Sharing is caring!

Trinidad is the best kept secret of the Caribbean. A lush tropical isle populated with a cosmopolitan mix of intelligent people makes this a favorite travel destination.

This is a guest post from a friend who lived in Trinidad & Tobago for two years.

Food

Trinidad & Tobago is not xenophobic. They love foreigners, they love traveling, they are highly educated. No, it’s more that they don’t want to share their secrets, they prefer people who come and visit them to experience their hospitality and top notch street fare for themselves. When visiting Trinidad & Tobago, make sure you know the proper terminology.

Ask people you meet what their favorite doubles stand is; or where you can get fish pie (similar to a double, but filled with fish); or chip chip pie (chip chip are tiny clams, painstakingly split and cleaned).

My absolute FAVORITE fish/chip chip pie and double stand was Boodoo’s, located in Matura. It is run by a woman and her three daughters. One of my friend’s who visited (and who has traveled to all contents except for Antarctica) said it was one of the most delicious morsels he has ever tried.

People

The people of Trinidad & Tobago are very cosmopolitan and polite. Everyone says hello, good morning, etc.

Carnival tips

First, my recommendations for Carnival. Carnival is a three day event, starting with the Sunday night drink fest known as J’Ouvert. This is followed by Monday’s Carnival celebration, Monday night’s Blue Devil event in the little village of Paramin and finally with the MASSIVE street party: Tuesday’s Carnival.

I STRONGLY recommend the following: Go to J’Ouvert. Have a blast, drink tons of beer, get covered in mud. Then go home and sleep until the early afternoon; wake up, eat a bunch of fish and chip chip pies, lounge around a bit before heading to Monday night’s Paramin extravaganza. It’s crazy, it’s scary. Then go to Carnival on Tuesday. Wake up early and play Mas all day.

Okay, for out of the way places:

East Manzanilla



Awesome, miles long stretch of beach, mostly empty. Beautiful, gorgeous, awe inspiring. It’s on the Atlantic side, so the waves are a bit rough, but it’s quiet and beautiful. The U.S. marine and army World War II jungle warfare training was held in East Manzanilla, on Camp Trace road (also known as “The Road To Hell”).

What makes this a worthwhile hike, not only is it a trek taking you deep onto a peninsula where no one lives or goes, there is a fantastic Amerindian settlement where pottery shards lie out in the open. It is an untouched/undiscovered archaeological treasure with views to die for.

While in East Manzanilla, a world heritage site, the Nariva Swamp beckons you. There exists the last population of East Indian Manatees, but even now their plight isn’t looking good. Regardless, if you contact the Manatee Trust, you can get a ride out to Bush Bush island, in the middle of the swamp, where one of the most endangered monkey’s in the world lives. They are adorable, and curious creatures. Awesome for taking pictures. The boat ride out there is great, too. Highly recommended. You’ll probably see parrots and other animals as you go out there.

Photo credit: Denni Schnapp / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

Farther South along the Manzanilla-Mayoro road (which in itself is worth the trip, as you’ll be insconced in a coconut tree forest) you’ll find Mayoro. If you need some pampering, stay at the Queen’s Beach Resort. Very very nice.

For those of you who enjoy the mountains, a MUST SEE is Brasso Seco. It’s a tiny village founded by cocoa farmers in the 18th century. The village boasts a community center where you can purchase ice cream and ground cocoa, rent a cabin in the area. I stayed at the Cocoa Palace (not palatial, merely a name. It’s an olde cocoa house). The beautiful attraction about Brasso Seco, in addition to the people, is all the waterfalls to be found in the area.

I took a walk behind the cocoa palace and swam underneath mountain waterfalls in the middle of the jungle. It was awesome. There are numerous places to just sit and watch the birds or big views. Where I stayed, they had a huge brass pot (it used to be used in the sugar process). In the pot were guppies and tadpoles, what was cool was they’d come up and nibble your fingers.