Best places to visit in Trinidad and Tobago: top cities, regions and sights

Trinidad is the busy island: the capital, the food, the music, the birding and the swamp. Tobago is the slow one: beaches, reef and villages. Most first trips do both, because the air bridge flight takes about 25 minutes and the fast ferry runs between Port of Spain and Scarborough (check sailing times).

The table below ranks places for a first trip. Nights are a guide, not a rule. Dry-season months (January–May) suit everything; the turtle season at Grande Riviere runs roughly March–August.

Base yourself in Port of Spain. Queen's Park Savannah is the green centre, ringed by the Magnificent Seven colonial houses to the west and the Royal Botanic Gardens to the north. Independence Square sits downtown, which is a daytime area; for dinner and music, head to Woodbrook and Ariapita Avenue.

From the capital, two half-days are worth the drive: Maracas Bay for the beach and bake-and-shark, and the Caroni Bird Sanctuary for the afternoon boat to the scarlet ibis roost. East of the city, the Arima Valley holds the Asa Wright Nature Centre and some of the easiest rainforest birding on the island.

South of Port of Spain, San Fernando is a working city under its hill and the gateway to Pitch Lake. Chaguanas, in central Trinidad, is a market town with strong Indian heritage and the busiest shopping on the island. Both are stops rather than bases for a short trip.

Fly or ferry across and the pace drops. Crown Point, by the airport at the island's southern tip, is the resort base: Pigeon Point and Store Bay are minutes away, and Buccoo Reef boat trips leave from nearby. This is the easiest place to land for a first Tobago stay.

For quiet, move up the west coast to Castara, a fishing village with a small beach, or to Speyside in the north-east, which is the diving base for the reef and for Little Tobago. Scarborough, the main town and ferry port, has Fort King George and the market; it is a half-day, not a base.

Inland, the Main Ridge Forest Reserve is the oldest protected rainforest in the western hemisphere and the place for guided walks and birding. Book guides ahead.

Seven days is the standard two-island trip: 3 nights in Trinidad, 4 on Tobago. Ten days lets you add the Arima Valley and a couple of nights in Castara. Two weeks opens up a third island, usually Grenada, flying back through Port of Spain (check schedules).

Under five days, pick one island. Trinidad alone gives you the capital, Caroni and the northern beaches; Tobago alone gives you the reef and the slow coast. Trying to do both in four days means losing most of a day to transfers each way.

Distances on Trinidad are short in kilometres but slow in traffic, especially around Port of Spain at rush hour. Tobago is small: Crown Point to Castara is roughly an hour by road (check).

Downtown Port of Spain is a daytime area; take normal city precautions, keep valuables out of sight and use licensed taxis at night. Check current advice before you go.

Book Caroni, Asa Wright and Buccoo Reef trips ahead in high season, and dress modestly with shoes off at temples such as the Temple in the Sea and Mount St Benedict. Travel insurance that covers boat trips and diving is worth arranging before you fly.