this time to look into canceling my flights. They turned out to be nonrefundable. So I at least took the precaution of booking an expensive airport pickup service in the Trinidadian capital, Port of Spain, and a fancy hotel, the Hyatt Regency.
Port of Spain
That worked well, and on my way in from the airport, I mentioned to the driver that I was thinking of strolling to a restaurant called Meena House for dinner.
"You can't walk there: It's not safe," he said. Being a suspicious type, I wondered if he was just angling for a booking to take me there. So I checked at the hotel reception. Two of the receptionists just smiled at the idea and told me definitely not. Later, when I tried again, a third just laughed and a chap said rather sternly, "No."
"So where can I walk?" I asked. It was mid-afternoon and I didn't want to spend the day trapped in the hotel. "Nowhere," came the response.
Oh well. The hotel offered to supply a car, but the cost was prohibitive, so I refused. and wandered outside to hail a taxi. There weren't any. I decided that the risk of being robbed was preferable to the embarrassment of returning to the front desk, so I set off on foot.
It was about a 40-minute walk and I was certainly nervous, but nothing happened. Once I was close to the restaurant, I began a mini-bar-crawl to places called The Minibar, Brooklyn Bar and The Bungalow. By now, it was dark and the streets were deserted, but I was fortified by several bottles of Carib Caribbean lager and felt marginally less fearful.
Fort King George, Tobago
Meena House was good for Indian food, and I returned twice, once on foot and the other time courtesy of a cab app called TT Rideshare, which worked well. One of the drivers chauffeured me round the island for the next couple of days, and I ended up quite enjoying Trinidad. The Hyatt Regency is as good as any hotel in town, and my nightly rate of $238.90 was all right for a room with a balcony and sea view.
After four nights, I took the short flight to Tobago ($30), where the airport is tiny and the island feels very different from Trinidad. The pace is slower, more relaxed, and the place is pretty sparsely populated. The capital, Scarborough, is only home to about 17,000 people, while the other towns you see on the map are generally roadside villages.
Sorry that this is a rather negative account of what I did on my holiday. I feel sure many people have wonderful, trouble-free vacations in Trinidad and Tobago. It's a beautiful country with wonderful beaches, and hardly a surfeit of tourists. There is a particular charm about Tobago, where I might happily return.
One highlight of my whole one-week trip was a drive around Tobago, particularly on a road through the Main Ridge Forest Reserve. This encompasses 3958 hectares (9780 acres) of tropical rainforest and was established in 1776.
A daylong tour of Trinidad was pretty good, too. Port of Spain boasts some wonderful colonial architecture; San Fernando Hill was dramatic; and what better than to eat "doubles", curried chickpeas sandwiched between two flatbreads? The Temple in the Sea (Sewdass Sadhu Shiva Mandir) is so peaceful, and I also witnessed a cremation on a nearby beach, where the mourners were so friendly, it almost felt like a party.
It's no one else's fault that I booked myself into a motel on the strip in Tobago's Crown Point, near the airport. Music thumped all night. I thought it was very friendly when a woman waved to me as I returned from a bar. I wasn't wearing my spectacles, but gave her a cheery wave in return. Two minutes later, she was by my side, offering to come to my room. I know that I am very attractive, but she did seem a little forward.
For my remaining two days in Tobago, I stayed at the smart Magdalena Grand Beach & Golf Resort, a former Hilton, which was good value at $164.03 a night. (Coco Reef hotel --pictured at the top -- is fancier, but way more expensive.) And the friendly driver I met on the first day acted as my tour guide, taking me to a couple of decent restaurants.
Magdalena hotel room with a view
Many people regard The Seahorse Inn as the island's premier restaurant, serving European food on a charming outdoor terrace. And I returned three times to Waves, a casual restaurant and bar on the beach nearby.
So there you have it. In some ways, I enjoyed the holiday more than I expected, though found it less relaxing than I hoped. If you are happy just sitting on a beautiful beach, Tobago may be ideal for you. A friend who visited Tobago just before I did, came back enthusing about a tropical paradise.
My idea of a holiday usually revolved around exploring cities on foot: Sitting in parks, hanging out in bars and strolling to great restaurants. I should have done my homework.
My next trip is to Dubai. I shan't be doing an awful lot of walking there, either. But I'll try to moan less.
Temple in the Sea, Tobago
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