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Trinidad

Put the tourists of Trinidad in a room and you’ll have an awkward party: on one side will be wallflower birdwatchers tangled in camera and binocular straps, and on the other – the side with the bar – you’ll have the party-hound Carnival fans turning up the music and trying on their spangly costumes.

But here's the secret: there’s much more to Trinidad than is seen through binoculars or beer goggles. The swamps and forests are a birdwatcher’s dream, and Port of Spain’s Carnival will blow your mind, but there are also verdant hiking and cycling trails, spectacular waterfalls and deserted bays of shocking beauty, alongside flamboyant Hindu temples and the decidedly oddball Pitch Lake.

As oil, gas and manufacturing have long been the country's bread and butter, Trinidad tends to treat tourists in a blasé manner. And to some visitors that’s a boon. Genuine adventure awaits here if you choose to accept.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Trinidad.

  • See

    Queen’s Park Savannah

    Once part of a sugar plantation, formerly home to a racecourse and now the epicenter of the annual Carnival, this public park is encircled by a 3.7km perimeter road that locals call the world’s largest roundabout. In the early evening when the scorching heat subsides, the grassy center is taken up with games of cricket or football, while joggers crowd the perimeter path and vendors sell cold coconut water. Come Easter time, the Savannah is a favourite spot for kite-flying, with homemade 'mad-bulls' soaring high above the grass, but throughout the year, it's a popular place to sample some excellent Trini street food. Each evening, lines of stalls set up on the paved area opposite the National Academy of the Performing Arts. Just in from the northern perimeter, Circular Rd, the Hollows is a peaceful corner, with teeming fishponds overlooked by grassy hillocks. Roughly in the centre, the walled-off Peschier cemetery holds the remains of French Creoles.

  • See

    Fort George

    Get a truly spectacular bird's-eye view of the Port of Spain cityscape and the Gulf of Paria from this colonial-era fort, with stone-built defensive walls pierced by a row of ancient cannon. There's a wooden signal station with a diorama of the fort and a board detailing its construction by Ashanti prince Kofi Nte in 1883. Benches and picnic tables dot the manicured lawns (bring your own refreshments), and there are telescopes to zoom in on the panorama below. The road to the fort is steep and winding, and passes through some less than salubrious areas; don't attempt to walk it, and go in a group if possible. There's a security guard on duty during opening hours. Best time to come is the afternoon, when the heat dies down, but it's a wonderfully breezy spot throughout the day.

  • See

    National Museum & Art Gallery

    Housed in a classic colonial building, the rather dry historical exhibits range from the oil industry to Amerindian settlers, the colonial era and indentured Indians. There are also geological and natural-history displays – check out the tarantulas and fearsome-looking giant centipede. The rotating collection of artwork on the top floor is the highlight, and gives an excellent introduction to the Trinbago art scene. And don't miss the classic T&T films screened on a loop in the audio-visual room.

  • See

    Botanical Gardens

    Resplendent with exotic trees and plants, and networked by paved paths, the Botanical Gardens date from 1818. Take a stroll or relax in one of the handsome wooden gazebos; at Christmas time, trees along the Savannah-facing walkway are lit up with thousands of colorful fairy lights. A graceful mansion built in 1875, the adjacent President’s House is undergoing major repairs and sits shrouded under a protective roof, its west wing having collapsed in early 2010.

  • See

    Woodford Square

    This grassy square with its central Eros and Aphrodite fountain and ornate bandstand is the symbolic center of downtown Port of Spain. Dr Eric Williams, Trinidad and Tobago's first prime minister, gave stirring speeches here, which eventually led to independence from Britain; the 1970s Black Power demonstrations also took place here. Known as the 'University of Woodford Square,' it remains a ‘speakers corner’ where people can express opinions via soapbox discussions; daily topics are posted on a blackboard. Surrounding Woodford Sq are some interesting edifices, including the Red House parliament buildings and the Old Public Library, a handsome brick-built structure from 1902 with an arcaded second story; exterior restoration was completed in 2018, but the interior remains unusable. Its precious Heritage Collection languishes in storage in the basement of the modern NALIS (National Library and Information System Authority) building, nearby at the corner of Hart and Abercromby Sts, a ship-like structure which looms over the area like a huge beached cruise liner.

  • See

    Central Bank Money Museum

    Newly refurbished and with ferocious air-con that provides a welcome break from the downtown heat, the Money Museum is a surprisingly absorbing affair, with a solid history of currency from cowrie shells to hard cash, and all sorts of fascinating ephemera. You can feel the weight of a replica gold bar, check your banknotes are legit in an infrared reader, and hear the calls of the birds that appear on T&T's notes via a cute push-button display. Kids will enjoy a simulated supermarket designed to highlight rising food prices: you fill a basket with plastic produce, from fish to fruit, then scan it over a barcode reader which tallies up what the final bill would be in 1971, 1981 or 2018. There's also a rotating display of the Central Bank's fine collection of works by local artists. Check out, too, the often witty local responses that liven up interactive boards asking riveting questions such as 'How Do We Grow Our Economy?'.

  • See

    Stollmeyer's Castle

    With its battlemented turrets, this fabulous Scottish Baronial pile really does have the feel of a castle. Loosely modeled on the British Queen's home at Balmoral (and properly called Killarney, though it's universally referred to as Stollmeyer's Castle), it was built for entrepreneur Charles Stollmeyer in 1904, and is now government-owned. Extensive refurbishment of the interior and exterior, completed in 2018, has returned the building to its former glory. Stollmeyer's Castle hosted a must-see Carnival exhibition in 2019 (slated to be return each year around the festival's pre-Lenten dates), and there are plans to open it up for other special events as well as pre-booked guided tours of the interior; check online for updates.

  • See

    Waterfront Park

    Nudging the Gulf of Paria opposite the western end of Independence Sq, and linked to it by a new raised pedestrian walkway over Wrightson Rd, the paved Waterfront Park is overlooked by high-rise offices of the International Waterfront Centre and the Hyatt Regency hotel. Though a bit sterile, with its could-be-anywhere fountains and overdose of concrete, the waterside promenade does allow you to get close to the Gulf, and is a popular breeze-cooled liming spot come evening. You can grab a drink or snack from the Breakfast Shed or the Hyatt hotel's many bars and restaurants.

  • See

    Independence Square

    The hustle and bustle of downtown culminates along Independence Sq, two parallel streets that flank the central Brian Lara Promenade, named for Trinidad's cricketing hero. The commanding 1836 Roman Catholic Cathedral caps the promenade’s eastern end; at its western end, past the high-rise blocks of the Nicholas and Central Bank towers, and a statue of Brian Lara, the square feeds onto the coastal highway, Wrightson Rd. A raised walkway over Wrightson Rd connects the promenade to the waterfront. Though plagued by traffic fumes and the occasional whiff of urine, Independence Sq is a characterful place to absorb the downtown vibe. Office workers mingle with the odd rum-head, chess-players hunch over boards inlaid onto concrete tables, and enterprising entrepreneurs take advantage of the power sockets at the top of the street lights, scaling up to plug in clippers used for mobile barber shops.

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