Find places in Trinidad and Tobago

Must-Haves

• Queen's Park Savannah (Queen's Park West)
  The city's great green circle is where Port of Spain strolls at dusk, with coconut water and corn soup vendors along the edge.
• House of Angostura tour (Laventille)
  An organised tour of the home of Angostura bitters and rum, booked in advance with the company.

Fun for Everyone

• Emperor Valley Zoo (St Ann's)
  A small, easy zoo beside the Botanic Gardens that is a hit with children and showcases local wildlife.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Brian Lara Promenade (Independence Square)
  The pedestrian heart of downtown, busy with limers, chess players and street food by day.

Off the Beaten Path

• Fort George (St James hills)
  An early nineteenth century hilltop fort with cannons and some of the widest views over the Gulf of Paria.

Must-Haves

• National Museum and Art Gallery (Frederick Street)
  A compact museum covering Carnival, the oil industry, Amerindian history and the paintings of Michel Jean Cazabon.
• Magnificent Seven (Maraval Road)
  Seven grand colonial era mansions in a row on the west side of the Savannah, a favourite photo stop.
• Red House (Abercromby Street)
  The striking red Beaux Arts home of Parliament, restored and open for guided visits on set days.

Off the Beaten Path

• Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Independence Square)
  A cool, quiet stone cathedral at the eastern end of the square, with stained glass from Ireland.
• Little Carib Theatre (Woodbrook)
  A historic community theatre founded by Beryl McBurnie, still staging dance, drama and storytelling.

Fun for Everyone

• Royal Botanic Gardens (St Ann's)
  Among the oldest botanic gardens in the Americas, shady and calm, with huge tropical trees beside the President's House.
• Chaguaramas Boardwalk (Chaguaramas)
  A breezy seaside walkway west of the city with food stalls and sunset views over the yachts.
• Macqueripe Bay (Chaguaramas)
  A small, sheltered bay at the end of a forest road, popular with families for a calm swim.

Off the Beaten Path

• Paramin (Maraval hills)
  A steep hillside village of herb farmers, famous for its views and for parang music at Christmas.
• Gasparee Caves (Gaspar Grande island)
  A boat ride and short walk lead to a limestone cave with a clear tidal pool, reached from Chaguaramas.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Port of Spain Central Market (Beetham Highway)
  The biggest fresh market in the country, loud and colourful, best on an early Saturday morning with a local friend.
• Charlotte Street (Downtown)
  A crowded downtown street of fruit, vegetable and dry goods vendors that shows everyday city life.

Fun for Everyone

• The Falls at West Mall (Westmoorings)
  A modern, air conditioned mall in the west with shops, a food court and banks, handy for a calm afternoon.
• Long Circular Mall (St James)
  A long running mall close to Maraval and St Clair with shops, pharmacies and places to eat.

Must-Haves

• Ariapita Avenue (Woodbrook)
  The city's main lime, lined with bars, lounges and restaurants that get lively from Thursday onward.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Smokey and Bunty (Western Main Road, St James)
  A legendary St James rum shop and street corner bar, open late in the city that never sleeps.

Great for Date Night

• More Vino (O'Connor Street, Woodbrook)
  A relaxed wine bar with sushi and outdoor tables, good for a quieter evening off the Avenue.

Fun for Everyone

• Trotters (Maraval Road, St Clair)
  A big, friendly sports bar and restaurant where locals gather to watch cricket and football.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Hott Shoppe (Mucurapo Road)
  A favourite for big, well filled rotis, a fast introduction to Trinidad's Indian food.
• Patraj Roti Shop (San Juan)
  A long standing roti shop many Trinis swear by for buss up shut and curried goat.
• Western Main Road street food (St James)
  After dark this road fills with stalls selling corn soup, souse, pholourie and grilled meat.
• Curepe doubles vendors (Curepe junction)
  The junction east of the city is a classic doubles stop, with vendors serving from early morning.

Fun for Everyone

• Rituals Coffee House (Westmoorings)
  The local coffee chain, good for iced coffee, wraps and a cool break from the heat.

Must-Haves

• Panorama finals (Queen's Park Savannah)
  The national steelband competition, where full orchestras of pan play ten minute arrangements before Carnival.
• J'Ouvert (Downtown and Woodbrook)
  Carnival opens before dawn on Monday with mud, paint, chocolate and old mas characters in the streets.

Fun for Everyone

• Carnival Monday and Tuesday (Downtown and the Savannah)
  Masquerade bands in feathers and sequins parade to soca across the city on the two big days.

Off the Beaten Path

• Hosay in St James (St James)
  A solemn, drum led Muslim commemoration where decorated tadjahs are carried through the streets.

