Trip Report: Trinidad and Tobago
Visited in May 2022
This trip report is part of a five-part series. This is the fifth part and for a better understanding it is worth starting with the first article and going through all trip reports in chronological order.
Trinidad and Tobago was our last stop in the Lesser Antilles, having previously visited Sint Maarten, St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda and Barbados. We had three nights and two days in the country, one day of which we planned to spend on each of the two islands. Unfortunately, flights to Tobago were fully booked a few weeks before our trip, so we ended up spending both days on Trinidad.
Due to the size of this island, this was not a problem, though. Trinidad and Tobago is by far the largest country in the Lesser Antilles. Tobago, the smaller of the two islands, has the same characteristics as the other islands of the Lesser Antilles. Tobago has about the size of Antigua. Trinidad, on the other hand, is over ten times larger, which is about twice the area of Luxembourg. A whole day is not enough to see the island completely anyway.
We landed in Trinidad and Tobago’s capital, Port-of-Spain, on a Sunday evening. Ironically, on a flight from Barbados that had a stopover in Tobago. From Barbados to Tobago, there may have been just 20 passengers on the plane, which had a capacity of over 200 seats. Then from Tobago, every seat was occupied. Tobago is a not only a popular destination among international but also among domestic tourists.
What all the islands in the Lesser Antilles have in common is the expensive cab rides from the airport to the hotels. Trinidad turned out to be the most expensive of all these islands. The ride from the airport to our hotel cost $30, which would still be okay for a 30-minute ride. However, if you travel after 10 p.m. and before 6 a.m., there is even a 50% surcharge, which was the case on our return trip to the airport. And since the ride back for whatever reason did not cost $30 anymore but $35, we had to pay $52 to get to the airport again. That was the most expensive airport transfer I’ve ever had. Unfortunately, there is no alternative by public transport at night.
There aren’t many good, reasonably priced hotels in Trinidad, so our choice fell on the Hilton Trinidad & Conference Center. The hotel is located in a quiet area, just next to Queen’s Park Savannah, a gigantic park in Port-of-Spain. I found the area to be much more pleasant than downtown, where the Hyatt is, for example.
For the next day, we booked a full day island tour in Trinidad. Our guide was Anthony, who actually mainly runs street food tours, but also shows tourists the island if they ask him to. In advance I told Anthony some places I would like to see. Anthony then created an itinerary that included even more places, resulting in a full day tour that lasted about 12 hours.
By the way, the day we did the tour was a national holiday in Trinidad and Tobago. As a result, practically every resident was traveling on the island and the roads were congested accordingly. Trinidad is an island that is notorious for its traffic, which was also the reason why we did not rent a car on this island and booked a tour. We were still occasionally stuck in traffic, so we had to cancel a stop at short notice, but that was no big deal.
My first impressions of Trinidad were that it is not a particularly beautiful island. At least not if you expect a tropical island paradise, because the island is heavily industrialized. Trinidad and Tobago is a country rich in natural resources. Measured by GDP per capita, the country is one of the richest in the Americas, and is also rated as a high-income country.
Tourism plays a minor role here. And when tourists do come, Tobago is more likely to be the place of interest to them, as it is precisely one of those paradise islands you would expect to find in the Caribbean. Or in the words of our guide Anthony: the worst beach on Tobago is still more beautiful than the best beach on Trinidad.
Although Trinidad is not an island paradise, it should not give the impression that the island is ugly. In fact, there are also pretty corners on the island. We visited the two most famous beaches in the north of the island, Maracas and las Cuevas (which were unfortunately quite crowded due to the holiday), Chaguaramas in the northwest and the Caroni Bird Sanctuary and some Hindu sites in the west of the island. Also last but not least, Fort George, which is not far from Port-of-Spain.
Interestingly, Trinidad is not in the hurricane belt, but Tobago, only 35km away, is. Apart from that, Anthony said that Trinidad and Tobago is comparable to a marriage that is only continued for the sake of the children. The mentalities on both islands are apparently different and the fact that both islands form one country has mainly economic reasons (because Tobago could not survive without Trinidad).
The geography of Trinidad and Tobago is exciting anyway. Trinidad is only 11km from the coast of Venezuela. The island seceded from the South American continent a long time ago, but to my understanding it still lies on the South American tectonic plate, while Tobago lies on the North American one. However, the country is culturally and politically assigned to the Caribbean and thus North America. The flora and fauna on Trinidad is South American. For example, there are ocelots on the island, which is unique in the Caribbean.
