Hire a jeep and go to Speyside at the north end of the island. Although Tobago is only 27 miles long, it'll take you a day to travel up and down the island. The roads in Tobago are quite good and improving all the time, but they are few and far between, and tend to wind around the coastline - giving you spectacular scenic views. There's plenty of things to see and do on the way - you may need to take 2 separate days to see most of the sights - but head for Speyside and see the contrast with the south of the island. 

The view from the ‘Speyside Lookout’ is lovely, and you may very well be standing there alone with your camera. Speyside is predominantly known on Tobago for it's diving opportunities. The diving is fantastic, and it’s here that you’re likely to see the island’s famous manta rays. There aren't many places to stop and get a drink on the way - so take something with you. You are very much in real Tobago as you drive through the villages. Tourists and their jeeps are 'an event' as they pass by - you'll only ever see friendly faces, but the real Tobago doesn't have a diner or bar at every corner - and to be honest - that's nice. 

Just a mile across, is a bird sanctuary popular with walkers and birders. It hosts one of the largest seabird colonies in the Caribbean and is reached from Speyside by pirogue or glassbottomed boat - a 15 minute trip over coral reefs across Tyrell’s Bay, passing Little Goat Island.

From Speyside you can see Goat Island and Little Tobago, a 450 acre bird sanctuary. Trips to these islands can be arranged locally.

Carnival in Trinidad is akin to our Christmas. The island goes wild with song, dance and costume. Carnival in Tobago is enjoyed with the same vigour, but on a more 'quaint' scale. Home made costumes are painstakingly put together over many weeks in people's back yards, special cakes and breads are made for the festivities and is consumed to the increasingly rare sounds of calypso. 

Tobago Carnival

Carnival Dates   2006 27th & 28th February  2007 19th & 20th February 2008 4th & 5th February 2009 23rd & 24th February 2010 15th & 16th February

Carnival builds up - like Christmas festivities - before the big parades on the Monday and Tuesday before Lent. So for about 2 weeks in February and March each year flights and hotels tend to be busy and booked well ahead, and the beaches become home to 'detached des-res' size sound speakers, pumping out this year's carnival hit - usually 'Jump, Jump, Jump Up and Down' - or variations on the theme of.
So, Carnival in Tobago transforms the island into a throbbing, noisy party for a few days, with very busy beaches. If you don't want to take part and do want your peace and quiet, it may not be the best time to visit the island.

Like no other course in the world, Tobago Plantations Golf and Country Club has been designed to be Tobago and reflect its glorious Caribbean atmosphere. There are characteristic pot bunkers sunk into the greensides, such as on the 3rd hole, a Par 4 beauty that goes out onto the peninsula to enjoy panoramic views of Scarborough, the capital of Tobago, and the adjacent Atlantic Ocean.