Twin Centre Tobago

Regaldive Team Member John shares his memories of his pre-Christmas trip to the stunning Caribbean island of Tobago...

Just before Christmas I had a lovely week on the beautiful Island of Tobago.  Enjoying the sun, sea and sights of the Caribbean was so much nicer than rushing around packed shops back home in search of last minute gifts.

Tobago is an island with two distinct dive styles and it makes a great choice for a twin centre holiday. Visitors opting to dive the Caribbean coast will find lovely fringing reefs and a lack of current that is well-suited to less experienced divers. In contrast, the Atlantic coastline is famed for pounding currents and plankton-rich water which attracts large pelagics and some of the best conditions for drift diving to be found anywhere.

After stepping off the BA flight that goes via St Lucia we first stayed for a couple of nights at the Crown Point end of the island. Most Regaldive guests start their twin centre holiday here at the popular Toucan Inn and although I have visited Tobago before, this was my first time to stay in this area. The location of Crown Point means access to both the Caribbean and Atlantic coastlines, although most of the dives here seem to be of a relaxed variety.

The diving started the following day with a nice little wreck called the Maverick which sits upright on the sand at 25m. The structure is covered in life and has quite an easy swim through with lots to keep the macro photographer occupied.  A nice relaxing reef dive followed afterwards with plenty of interesting life around including a giant porcupine fish and pretty flamingo tongue sea snails.

The next full day on the island was a non-diving day and an island tour was arranged. The hustle and bustle of the island’s capital, Scarborough was followed by a drive up the north coast along the winding coast road, taking in the nicely-located Grafton Beach Resort on the way. A bit further along the coast, we stopped to admire the lovely views across Englishman’s Bay. It’s great to see somewhere so beautiful that’s not had modern development imposed upon it.  The centre of the island is mountainous and covered in rainforest, the oldest protected rainforest in the Western Hemisphere.  Fortunately, back in 1764 the Tobagonian’s realised the rainforest’s worth as the main water source for the island and it is home to many picturesque waterfalls. 

The rainforest is definitely worth a visit and one of the few things I would recommend giving up a day’s diving for. It’s amazing how the forest is so thick and lush within just a few feet of the road and although we only walked for an hour or two, I could have spent a lot longer. If you are a bird enthusiast the time to go is early in the morning, a feast for both the ears and eyes apparently.  There are still plenty of birds about later in the day and it was also unusual to see a large crab going about his business, miles from the sea.

Rounding the top of the island revealed plenty more interesting coastline and villages.  At the end of the day we arrived at the small village of Speyside and checked into the Nabucco's Resort Speyside Inn. A great favourite with Regaldive guests it was fantastic to meet the team there in person at last, a very friendly lot, making for a great atmosphere.  A lovely view out into the bay from your room too!

The dive centre is on site at the Speyside Inn, so turning up to dive is quite relaxed, although the diving is considered slightly more advanced than down at the Crown Point end of the island. We had two great drift dives in the Atlantic waters around the island of Little Tobago, with plenty to see including an incredible brain coral, supposedly the largest in the world. I chose not to snooze between dives as I didn’t want to miss the spectacular views of the islands from the dive boat on the way to and from the dive sites. 

A quick look around the Blue Waters Inn followed in the afternoon. This hotel is quite new to the Regaldive programme but I’m sure will become a favourite with our guests. Having just completed a refurbishment, the resort looks very smart with modern design touches and high level, luxury service as standard. The well organised dive centre is also on site and boasts new dive boats and equipment too.

All too soon it was time to head back to Crown Point, although I enjoyed the variety of diving on offer here. Quite fittingly the highlight for me was the very last dive of the week, a site called Cove Ledge on the Atlantic side. A nice slow drift dive with turtles, half a dozen nurse sharks and my best octopus encounter in nearly 400 dives. 

Thanks to the Trinidad and Tobago Tourist Board, the Tobago Division of Tourism and Transportation and Regaldive for the opportunity to join this trip and the chance to visit beautiful Tobago. I hope to come back again soon!

For more photos of John's trip, visit the Regaldive Facebook page >