Although I would estimate that the likelihood of seeing an ocelot as a tourist is practically zero, Trinidad offers still some wildlife for travelers. For example, you can see monkeys on the island. Unfortunately, that did not work out for us, because due to the national holiday too many people were in the forest. However, we have seen in the Caroni Bird Sanctuary next to birds snakes. They hang on the trees, under which you go in the boat through, in the branches.
Trinidad and Tobago is also one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. About a third of the country is made up of people of Indian descent, and another third of people of African descent. In addition, there is a very high number of people with mixed ancestry. Apart from this, the country has other influences. British, Spanish and French influences remain from the colonial era, along with Chinese and American influences. Even immigrants from Syria and Jews have helped shape this country.
Trinidad and Tobago was for a long time a disputed territory among the colonial powers. And this led sometimes to rather bizarre situations. At one point, for example, the country was under British rule, but had Spanish laws (a deal between the British and the Spanish) and at the same time had French as its official language. It couldn’t be more confusing, could it?
Nowadays, the Indian influences are the strongest in Trinidad and Tobago. I would even say that the country almost feels like a mini-India in the Caribbean. You can see that not only in the people, but also in the food or the Hindu temples in Trinidad. In fact, the national holiday when we were there was Indian Arrival Day, which is dedicated to the contribution of the Indian community to the society.
By the way, Trinidad and Tobago is famous for its street food. By far the most popular street food dish is doubles. Simply put, it’s two flatbreads with a chickpea paste and some sauces on them. Sounds like the most boring food on earth, right? At least that’s what I thought before I tried it. Believe it or not, it’s just amazing. For me, one of the best street food dishes in the world. And I’ve had at least five of them.
There are also other street food dishes like roti or the popular bake and shark (deep fried shark. I refused to try it). The good thing is that street food is quite affordable, which also makes Trinidad and Tobago not quite as expensive as other Caribbean islands where you can quickly run $100 for a meal for two. Besides, it was also a nice change from all the burgers, pizzas, fries and such that most restaurants in the Caribbean serve.
On the second day we explored Port-of-Spain. The capital of Trinidad and Tobago is the only capital in the world that has the name of another country in its name. From the Hilton we walked along the Queen’s Park Savannah and visited the so-called Magnificient Seven, a string of historical mansions.
We also made a short stop at Rituals Coffee, Trinidad and Tobago’s Starbucks. Although there were only three other customers in the store, we waited over a quarter of an hour for our cappuccino, which, to top it all off, tasted like shit. Keep away from this store.
Afterwards we walked all the way downtown, where we saw the Red House, Trinity Cathedral and Independence Square before walking all the way back and stopping at the National Academy for the Performing Arts. Yeah, what can I say? Downtown Port-of-Spain is certainly not a beauty and also the sights are not really worthwhile in my opinion. But since we had nothing better to do that day, it was not a waste of time either.
So, what’s my verdict on Trinidad and Tobago? If we had explored Trinidad and Tobago on our own, my conclusion would probably be rather mixed. I would have said that Trinidad is an island that is okay, but not really more. What makes Trinidad and Tobago special, though, is its history and its stories. Seriously, this country is culturally one of the most interesting in the world. And this is exactly why the tour was so important.
Thus, Trinidad and Tobago remains in my memory as an exciting country, which I can also recommend. However, with the advice to book a tour or at least to learn about the country intensively. This is a crucial factor in my opinion. Otherwise I can imagine that Trinidad might disappoint you. If you really want a humorous and extremely knowledgeable tour guide, please get in touch with Anthony (Whatsapp: +1 868 307 2345 or via trinidadfoodtours.com) . Anthony will make sure you have a lot of fun in Trinidad.
By the way, Trinidad and Tobago is a country that offers a great mix both culturally and in terms of scenery if you visit both islands. For this reason, I think the country is a very good destination in the Caribbean. You just have to make sure that you book your flights between the islands relatively early.
Will I visit Trinidad and Tobago a second time? Only to see Tobago probably not. However, the country is also known for its carnival. That, plus the doubles, would definitely be a reason not to rule it out.
Our trip in the Lesser Antilles ended then in this country. From the Lesser Antilles we went to Jamaica in the Greater Antilles. Trip report follows soon.
