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KEY FEATURES...
| A small and friendly Tobago specialist with a knowledgeable staff, offering personal service and carefully selected accommodation |
CLIENT PROFILE...
| A wide range of travellers from all age groups and backgrounds, particularly families, lots of returning clients |
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Just Tobago is a young and energetic company that has chosen a different formula from other Caribbean tour operators. Rather than offering the same breadth as the others, often with the same accommodation in the same destinations, Just Tobago has chosen to specialise in depth in just a small handful of islands. Just Tobago has two sister companies, Just Grenada and Just St Kitts & Nevis. Just Tobago offers the best of the island in all styles of accommodation and in all price categories.
Founded in 2002, Just Tobago grew out of Just Grenada, which itself was established in 1999. The team at Just Tobago is small, but between them they have a wealth of knowledge about the island, more than any other tour UK-based operator. And their knowledge is not confined to places to stay (though the staff have personally stayed in each property, which makes them uniquely qualified to give advice and to make sure it is the right place for your needs), but also about the island itself and its attractions. Given that Tobago is the right choice for you, Just Tobago is ideally qualified to put together an ideal trip for you.
It may be important to know that Tobago is a fairly simple island, relatively undeveloped even by the standards of the region. It does not have, for instance the levels of luxury or the cachet of, say, Barbados, or even the well projected mass appeal of St Lucia. Instead the island offers a rawer, more natural charm with a very strong Caribbean character. This is why Gerry Copsey, Managing Director of Just Tobago chose it:
‘It is at the extreme limits of the Caribbean,’ he says, ‘still a little raw at the edges, relatively primitive and undeveloped with hotels. It is the Caribbean that I love most.’
Tobago attracts a fairly similar client to those that like Grenada, though the two islands are different enough that they can be visited together on one trip without a feeling of repetition. Tobago’s accommodation is not that luxurious either. There is a surprising dearth of nice hotels at the top of the range, so you may need to look further afield, to smaller, more idiosyncratic properties, some of which have great island charm, or possibly to the many private villas and the excellent ‘villa resorts’. In fact, at the top of the range, this is probably what Tobago does best anyway, which makes the island a nice destination for families. Generally speaking Tobago is well priced, like Just Tobago itself, and so you can expect to spend less than you would on many other islands.
In such a small office (there are seven sales staff at Just Tobago) the information they collect can be passed around. The staff make regular visits and keep in contact with people on the island and with their returning guests. Just Tobago do not usually sell packages straight from a brochure, and they often use their knowledge to tailor-make suggestions and to fit you to the ideal accommodation for you. And if you come to them with an idea which they feel is inappropriate for you then they will let you know and make an alternative suggestion. And they will help you with any special requests, using their knowledge to help you get the best of the island when you are there. Finally they are able to provide other add-ons, such as arrange a wedding for you, scuba diving on Tobago’s excellent reefs, guided walks in the rainforest, see below.
Just Tobago was established as a new division of the Planos Holidays group (set up in 1988), which already ran a programme to Grenada in the Caribbean, as well as to the Greek Island of Paxos and to Spain (Spain at Heart, formed in 1994). The companies were set up by Gerry Copsey, who is Chairman and Managing Director. Before working in travel Copsey had had a varied career in the restoration of Georgian buildings in Bath, as an undertaker and hospital porter, he chuckles, ‘Oh, and playing the piano in the local pub’.
Copsey’s first venture into the Caribbean was Just Grenada, which he first visited Grenada on holiday in 1998 with his (later) wife Janet. They fell in love with the island, started Just Grenada the following year and married on the island in 2000. In late 2005 they started their third venture into the Caribbean when they set Just St Kitts & Nevis. While Tobago has a similar charm and lack of development to Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis are much smaller islands with a different atmosphere - Nevis is one of the most charming places in the whoole Caribbean. They are also very different from one another. Please see our reviews of Just Grenada and Just St Kitts & Nevis.
