Tobago / Watersports

The liveliest beaches for general watersports are Pigeon Point in the far west of the island and Mt Irvine Beach. Otherwise the larger hotels tend to have facilities for their guests.

General watersports activities on Tobago available through:

Radical Sports Tobago, Pigeon Point Heritage Park – It specialises in windsurfing and kitesurfing but also offers parasailing, SUPs, Hobie Cat sailing, kayaking, waterskiing, wake boarding and banana rides.

Kayaking

Several hotels have sit-on kayaks, but an alternative and fun way to explore the north-eastern corner of Tobago is to take a half or full day kayak trip, either pure kayaking or a combination of land and sea which includes a rain forest hike.

Kayaking tours are available through:

Tobago Sea Kayak Experience, Charlotteville.

Scuba Diving

Please see our Special Interest - Scuba section.

Snorkelling

There are excellent snorkelling possibilities in Tobago ( for the best snorkelling beaches see our Tobago Beaches guide ). The most popular area is undoubtedly the famous Buccoo Reef, the island’s largest. A multitude of glass bottom and snorkelling boats head out to Buccoo Reef from Store Bay and Pigeon Point, stopping at the Nylon Pool for a swim on the way back -  so called because the colour of the water reminded Princess Margaret (back in 1962) of nylon fishing line.

Buccoo Reef, which was designated a marine park in 1973, is a fringing reef with five reef platforms separated by deep channels. They enclose a shallow sandy reef lagoon and the mangrove-fringed Bon Accord Lagoon. Over the years the reef has suffered considerable damage and is not as impressive as it once was, however the Buccoo Reef Trust are working to rectify this.

Sports Fishing

Tobagonian waters have the most sought after big game fishing in this area, largely due to the good size of the fish, which grow on the rich nutrients flowing from the waters from the Orinoco River in Venezuela. The offshore fishing season runs from October through June, but the biggest catches tend to be around between January and May. Deep water species include blue marlin, white marlin, sailfish, yellowfin tuna, dolphin (dorado), wahoo and shark.

There is also good coastal fishing in Tobago and some good inshore fishing. You can expect to encounter bonefish, permit, snook, king mackerel, barracuda, snapper, jack and grouper.

One of the main events of the sportfishing calendar is at the end of March, when the Tobago International Game Fishing Tournament takes place out of Charlotteville, a picturesque fishing village located on Man O’War Bay, at the island's northeast end. There is excellent sport fishing off the eastern end of the island (and a small fish export industry too).  March also sees the TTGFA Marlin Madness Tournament taking place at Pigeon Point. Boats are available for charter for the tournaments. 

Deep sea fishing charter boats on Tobago include:

Hard Play Fishing Charters Ltd - Three boats run by Captain Gerard “Frothy” de Silva, who is an IGFA certified captain. A tag and release system has been set up for larger blue/white marlin and sailfish.

Dream Catcher Marine Charters - Captains Sheldon Wong Chong and Stephen Mohammed offer to take out fishermen.

Surfing

The surfing season runs between September and April, during which time the local surfing hotspot is Mt Irvine Beach.