Trinidad and Tobago's top travel experience
1. Port of Spain Carnival Trinidad Carnival, held every February or March (dates and locations vary from year to year), is considered by many to be the best carnival in the Caribbean. Carnival was first introduced to Trinidad by French plantation owners, but was soon used by African slaves to satirize colonial power. Carnival is rooted in West African music, mythology and European masquerade. Lavish pre-carnival feasts and calypso folk song tents light up Port of Spain just before the carnival, and at the following Monday's carnival, the band's performance will lead to an all-night parade of thousands of revelers.
2. Maracas Bay Maracas Bay on Trinidad's north coast is home to the island's most popular beaches: wide white-sand beaches and palm trees that surround them contrast with the emerald green peaks in the distance, making it an irresistible temptation for locals and visitors alike. Despite the curved promontory, the sand here is often beaten by the waves while providing an ideal surfing environment. Maracas Bay has lifeguards, changing rooms, showers and picnic tents, and huts selling frozen beer and grilled shark burgers. The beach can be crowded on weekends, but it's almost empty on weekdays. Port-of-Spain is just a 40-minute drive away.
3. Asa Wright Nature Center Given that Trinidad and Tobago is the best place for bird watching in the Caribbean, visitors lying on the beach are almost all with a pair of binoculars in their hands and gazing at the sky. It has also turned a cocoa and coffee plantation into a 0.8-square-kilometre nature reserve, the Asa Wright Nature Centre. The sanctuary is an eye-opener for birdwatchers, and even if you can't tell the difference between parakeets and parrots, it's still a great destination to visit. Species in the Nature Centre include chestnut woodpeckers, concave-billed hornbills, blue-headed parrots, 14 species of hummingbirds and numerous birds of prey.
4. Blanchisseuse is a small village on the north coast of Trinidada, which is perfect for hiking, especially to Paria Bay. The walk begins near a drawbridge across the Marianne River, near the end of North Coast Road, where the walk winds through the forest and across the Jordan River to the spectacular, unexplored Paria Beach. Inland is Paria Falls, where you can enjoy a refreshing bath in the crystal clear spring water.
5. Bucco Coral Reef Between Pigeon Point and Bucco Bay in Tobago is the vast Buccoo Reef, which became a marine park in 1973 and was included in the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 2006. The reef consists of 5 reefs, separated by deep straits, with enough flora and fauna to dazzle marine biologists, such as sponges, hard corals and tropical fish. Visitors can choose to explore Tobago's underwater treasures on a glass-bottom boat.
6. Speyside, a small fishing village on the edge of Tyrrel's Bay in Tobago, attracts plenty of divers and birdwatchers. If you want to go to an uninhabited island, this is the place to start. These uninhabited islands include Little Tobago and St Giles Island. Also known as Bird of Paradise Island, Little Tobago was a cotton plantation in the early 19th century. In 1909, the Englishman Sir William Ingram introduced 50 birds of paradise from the Aru Islands near New Guinea and established a protected area for them.
7. Cricket at Queens Oval Park Cricket is a sport introduced by the British in the 19th century, and like the rest of the Caribbean islands, cricket is not only a sport in Trinidad and Tobago, but also an obsessive culture. In the 70s and 80s, the Caribbean team was the best cricket team in the world, and retired batting star Brian Laura came from Trinidad. Whenever Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain hosts an international match, the 25,000-seat grandstand is always full.
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