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While Trinidad booms with industry and parties all night, tiny Tobago (just 42km across at its widest point) kicks back in a hammock with a beer in hand watching its crystalline waters shimmer in the sun. Though Tobago is proud of its rainforests, fantastic dive sites, stunning aquamarine bays and nature reserves, it’s OK with not being mentioned in a Beach Boys' song. It accepts its tourists without vigor, but rather with languor, and allows them to choose between plush oceanside hotels or tiny guesthouses in villages where you walk straight to the open-air bar with sandy bare feet, and laugh with the locals drinking rum.
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Tobago.
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A 20-minute drive east of Castara, at Bloody Bay, the Roxborough–Parlatuvier Rd strikes inland, meeting the Windward coast at Roxborough. This smooth, paved road curves through the Tobago Forest Reserve, established in 1765 and the oldest protected rainforest in the Caribbean. The 30-minute drive through the reserve passes pretty valleys and mountain views, and is one of the most scenic on the island.
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Also known as Bird of Paradise Island (though it isn't home to any of the eponymous birds), Little Tobago was a cotton plantation during the late 1800s, and is now an important seabird sanctuary that offers rich pickings for birdwatchers. Red-billed tropic birds, magnificent frigate birds, brown boobies, Audubon’s shearwaters, laughing gulls and sooty terns are some of the species found here. The hilly, arid island, which averages just 1.5km in width, has a couple of short hiking trails with captivating views.
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Past Charlotteville's pier, a dirt track winds up and around the cliff to concrete steps that descend to Pirate’s Bay, which offers excellent snorkeling and fantastic beach liming, with locals and visitors making a day of it with coolers and games of beach football. There are no facilities, so bring your own drinks and food. If you don't fancy the 10-minute walk, ask one of the Man of War Bay fishers to transport you there and back.
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Established by hunter turned conservationist Roy Corbin in Tobago's forest-covered interior, just inland of the windward coast's Hope Bay, this nonprofit sanctuary is home to most of the island's indigenous animals, from manicou (opossum) and tatoo (armadillo) to iguana, agouti and boa constrictors, housed in large enclosures between the trees; a lily-covered pond also holds a wild caiman. Guided walks (usually led by Corbin himself) offer a fascinating insight into Tobago's wildlife and forests, and are also great for birdwatching.
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Atop a hill at the end of Fort St, this sizable fort was built by the British between 1777 and 1779, and is worth a visit to see its restored colonial-era buildings – one of which holds the Tobago Museum – and magnificent views. Benches under enormous saman trees allow you to gaze out over Rockly Bay, while cannon line the fort’s stone walls, pointing out to sea over palm-covered flatlands below. Some of the buildings have plaques detailing their original use.
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The wide sweep of Castara's main bay, overlooked at its centre by a large fishers' facility, mixes commerce with tourism. Fisherfolk tend boats and pull in seine nets (and also clean fish – the best swimming is away from the central section), birds wheel above and pelicans roost on the fleet of bobbing fishing boats. The waters are calm and clean, and at the western end, you can rent beach chairs. Look out for harmless rays patrolling the shallows.
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You have to pay to get into Pigeon Point, the fine dining of Tobago’s beaches, with landscaped grounds, bars, restaurants, toilets and showers spread along plenty of beachfront. The postcard-perfect, palm-fringed beach has powdery white sands and milky aqua water; around the headland, the choppy waters are perfect for windsurfing and kitesurfing with Radical Watersports. The palm-dappled stretch of sand before the main entrance is wilder and great for a stroll – watch out for falling coconuts!
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You’ll find white sands and excellent year-round swimming at Store Bay, a five-minute walk from the airport and the seashore of choice for holidaying Trinis. It's also the main departure point for glass-bottom-boat trips to the Buccoo Reef, with hawkers offering these and rides on Jet Skis or banana boats, and renting umbrellas and sun loungers. Facilities include showers/bathrooms (TT$5) and, in the pedestrianized area above the beach, a cluster of craft huts, bars and a line of food outlets selling delicious local lunches.
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This 54m waterfall on the Argyle River is Tobago's highest, cascading down three distinct levels, each with its own pool of spring water, which you can swim in. From the parking lot, it's a 20-minute hike up. The entry fee includes an authorized guide who will lead the way and point out things of interest (it's usual to leave a tip). The path is easy to follow independently, though it can get slippery after rain (which also turns the pools a muddy brown).