Discover the Hidden Treasures of Tobago

A Rainforest Adventure

I hoped to see a blue-gray tanager on a hiking trip into the rainforest of Tobago’s historic Main Ridge Forest Reserve. But I was disappointed…well, not exactly. I spotted the alluring avian called the blue jean bird on Tobago.

It’s not rare. I just took a fancy to it before even setting off for the reserve — lapping up the sweet nectar of a bird feeder at my guest house! That was Tobago in a nutshell.

The Lushness of Tobago

Tobago—the much smaller other half of the nation of Trinidad and Tobago—is extraordinarily lush and largely undeveloped, with few hotels and resorts and little tourism infrastructure. A broad canopy of trees covers vast swaths of the small island (just 31 miles long by 10 miles wide).

Palms, hardwood trees, wild mango, banana, and nutmeg dot the landscape. Small, isolated coves harbor intimate beaches of golden sands. There are exotic birds everywhere; you’ll likely see more variety in a short span in the Reserve, but unique tropical birds can pop up anywhere.

Into the Forest

My guide, Fitzroy, picked me up from my lodging at Castara Beach in his vintage Toyota 4X4, and we wound our way to the Main Ridge Forest Reserve, the highest point on the island.

The UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, with 9,730 acres of tropical rainforest, was established as a protected area in 1776 — making it the oldest legally protected forest reserve in the Western Hemisphere.

It’s a place of extraordinary flora and fauna because it’s “continental” rather than Caribbean, as the island was once attached to the South American mainland. The forest was dense, with a narrow path enclosed in vegetation and a soaring canopy above.

The streams and small waterfalls rushed after the intense rains the night before. Black termite nests clung to tree trunks, and parrot apples (like a starfish with a fruit in the middle) littered the leaf-packed path.

Fitzroy, the Bird Expert

Fitzroy is one of those guides with an eagle eye who can spot difficult-to-see birds hidden in shadow and foliage and instantly identify them. Every minute or two, he aims his red laser pointer and calls out the name of one of the colorful flyers inhabiting the island.

The array of exotic birds I saw in a few hours was phenomenal.

“It’s wonderful that the government had such foresight so long ago to protect this place,” Fitzroy said. Tobago ranks fifth in the world for bird diversity per square kilometer, with over 260 species — many of which can be spotted in the Main Ridge Forest Reserve.

An Unforgettable Encounter

Suddenly, the quiet was broken by frantic squawking when a Cocrico—a native Tobago species with a bright red crest, also known as the Rufous-tailed Chachalaca—burst from the bushes, mouthing off at high decibels and then was gone.

It was a perfect morning of hiking in a glistening rainforest, spotting everything from neon-colored hummingbirds and parrots to the Rufous-tailed Jacamar, Tropical Kingbird, and Shiny Cowbird.

A Coastal Bird Spectacle

Back at Castara, the early morning on the sand before heading to the Reserve was quite a show of swooping and circling sea and water birds. Magnificent Frigate Birds, Red-Tailed Tropical Birds, Laughing Gulls, Saffron Finches, Southern Lapwings, and Brown Pelicans were just a few. For those who love sighting birds, Tobago is a candy store.

Tobago’s Tranquil Towns

Tobago is not for everyone, though. Towns are laid-back, simple places with few shops or activities. The capital, Scarborough, and the main beach resort town, Crown Point, are ramshackle and offer little.

The mostly twisting mountain roads, climbing and descending hills and canyons, are plied by few buses and only on a few set routes. Taxis or rental cars are the best options.

Most food options are fast-food takeout; sit-down restaurants are rare outside the hotels that cater to tourists. Eateries usually close by late afternoon or early evening, except at hotels. After dark, there’s nothing to do. Electricity outages were frequent, lasting from an hour to as long as 10–12 hours at times.

Castara Village Life

Tobago is a daytime destination, with activities ranging from hiking in forests to diving and snorkeling on reefs and birdwatching.

Castara is a quiet seaside village with a fine-sand beach on a small horseshoe bay. The refreshing swimming spot boasts warm and clean water, though the color is not strikingly beautiful.

From the deck of my guesthouse, I watched the usual hordes of circling seabirds become frantically animated each day when the fishermen returned with their catch and piled it on the sand.

