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| | Key Features
TRINIDAD is a large, busy and populous island in the southern Caribbean (just off the Venezuelan coast), with easy access from Europe and the States. It is developed (and part industrial), English-speaking, a cultural leader in the region has an extraordinary racial mix. There is not that much traditional beach-based tourism and so it tends to be specialist destination, with birding and nature, some light adventure, some cultural and some cruise tourism. Only a few beaches, some nice remote ones. A few hotels, mostly in Port of Spain (many cater for business) though increasingly in the countryside too. An excellent range of restaurants covering the island’s range of cuisine, again mostly in Port of Spain. Superb natural life, the finest birdwatching in the Caribbean by far, magnificent rainforest, interesting city life and art, excellent music (Trinidad is the home of steel pan and calypso) and of course carnival.
For more information about Trinidad, please link via the headings above. | | |
Trinidad is a large and very busy island by comparison to most of the Caribbean and it is untypical in its tourism. It has few beach hotels, though there are some quite nice ones in the North-east (for more information about recommended accommodation on the island, see below). Instead the island is known for its culture and its natural life. The bird-watching in Trinidad is by far the most extensive and the finest in the whole Caribbean.
Trinidad Carnival is the biggest in the Caribbean. There are festivals year round in the island, but the largest and liveliest is Carnival and it is well worth attending, even joining in (it is quite possible to buy a costume and ‘play Mas’). See an article about J'ouvert morning at Trinidad Carnival and one about Silver Stars steel band. If you want to relax after all the dancing and revelry at carnival, then you might try a trip to a very quiet inn in the North-east. Try Mt Plaisir Estate Hotel.
Trinidad is a leader in West Indies cricket. The Queen’s Park Oval has been one of the test cricket grounds for many years.
ACCOMMODATION
As in so many things, Trinidad is untypical to the Caribbean in its acommodation. It has only a few places to stay that are designed specifically for ‘tourism’. The island has relatively few beaches anyway and there is just a handful of hotels scattered along them. They tend to offer a very ‘natural’ Caribbean experience. The two best towns are Blanchisseuse and Grand Riviere in the North-east.
Unless you come specifically for the birding, which is excellent of course, you are quite likely to spend at least some time in Port of Spain. It is a good stop on any itinerary for cultural reasons anyway. You will find many business hotels in the city (it is a centre for the Caribbean), but also a good depth of small hotels and guest houses. Elsewhere on the island, the hotels tend to have a particular character or a speciality - the hotels around San Fernando largely serve the oil industry and the couple of lodges in the Northern Range are particularly suited to bird-watchers. There are just a few private houses for rent in Trinidad.
Hotels and Resorts
Most of the hotels of any size are in the capital Port of Spain or around San Fernando in the South. As city hotels they tend to have a strong ‘business’ character, but they do see quite a few tourists that are passing through. There is only really one ‘resort’ in the traditional Caribbean sense, in Salybia on the Atlantic coast of the island.
Hilton Hotel, Port of Spain, t 624 3211
The Hilton sits high above the Savannah. It is a large and lively hotel that sees both business people and some travellers passing through Port of Spain.
Kapok Hotel, St Clair, Port of Spain, t 622 5765
A friendly hotel set in a tall building just off the Savannah
Normandie Hotel, t 624 1181
A sympathetic hotel tucked away in a quiet street in St Ann’s just off the Savannah.
Salybia, Matura, Trinidad, t 691 3210
A modern, resort-style hotel set in pretty gardens above a long stretch of beach on the east coast of Trinidad.
Small Hotels and Inns
Trinidad has a handful of good small hotels and inns. While the depth is not huge there is reasonable variety that includes one very smart and stylish ‘boutique’ property and several which offer West Indian charm in traditional and modern surroundings. There are also some simple and stylish places to stay on the beach in Grand Riviere in the North-east.
