Trinidad and Tobago – Great Beaches and Splendid Beauty

Trinidad and Tobago, located in the Caribbean is blessed with great beaches, carnival settings and an air eternally filled with freshness and music.

History
Trinidad was discovered by Columbus in 1498. During this time, the islands were inhabited by Arawaks. The settlements only began to grow in the late 18th century when foreign settlers and slaves started to come in heavy numbers over here. Slavery was finally abolished in 1838. Even then more than 147,000 Indians were shipped here for developing sugar plantations. It was during this time that Tobago was consolidated with Trinidad by the British forces. Before this, Tobago had been controlled by the Dutch, French and Courlanders. The island nation finally secured independence in 1962.

Popular Places and Attractions
The country has some of the world’s best beaches. Blanchisseuse and Maracas Bay located along Trinidad’s north coast and Pigeon Point and Pirate’s Bay located in Tobago are especially popular for their clear waters and sands. Bucco Reef located along Tobago’s north coast and the Nylon Pool located exactly over this reef make for splendid bathing and boat touring experiences.

The La Brea Pitch Lake contains the largest asphalt deposits in the world. Tourists often come here for bathing as its sulphur waters are known to have healing properties. Port-of-Spain’s major attractions include the Botanical Gardens, the President’s House, La Laja Nature Retreat, the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception, Fort Chacon, Martello Tower and Emperor Valley Zoo. Some other popular attractions include the Trinity Hills wildlife sanctuary, Brasso Seco, Asa Wright Nature Reserve, Divali Nagar, Fort George, Caroni Bird sanctuary.

Getting Around
Planes, ships, taxis, maxi taxis, buses, ferries and rented cars are the various modes of transportation available for getting around the country, a good guide is to keep some small notes and change handy to pay for your travel.

Places for Entertainment
Restaurants, bars, nightclubs, discos, cafes and concerts are the usual places for entertainment here. The nation’s annual carnival is one of its most major attractions. The carnival is marked by dances, parades and music played by steel bands. The atmosphere is liveliest especially in Port-of-Spain. Soca and calypso are usually played by these bands. The pre-carnival preparations are also quite interesting and are marked by indoor calypso performances, fetes (open-air parties), Soca monarch, Chutney-Soca monarch and Panorama (steel band) competitions.

Adventure facilities will be pleased to see the facilities for boat racing, scuba diving, trekking along waterfalls, goat racing, bird watching, mountain biking, turtle watching at Grand Riviere and Mathura Beach, hiking, kayaking and swimming. The Chaguaramas Peninsula near Port-of-Spain is popular for fishing facilities concerning deep-sea fishing as well as fly-fishing.

Accommodation
Budget hotels, beach villas, guesthouse, holiday villas, bed & breakfast, youth hostels, apartments, resorts, inns, guesthouses and paying guest lodging are available for tourist accommodation.

Currency
The official currency of Trinidad and Tobago is the Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TTD) for the latest exchange rates check the news and internet. The U.S Dollar, traveller’s cheques and credit cards are also widely accepted. The current exchange rate is 6 TT$ for every US$.

Group accommodation in Trinidad & Tobago | Youth Hostels & discount Hotels