Must-Haves

• Hilton Trinidad and Conference Centre (Lady Young Road)
  An upside down hotel built into the hillside, with views across the Savannah and the gulf.
• Hyatt Regency Trinidad (Wrightson Road)
  A waterfront business hotel with a rooftop pool, close to the ferry terminal and downtown.

Great for Date Night

• The Normandie Hotel (St Ann's)
  A quiet hotel set around gardens near the Savannah, with a craft market on site.

Fun for Everyone

• Kapok Hotel (Cotton Hill, St Clair)
  A long running hotel near the Savannah with a rooftop restaurant and easy access to the city.

Must-Haves

• Maracas Bay (North Coast Road)
  Trinidad's best known beach, a wide curve of sand backed by forested hills.

Fun for Everyone

• Las Cuevas Bay (North Coast Road)
  A calmer, cleaner alternative to Maracas with lifeguards and facilities.
• Marianne River (Blanchisseuse)
  Locals kayak and swim up this river from the beach to a cool pool in the forest.

Off the Beaten Path

• Tyrico Bay (North Coast Road)
  A quiet little bay next to Maracas, often almost empty on weekdays.
• Blanchisseuse (End of North Coast Road)
  A sleepy village at the end of the coast road, with a suspension bridge and wild beaches.

Must-Haves

• Richard's Bake and Shark (Maracas Bay)
  The most famous bake and shark stand, with a long table of sauces and toppings to build your own.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Uncle Sam and Family (Maracas Bay)
  Another long running bake and shark stall at Maracas, often with a shorter queue.

Must-Haves

• Maracas Lookout (North Coast Road)
  A roadside viewpoint over the bay where vendors sell tamarind balls, chow and cold drinks.

Off the Beaten Path

• Galera Point Lighthouse (Toco)
  The northeastern tip of Trinidad, where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean in a swirl of waves.

Off the Beaten Path

• Mount St Benedict Abbey (Tunapuna hills)
  A hilltop Benedictine monastery with sweeping views over the central plains.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Pax Guest House (Mount St Benedict)
  A peaceful guest house beside the monastery, loved by birders and walkers.

Great for Date Night

• Mt Plaisir Estate Hotel (Grande Riviere)
  A simple, beachfront hotel right on the turtle beach in a remote village.

Must-Haves

• Caroni Bird Sanctuary (Caroni Swamp)
  Boat trips through the mangroves at dusk, when flocks of scarlet ibis, the national bird, fly in to roost.

Off the Beaten Path

• Nariva Swamp (Manzanilla)
  The country's largest freshwater wetland, home to manatees, red howler monkeys and parrots.

Fun for Everyone

• Manzanilla Beach (Manzanilla)
  A long, palm lined Atlantic beach on the east coast, rough for swimming but beautiful for walks.

Must-Haves

• Nanan's Caroni Bird Sanctuary Tours (Caroni Swamp)
  A family run boat tour operator that has guided visitors to the scarlet ibis for decades.

Must-Haves

• Dattatreya Yoga Centre and Hanuman statue (Carapichaima)
  A towering statue of Hanuman beside a South Indian style temple, one of the most striking sights in Trinidad.
• Temple in the Sea (Waterloo)
  A small white temple built out over the water, honouring one labourer's decades of devotion.

Off the Beaten Path

• Indian Caribbean Museum of Trinidad and Tobago (Waterloo)
  A small museum near the Temple in the Sea that tells the story of Indian indentured arrivals.
• The Lion House (Main Road, Chaguanas)
  The family home that inspired V. S. Naipaul's A House for Mr Biswas, viewed from the street.

Must-Haves

• Divali Nagar (Endeavour, Chaguanas)
  A festival ground that comes alive in the days before Divali with music, food, dance and lights.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Chaguanas Main Market (Chaguanas)
  A busy market for fresh produce, spices and pepper sauces in the country's fastest growing town.

Fun for Everyone

• Price Plaza (Endeavour, Chaguanas)
  A large shopping plaza with a food court, supermarket and cinema in central Trinidad.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Chaguanas roti and doubles stalls (Main Road, Chaguanas)
  The town centre is lined with roti shops and doubles vendors, ideal for a cheap, filling lunch.

Must-Haves

• Pitch Lake (La Brea)
  The largest natural asphalt lake in the world, walked with a local guide from the visitor centre.

Fun for Everyone

• Pointe-a-Pierre Wildfowl Trust (Pointe-a-Pierre)
  A surprising bird reserve inside an oil refinery compound, with ponds, waterfowl and a learning centre; book ahead.
• Mayaro Beach (Mayaro)
  A very long east coast beach where southern families spend long weekends.

Off the Beaten Path

• Devil's Woodyard mud volcano (Princes Town)
  A small field of bubbling mud volcanoes, a curious stop in the southern countryside.
• Piparo mud volcano (Piparo)
  A wide grey mud dome that last erupted in the late 1990s, eerie and quiet.