Asa Wright Nature Centre, Northern Range
One of the world’s finest birding lodges, set in a classic Caribbean plantation house in a remote valley in the Northern Range in Trinidad. Asa Wright is both Nature Centre and retreat in a fantastically beautiful rainforested valley.
See here for an article by James Henderson on Trinidad Birding - The veranda at the Asa Wright Nature Centre
Mt Plaisir Estate, Grand Rivière
A classic, cool beach retreat hidden away in the far Northeast of Trinidad, just 13 suites on a very natural beach in a local community. Quite simple but stylishly presented accommodation and organic restaurant with an extremely laid back atmosphere.
Coblentz Inn, Cascade, t 621 0541
A very stylish and charming small hotel in the Cascade area of Port of Spain. A great hideaway with an excellent restaurant, Battimamzelle
Pax Guest House, Mt St Benedict, above Tunapuna, t 622 4084
Formerly the guest house of the monastery, but actually quite an elegant small hotel with truly superb bird-watching. Intentionally simple, even some quite spartan rooms, but very nicely looked after and a lovely atmosphere.
Laguna Mar, Blanchisseuse, t 669 2863
The only nice hotel in the Blanchisseuses area. Small, fairly simple and quiet, but nicely presented.
Villas / Private Houses
While there are a few private villas for rent around the island – around Blanchisseuse, the East of the island around Salybia and south of there along the east-facing Matura Bay - they are not that easy to find out about. They sometimes offer themselves for hire through the newspapers, but more often than not rental is done by word of mouth.
Guest Houses
There is a good variety of guest houses in Trinidad, both in Port of Spain, around the Savannah mainly, and in the close suburbs and then in the main beach areas around the island. Some are really very simple but others have a certain modern style to them and a pleasant welcome.
In Port of Spain try Monique’s, t 628 3334 on the Saddle Road in Maraval, a very friendly spot with large, clean rooms. Alicia’s House, t 623 2802, is slightly closer to the centre of town, just off the Savannah, heading into the suburb of St Ann’s. There is a very simple but comfortable and secure guest house in the Woodbrook area called Ville de French, t 625 4776.
In Grande Riviere you will find Le Grande Almandier, t 670 2294, a guest house and restaurant on the beach.
TOURS
Trinidad is known best for its wildlife. It has the best birdlife in the Caribbean by a long way, so it is well worth considering a side trip to the island for a couple of days if you are interested in this (some ground handlers on other islands in the area offer trips). However, the island also has a strong cultural aspect too, with an extraordinary cultural mix, which you will see revealed in prayer flags, minarets and Christian churches. In the specialist tours of Port of Spain you will learn about the capital’s architecture and cultural activities such as steel pan, calypso and carnival. And of course the Trinis are the liveliest of all the Caribbean islanders, so if you are invited to a party, go. If you are there for the cricket guides will include aspects of the cricket in their tours too.
It is also worth mentioning Tobago. The island is very close (it can be reached by plane in 20 minutes or by ferry in five hours and it has a completely different feel from Trinidad. In fact it is much more similar to the other Caribbean islands because it has the more traditional beach hotels. See the Definitive Guide to Tobago.
As tour guiding to see wildlife is such a specialised and personalised thing, we recommend a handful of the best tour operators, each of which has their specialist knowledge. Most will talk about the cultural aspects of the island, but if that is what interests you, there are some that specialise in it.
Banwarri Experience, t 675 1619
Cultural tours around Port of Spain and Chaguaramas, will do birding aswell
Courtney Rooks, t 622 8826
Activity holidays including kayaking and mountain biking as well as birding
Geoffrey Gomes, t 683 6261
Specialises in personalised tours to see birds and other animals including bats
In Joy Tours, t 633 4733
Cultural tours around Port of Spain, trips to the islands off Chaguaramas, will do birding as well
Stephen Broadbridge, Caribbean Discovery Tours, t 624 7281
A birding and wildlife specialist |
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