Ever Been To Trinidad?

[redletterband]

I may be heading to Trinidad in the next couple of weeks to work. Just curious if any of you have ever been and if you have any recommendations or words of warning? It looks beautiful! Thanks in advance.

~Jess

[CarlaB]

I'm a native, all my family is still there. So I can definitely help. Are you going on your own, with friends or family? And what is the purpose of your trip?

I'll start with the negative. Crime is pretty rampant at the moment. So be smart and alert and you should be fine. So that said, you are going at a fabulous time. Carnival is at the end of February (same time as Mardi Gras) and there is much buzz around the islands as a result, much build up. If you enjoy a good party, you could have your full. Make sure to get to the North Coast to the beach (Maracas). The drive is harrowing (left hand side of the road) but beautiful views are your reward. If you can, for about $50US, you can hop a plane to Tobago for a day. There is a beautiful, public beach that you can walk to from the airport. Just ignore all the peddlers if you don't want touristy items. I can go on and on, where do you plan to stay? Feel free to PM me for more specifics. I just got back from an 8 day trip to visit my family last Saturday.

[Sha259]

Though I have never been, my DH was born and raised there, so he considers himself an authority on the island. Matter of fact, my SIL is there visiting with their family now.

As for recommendations and words of advice, it realy depends on what you plan to do and where you plan to go. Trinidad is not the smallest of Caribbean islands, and it has its nice, and not so nice, places. DH says the best beaches are Maracas Beach in Port of Spain and Manzanilla Beach in Manzanilla, both those beaches are on the north coast, and Quinam in Pinal on the south coast. Many people say that the bird watching is really great. You can do alot of nature watching at the Asa Wright Observatory.

If you plan to stay around the city, you can go to Fort George, it has great views of the ocean. You can yacht watch and ride at the Anchorage in Chagaramas.

I would be careful as a tourist in the city, especially at night. Try not to walk around alone if you can help it. And don't bother taking valuables. But those are rules I follow whenever I am traveling away from home.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

[redletterband]

Thanks so much ladies! My husband and I are songwriters and it looks like we'll be traveling there together in Feb. to work with an artist and do some cowriting and recording. I imagine we'll be quite busy and I don't expect a lot of free time to be tourists. But prior to hearing about this yesterday, I didn't know a thing about Trinidad. So all of your insights are very helpful!

I have no clue where we might stay - it's all being arranged by the company sponsoring us. Anything else you'd care to share would be appreciated. Thanks again.