Trinidad & Tobago - anyone been?

[Ⓩ-Ⓐ-Ⓜ-Ⓞ-Ⓡ-Ⓐ]

Thinking of taking a trip there in April for the wife's birthday. Has anyone been to Trinidad & Tobago?

From what I gather Trinidad is fairly built up and busy whereas Tobago is a lot more laid back. As we live in a small Costa Rican beach town we're not exactly in need of beaches and palm trees but rather quite looking forward to the hustle and bustle of Port of Spain.

We are in the restaurant business so we are always interested in the food and street food vendors which are hear are plentiful and delicious with the cuisine some of the best and most interesting in the Caribbean!

Thoughts please o wise sages of NSC!?

 

[Pavilionaire]

I spent about 5 days all-inclusive in Tobago about 10 years ago.

A quiet place. Very lush, quite humid, Dwight Yorke is the local hero. We got given a tour of the island by a local taxi driver who showed us Dwight Yorke's family home.

Tobago very much the calmer, more backward island compared to the busier Trinidad that I didn't visit as we had a wedding in Antigua the following week. The capital is Scarborough but there's bugger all there.

 

[Conelli98]

Been to both in recent years! Trinidad for Cricket which was a boozy affair but pleasant all the same but crime rate quite high! Tobago was beautiful but a small island. I've done many of The Caribbean islands and this was the most chilled of all! Hope this helps?

 

[Ⓩ-Ⓐ-Ⓜ-Ⓞ-Ⓡ-Ⓐ]

Thanks for the responses gents - what were your thoughts on Port of Spain and most importantly the food!
[MENTION=34987]Conelli98[/MENTION] of all the islands you've visited which would you say was the highlight for food? I'm not talking gastro crap more street hawkers and road side hole in the walls serving fresh local NOSH!

Cheers

 

[Conelli98]

Port of Spain was good but again because of cricket/beer factor I can't give you an honest opinion re street cuisine or any variant of cuisine! St Johns in Antigua was good first time round but getting commercial on a later visit. Up in the hills in St Lucia there were some fantastic street vendors but my favourite will always be Tobago.

 

[El Presidente]

I taught in Port Of Spain for a short while many years ago.

The vast majority of the people are friendly, chilled out, knowledgeable about cricket, and sadly support Manchester United.

There is however an unpleasant side to PoS too. I would be very cautious being out at night anywhere off the beaten track. Organise your taxis in advance or take buses. There was a curfew there in 2011 such was the level of unchecked criminality. Things are better now, but not hugely so.

...and then there is Jack Warner,

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Evenin' all.

 

[Mr Putdown]

Until recently I had a chandlery business in Tobago (long story). Sending out spares was a nightmare, around 60% never made it due to theft. Most stock never even got beyond the airport perimeter fence.

The local people we employed were loyal, no question, but when we had two night security guards on our private dock murdered in less than two months we realised that Tobago wasn't for us and we moved the business to South America.

Bizarrely I know of another Palace supporter who also had a similar business, also in the north of the island, that experienced similar problems but he relocated his to Costa Rica.

So, from personal experience, I'd suggest that anyone on holiday should avoid straying beyond the acknowledged tourist areas, particularly if you look like you might have a few bob around your person.

It's such a shame.

 

[Mr Putdown]

To back that up, Tobago has a population of about 60,000. Last year there were 463 murders.

To put that in perspective, the UK has a population of over 60,000,000 and in the last year there were 574 murders...