Must-Haves

• San Fernando Hill (San Fernando)
  A hill park in the middle of the city with views across the south and the Gulf of Paria.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Harris Promenade (San Fernando)
  The old heart of the city, lined with churches and a statue of Gandhi.

Off the Beaten Path

• La Divina Pastora Church (Siparia)
  A church honoured by both Catholics and Hindus, with a special pilgrimage around Good Friday.

Fun for Everyone

• Naparima Bowl (San Fernando)
  The south's main performing arts venue for concerts, plays and Carnival shows.

Fun for Everyone

• Gulf City Mall (La Romaine)
  The main mall in the south, with shops, a cinema and a food court.

Fun for Everyone

• Soong's Great Wall (Circular Road)
  A long running Trini Chinese restaurant, a south institution for family meals.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Debe food stalls (Debe)
  A strip of vendors famous for saheena, pholourie, aloo pie and doubles.

Fun for Everyone

• Cara Suites Hotel (Claxton Bay)
  A hotel above the Gulf of Paria with sea views, convenient for the south.

Must-Haves

• Pigeon Point Heritage Park (Pigeon Point)
  Tobago's postcard beach, with a thatched jetty, calm water and soft sand.

Fun for Everyone

• Store Bay Beach (Crown Point)
  A small, lively beach steps from the airport, with vendors and boat operators.

Great for Date Night

• Mt Irvine Bay (Mount Irvine)
  A curving bay with good snorkelling, surf in winter and beautiful sunsets.
• Grafton Beach (Black Rock)
  A wide, calm west coast beach also known as Stonehaven Bay.

Off the Beaten Path

• Grafton Caledonia Wildlife Sanctuary (Black Rock)
  A former estate turned sanctuary where wild birds come to be fed in the afternoon.

Must-Haves

• Store Bay food huts (Store Bay)
  A row of local cooks serving curried crab and dumpling, roti and fish.

Must-Haves

• Buccoo Reef and Nylon Pool (Buccoo)
  Glass bottom boat trips over the reef to a shallow sandbar pool in the middle of the sea.

Fun for Everyone

• Sunday School (Buccoo)
  A weekly Sunday night street party in Buccoo with steelband early and DJs later.

Fun for Everyone

• Buccoo Goat and Crab Race (Buccoo)
  Easter Tuesday races of goats and crabs, cheered on by the whole island.

Must-Haves

• Tobago Heritage Festival (Villages across Tobago)
  A summer festival of traditional weddings, music and old time village customs.

Great for Date Night

• Mt Irvine Bay Resort (Mount Irvine)
  A long established resort across from the beach with a golf course and gardens.

Must-Haves

• Coco Reef Resort (Crown Point)
  A resort on its own small beach, close to the airport and Store Bay.

Fun for Everyone

• Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort (Lowlands)
  A large resort with pools and golf on the quieter Atlantic side.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Kariwak Village (Crown Point)
  A garden hotel with a holistic feel and one of the best restaurants in the area.

Great for Date Night

• Shore Things Café and Craft (Lambeau)
  A seaside café and craft shop for juices, light lunches and local gifts.

Off the Beaten Path

• Mystery Tombstone (Plymouth)
  A puzzling eighteenth century inscription that locals love to debate.
• Fort James (Plymouth)
  The ruins of an old fort on a headland with views over Great Courland Bay.

Must-Haves

• Little Tobago (Speyside)
  An island bird sanctuary reached by boat over coral reefs, home to red billed tropicbirds.
• Englishman's Bay (Northside Road)
  A sheltered, forest backed bay often called one of the most beautiful in the Caribbean.
• Castara Bay (Castara)
  A fishing village beach where nets come in on the sand.

Off the Beaten Path

• Charlotteville and Man O War Bay (Charlotteville)
  A fishing village around a deep bay at the end of the road.
• Pirate's Bay (Charlotteville)
  A steep path leads to a hidden bay with clear water and good snorkelling.

Must-Haves

• Speyside reef diving (Speyside)
  Some of the Caribbean's best diving, with manta rays and huge brain corals.

Off the Beaten Path

• Flagstaff Hill (Charlotteville)
  A lookout over Charlotteville, the Sisters rocks and St Giles islands.

Great for Date Night

• Jemma's Seaview Kitchen (Speyside)
  A family restaurant built into a big tree above the sea.

Great for Date Night

• Blue Waters Inn (Batteaux Bay)
  A secluded hotel on its own bay near Speyside, with diving on the doorstep.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Castara Retreats (Castara)
  Wooden lodges in the hillside above the bay.

Off the Beaten Path

• Gang Gang Sarah's grave (Golden Lane)
  The resting place of a legendary African witch said to have tried to fly home.