Just Tobago is based in the delightful historic Somerset village of Mells and works from offices in beautiful converted farm buildings in the heart of the village. The only retail outlet in Mells is the Post Office store, which is like something from a period movie, in which the bearded postmaster moves between the airmail stickers and the organic veg with consummate ease. Ducks, geese and cows pass by the office windows and all the company staff meet regularly in the village pub – the Talbot, a famous 16th century coaching inn. |
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Service
The quality of the advice and suggestions is really the best thing that a tour operator can offer while you plan your holiday. Of course the correct recommendation of where to stay is usually the single most important element in the equation, but Just Tobago can also fill you in on the character of the island and make suggestions of things to do.
And when you reach the island Just Tobago is able to help you make the best of your time there. They provide a restaurant guide (with details of dishes and prices), a supermarket guide to help those catering for themselves and an island guide giving ideas for the best things to do (and the best time of day or day of the week to do them so that you avoid the crowds). This includes details of things that Tobago does particularly well, for instance scuba diving, bird watching and rainforest hikes.
They also offer an informal concierge service. If you have a request, say a bunch of flowers, or a special dinner or a surprise for a birthday, then they can arrange it for you. They can also arrange weddings, see below. Finally if you have a particular interest, say ornithology or the flora, then they can make sure to put you in touch with people on island that are experts in their field.
While you are on island, the day to day management of your holiday is handed over to Just Tobago’s local agent, Destination Tobago, who are on hand to help for the duration of your trip, and can offer any arrangements or advice. On arrival at Crown Point in Tobago Destination Tobago will greet you and transfer you to your hotel by private vehicle. They will offer to contact you the next day to see if there is anything that you would like to be arranged and they are available for advice and information during your stay. They will also return you to the airport at the end of your holiday. |
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Brochure & Website
Just Tobago has a relatively simple and necessarily slim brochure giving details of the hotels and villas and extra services that they offer on the island. They also have a website which carries more up-to-date information and some deals, but it is key to their strategy that the brochure and website are intended primarily to encourage travellers to ring their office so that they can discuss their ideas. Just Tobago’s policy is to talk to every traveller before they make a booking. They do not take bookings online. |
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Bookings
You may contact Just Tobago by using the DIRECT EMAIL ENQUIRIES facility or WEB link at the top of this page. If you prefer to telephone the company, their telephone number will be revealed if you click on the CONTACT TELEPHONE NUMBER link. |
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Tailor Made Holidays
Just Tobago is not restricted to standard packages from their brochure. In fact most of their holidays are tailored to the individual couple in some form. Often they will arrange for a couple to spend time in more than one hotel. In Tobago, whose western and eastern ends have very different character it is popular to combine four or five days at the quiet and delightful Blue Waters Inn in the remote east (with its excellent scuba and bird-watching) and somewhere at the western end, where there is many more restaurants and nighttime action.
The obvious island with which to make a two-centre holiday might appear to be Tobago’s sister island of Trinidad, but Trinidad is not a typical Caribbean holiday island. It has exceptional natural life, particularly bids, but it is partly industrialized and has fewer good beaches and hardly any typical beach hotels. Perhaps a more realistic option is to twin with Grenada, which of course Just Tobago knows just as well, through Just Grenada. There are direct flights between the islands and they are different enough to make the experience a stimulating one. |
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Villa Resorts
Just Tobago offers the following villa resorts in their portfolio of accomodation on the island:
| Plantation Beach Villas, Tobago
Price: Fr £635pp 7 nts incl flights ex-London
A delightful group of plantation style villas set in 2.5 acre hillside grove above Stonehaven Beach on Tobago’s north shore. Perfect for families, weddings and reunions, extremely friendly staff.
See details for this property on tour operators web site | | Villas at Stonehaven, Tobago
Price: Fr £765pp 7 nts incl flights ex-London
A collection of 14 elegant and comfortable villas in French colonial style, set above Stonehaven Bay on Tobago’s northern shore with good wedding, honeymoon, golf and dive opportunities.
See details for this property on tour operators web site | |
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Hotels
| Blue Haven Hotel, Tobago
Price: Fr £690 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
A stylish small hotel set on a cliff-top above a very attractive beach on the south coast of Tobago. Blue Haven has a mix of styles, modern, West Indian and nautical, with polished wood and canvas. It has a classic Caribbean atmosphere and is a very nice very low key hotel, ideal for independent travellers.
See details for this property on tour operators web site | | Coco Reef, Tobago
Price: Fr £875 pp 7nts incl flights ex-London
Large and lively beachfront resort set on its own secluded beach and in delightful gardens at the western tip of the island.