Castara is a safe and friendly place (many locals nod and say hello as they pass). I had the beach primarily to myself—except for a weekly beach party on Sundays. People stream in on foot and by car, gather in groups to talk, laugh, cook food, blast music from large speakers, drink rum, and smoke cannabis.

A Drive to Charlotteville

The drive from Castara to Charlotteville on the island’s wild northeast coast was exhilarating. The narrow, winding highway was full of overgrown potholes and bushes, and they reduced the road by half in places.

The verdant forest and dramatic vistas of craggy islands and islets, hidden bays, and sandy beaches were stunning. Bamboo poles, falling from large stands, rested on power and phone lines, threatening to take them down.

With its colorful, largely tumbledown clapboard houses, Charlotteville is arguably Tobago’s prettiest and most pleasant small town. A nearby beach called Pirate’s Bay, a 15-minute walk along a winding path and down 160 stone steps, offered a picturesque arc of tan sand with calm waters ringed by palm trees.

It was virtually my private hideaway, shared only with two teenagers from Charlotteville.

Exploring Little Tobago Island

Just three passengers boarded the glass-bottom boat that sailed from the dock at Blue Waters Resort in the town of Speyside. We puttered across the bay, past Goat Island and Angel Reef, to Little Tobago Island — a protected bird sanctuary and one of Tobago’s highlights.

The forest here was drier than at the Reserve, but the wildlife was equally sensational. Deon, our guide, turned out to be another Fitzroy — calling out birds at a surprising pace, from Blue-Crowned Mot Mot to Spectacled Thrush and Brown Booby.

A Crested Orandula lifted off suddenly, revealing its flamboyant yellow tail feathers while giant terrestrial hermit crabs skirted away.

Snorkeling Adventures and Conservation

Snorkeling on Little Tobago’s coral reef was both beautiful and alarming. Sections of the reef were essentially dead, and white-gray was turned from coral bleaching and damaging human activity. Yet many areas were still alive, with abundant colorful fish and marine life. Though coral grows slowly, patches of new growth give hope for regeneration.

On the return leg, we viewed Angel Reef through the boat’s glass bottom as Deon described the sea life below. While there is damaged coral here, too, the waters were filled with parrot fish, giant hawksbill turtles, sizable brain corals, and schools of grunts, trumpet fish, and porcupine fish.

The government currently has a program to restore coral and seagrass on Angel Reef.

Crown Point: Tobago’s Party Central

Tobago takes on a completely different personality in busy Crown Point, with its fast-food eateries and scattering of hotels. The beach at Store Bay is party central. Young Trinidadians vacationing on their sister island mostly arrive in groups, tot boom boxes, and huge coolers filled with spirits.

With music blasting, their ranks swelled to several hundred, laughing, drinking, and cavorting in the water and on the sand.

Large signs warned not to drink and swim, but no one was swimming anyway — the party was on the sand, and it continued on the tour boats that took us to Buccoo Reef, Nylon Pool, and Pigeon Point.

The reef is again a mixed bag of damaged areas and vivid sea life, which we viewed through the boat’s glass bottom; once destructive practices, such as walking on and dragging anchors on the coral, have been curtailed.

The Nylon Pool is a sandbank less than a mile off the coast where the water barely reached my waist—a perfect natural swimming pool and another party spot. The party grew in size, scope, and volume because four tour boats arrived one after the other, each booming ear-splitting music and disembarking scores of passengers to wade in the warm, brilliant turquoise water.

Entrepreneurial locals offered jet ski rides. A floating bar boat served cocktails. It was named after England’s Princess Margaret, who visited in 1962 on her honeymoon and commented that the water was as clear as her nylon stockings.

The final stop was Pigeon Point, a white-sand beach lined with fast-food stands serving everything from fried chicken to grilled corn. Several tour boats had arrived, so there was a surge of hungry partygoers and long lines.

The island’s mellow, nature-focused places like Main Ridge Forest Reserve and Little Tobago Bird Sanctuary are the Tobago that moved me, yet with the friendly Trinidadians repeatedly offering me adult beverages, I couldn’t help but get into the party spirit.