Trinidad / Island Tours

Trinidad is synonymous with Carnival, steel band and calypso and if you can’t attend the event itself in the days before Ash Wednesday then there are cultural tours available which will give you some of the flavour. It’s also possible to visit the mas camps and pan yards under your own steam of course but organised trips are probably more rewarding (see Carnival section) although given that the Trinis are the liveliest of all the Caribbean islanders, if you are invited to a party, go.

Port of Spain has a rich architectural, cultural and religious heritage with numerous denominations amongst its polyglot society and this is also best explored with dedicated guides. A simple stroll round the Savannah will startle anyone with an eye for architecture and the history of the ‘magnificent seven’ buildings is an education it itself, and well worth appreciating.

The best birdlife in the Caribbean by a long way is in Trinidad. Wildlife and birding tours are outstanding, covering all areas of the country, including plant spotting in the Aripo savannah (see Nature and Hiking sections for more information).

Any visitor to Trinidad should always contemplate a layover in Tobago too if time allows, the sister island having an allure all its own; the ferry service from downtown takes 2½ hours or you can fly with Caribbean Airlines’ air-bridge service, with several flights per day which take less than twenty minutes, see the Island Hopping section for specific details. See the Definitive Guide to Tobago.

Below we recommend a handful of the best tour / guide operators, each of which has their specialist knowledge:

The Travel Centre - is a long established professional company based in Woodbrook, Port of Spain. Full range of tours, top class guides and expertise. 

Caribbean Discovery Tours - Stephen Broadbridge is an expert guide in Nariva and Northern Range, kayaking down the islands, good off the beaten track man - Paramin, central Trinidad and Aripo savannah, a birding and wild life specialist.

Banwari Experience, at Lower Santa Cruz - offer a wide range of tours including Carnival options, cultural tours, beach picnics, and river limes.

Paria Springs Tours - Courteney Rooks is a top quality guide and environmentalist who also conducts the vital Ocelot Conservation Programme in the Northern Range, activity holidays including kayaking and mountain biking as well as birding.

There are also a number of exceptional individual guides, prominent amongst them being Christo Adonis, a Carib descendant fully au fait with medicinal plants in the northern forests, and Jalal Khan, an authoritative and well travelled hiker.