See details for this property on tour operators web site | |
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Small Hotels & Inns
| Blue Waters Inn, Tobago
Price: Fr £555pp 7 nts incl flights ex-London
A delightful small hotel in beach club style set in its own fantastically pretty, remote cove in north-eastern Tobago. Excellent scuba diving, excellent bird-watching at offshore islands, ideal for tranquillity in extremely pretty tropical surroundings.
See details for this property on tour operators web site | |
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Villas
| Mot Mot Villa, Tobago
Price: Fr. £525 pp 7nts incl. flights ex-London
A delightful three-bedroom villa in modern plantation-house style, secluded on a hillside above Tobago's north coast. Lovely garden setting with extensive lawns, excellent bird-watching and wonderful west-facing sea and sunset views. Suits mature couples or families seeking complete privacy. Tidal beach below property.
See details for this property on tour operators web site | | Seashell Villas, Tobago
Price: Fr. £510pp 7nts incl. flights ex-London
Popular collection of two storey, privately owned and individually furnished gingerbread style holiday homes. All are set in pretty enclosed gardens and have very good outdoor living space. Perfect and good value for families, couples, honeymooners and small wedding parties.
See details for this property on tour operators web site | | Sugar Mill, Tobago
Price: Fr. £530pp 7nts incl. flights ex-London
A unique and utterly charming 4 bedroom property set in a replica 18th century sugar mill. Two bedrooms in the mill itself and two cottages, set in trees on a ridgeline high above Tobago's north coast. Excellent sea views and sunsets, ideal for romantics and as a honeymoon retreat.
See details for this property on tour operators web site | | Coral Sea Villas, Tobago
Price: Fr. £525pp 7nts incl. flights ex-London
A choice of 7 privately owned and individually furnished three bedroom villas with a Spanish-Caribbean flavour. Very well equipped with enclosed gardens, good outdoor living space and surrounding sun terrace. Will suit honeymooners, small wedding parties and families.
See details for this property on tour operators web site | | Ohana, Tobago
Price: Fr. £885pp 7nts incl. flights ex-London
A real beauty and one of Tobago’s finest villas built almost entirely from wood in the Balinese style with stunning views from its cliff side location with open-plan living areas and 4 delightful four poster en suite bedrooms.
See details for this property on tour operators web site | |
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Weddings & Honeymoons
Just Tobago can arrange a wedding for you in Tobago. Liaising with their on-island representatives, Destination Tobago, they can put on wedding on the beach or in one of Tobago’s beautiful tropical gardens or by a waterfall. They can make all the background arrangements for you – legal requirements, arranging the minister, preparation of the venue, catering, photographers, transport and accommodation for your guests and for you of course. |
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Family Holidays
Family holidays are a popular option on Tobago because of the many villas and villa resorts on the island, which have good facilities for children. Just Tobago can recommend a number of places to stay in the island with facilities for family travel and they will provide background advice for you. Children will be well looked after on the island. Other facilities such as baby-sitters can be arranged for you. |
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The Team
The Just Tobago Team is led by Gerry Copsey, Managing Director and founder of the Planos Group in 1988. Formed Just Tobago in 2002 with Janet Whittaker.
Janet Copsey, Director of the company, who has now made 10 trips to Tobago with Gerry.
Lisa Bishop, Sales Manager, and the heartbeat of the company. After a number of trips to the island she has formed excellent working relationships with hoteliers and villa owners.
Belinda Brendon - Belinda has visited Tobago with the company as well as with her family on several occasions. An intrepid worldwide traveller with a deep love of things Caribbean.
Nick Harvey - a senior director of the Planos group who runs the programme on Paxos. Nick has been to Tobago 3 times and will be returning in 2005.
Kate Bartlet - Kate handles all the administration and pre-departure paperwork and is a vital member of the team. Visited the island in 2002 and is itching to go back!
Penny Collins - Penny has just joined the Tobago team full time having worked on the European destination for many years. She has already made her first visit to Tobago.
Mary Burten, Mary is a new addition to the team since Just St Kitts & Nevis was started in late 2005. Having lived and worked in Venzuela for ten years, she will be work on all four Caribbean destinations. |
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