Safety First: What Level 3 Means
Level 3 is the State Department's second-highest tier. It does not ban travel, but it asks you to think hard before going. For a honeymoon that has practical consequences. Some travel insurance policies treat Level 3 destinations differently, so read the fine print before you buy. You will also want a hotel that handles your transfers, because the drive out of Piarco is not the moment to improvise.
The advisory bars US government staff at all times from Laventille, Beetham, Sea Lots, Cocorite, Piccadilly and Besson Streets, the southern end of Charlotte Street and the interior of the Queen's Park Savannah. Downtown Port of Spain, Fort George, the Savannah and the city's beaches are off-limits to them after dark. Treat those rules as your own.
Sensible habits go a long way. Keep phones and jewelry out of sight, use hotel-arranged or app-booked taxis, skip deserted beaches and lay-bys and do not drive at night outside towns. Enroll in STEP so the embassy can reach you. Mosquitoes here can carry dengue, so pack repellent; if you're pregnant or hoping to be soon, check CDC travel health notices for Trinidad and Tobago. If all of that sounds like it would spoil the mood, that is a reasonable conclusion. Grenada and Barbados are both an hour or less away by air.
Why Couples Still Come
The case for Trinidad and Tobago is that it feels like nowhere else in the Caribbean. Indian, African, Chinese, Syrian and European roots meet in the food, the music and the calendar, so a single week can bring a Hindu temple built out over the sea, a pan yard rehearsal and a plate of curry crab and dumpling. Wildlife is the other draw. Scarlet ibis fly into the Caroni Swamp at dusk, hummingbirds crowd the feeders at the Asa Wright Nature Centre and from March to August leatherbacks, the largest turtles on earth, haul themselves up north coast beaches to lay their eggs.
Tobago supplies the softer side: the thatched jetty at Pigeon Point, coral at Buccoo and Speyside, fishing villages like Castara and Charlotteville and almost no high-rise development. Food and diving are good value by Caribbean standards. This is not an all-inclusive country. That is the point. It suits couples who like guesthouses, local guides and long lunches with a view.
Best Time to Visit
The dry season runs roughly January through May, with the most reliable sunshine from February to April. That window also holds Carnival, which peaks on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. It is an enormous street party with costumed bands, the predawn mud and paint of J'ouvert and soca at full volume. It is also the most crowded and expensive time of year, with flights and rooms gone months ahead.
The wet season runs June through December. In most weeks that means short heavy downpours rather than days of gray. The islands sit at the southern edge of the hurricane belt, so direct hits are uncommon, though not impossible. Turtle season straddles both: nesting is heaviest from about April to June and hatchlings scramble to the sea into August. Late July and early August bring the Tobago Heritage Festival, with village dances, drumming and a re-enacted old-time Tobago wedding. For good weather without the Carnival crush, aim for March or early May.
Where to Go
Tobago is the natural base for a honeymoon. The southwest around Crown Point has the airport, the easiest beaches at Pigeon Point and Store Bay and boat trips to Buccoo Reef and the Nylon Pool, a waist-deep patch of white sand in open water. Drive up the Caribbean coast and the island gets quieter: Mt Irvine, Castara, Englishman's Bay and finally Speyside and Charlotteville at the northeast end, where divers come for huge brain corals and boats cross to the bird sanctuary on Little Tobago. Our Tobago guide covers both ends of the island.
On Trinidad, the place we would send couples is Grande Riviere, a remote village on the north coast where a handful of small lodges face one of the busiest leatherback nesting beaches anywhere. It is a long drive from the airport, which is part of its charm. Day trips to Maracas Bay for bake and shark, to the Caroni Swamp at sunset and to Asa Wright are best arranged with a guide rather than attempted in a rental car.
Sample 10-Day Itinerary
- Day 1: Land at Piarco and take a pre-booked transfer to Grande Riviere, about three hours along the north and east coasts.
- Days 2–3: Sleep late, swim where the river meets the sea, then join a guided night walk on the beach to watch leatherbacks nest (March to August).
- Day 4: Head west with a driver-guide, stopping at Asa Wright for hummingbirds and lunch, then the Caroni Swamp for the ibis flight at dusk. Overnight near the airport.
- Day 5: Morning flight to Tobago. Check in around Crown Point and spend the afternoon at Pigeon Point.
- Day 6: Glass-bottom boat to Buccoo Reef and the Nylon Pool. On a Sunday, finish at the Sunday School street party in Buccoo.
- Days 7–8: Move up the coast to Castara. Walk to Englishman's Bay and hike the Gilpin Trace in the Main Ridge rainforest with a guide.
- Day 9: Snorkel or dive at Speyside and take the boat to Little Tobago.
- Day 10: Drive back to Crown Point for your flight home.
Budget and Costs
All figures are approximate and in US dollars. Trinidad and Tobago is cheaper than the islands to its north for food and moderate for rooms. Good guesthouses and small hotels on Tobago run roughly $120–250 a night for two, while the island's top resorts and private villas sit around $300–600. The small lodges at Grande Riviere usually fall in the $120–250 range, often with breakfast included. Street food is a bargain: doubles cost about a dollar, a roti lunch runs around $6–10 and a seafood dinner for two with drinks lands near $60–120.
Guided day trips on Trinidad typically cost $80–150 per person. Rental cars on Tobago start around $50–70 a day. Budget about $250–450 a day as a couple for a comfortable trip. Carnival is the exception: rooms on Trinidad can double or triple in price with multi-night minimums. Larger hotels quote in US dollars, though small cafes, maxi taxis and beach vendors want Trinidad and Tobago dollars in cash.
Getting There and Around
Piarco International (POS) outside Port of Spain has the most US nonstops: Caribbean Airlines from New York JFK, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, American from Miami, JetBlue from JFK and United from Houston, plus seasonal winter flights from Newark. Expect four to five and a half hours in the air. Tobago's A.N.R. Robinson International (TAB) gets one weekly Caribbean Airlines nonstop from JFK. Everyone else connects in Port of Spain.
Between the islands, the air bridge flight takes under half an hour and runs many times a day. Ferries between Port of Spain and Scarborough take about three hours and carry cars. On Trinidad, hire a driver or guide rather than renting: traffic is heavy, signs are poor and the advisory's warnings about night driving apply. On Tobago, a rental car is reasonable for daytime touring. You drive on the left. The coastal road past Castara toward Charlotteville is narrow with blind curves, so take it slowly and finish before dark.
Culture and Etiquette
Trinis are direct and quick to tease. They also expect a greeting before business. A "good morning" at a shop counter or when you climb into a taxi is basic manners; launching straight into a question reads as rude. Liming, the national art of hanging out with no agenda, drives a lot of social life, so loosen your grip on the schedule.
Dress is casual on the beach but cover up in towns, churches and temples. Topless sunbathing is not accepted. Hindu temples and mosques ask you to remove shoes. Carnival has its own rules: masqueraders pay to join a band and the parade route belongs to them, so watch from the sidelines unless you are registered. Tipping runs about 10–15 percent where service is not already on the bill. Rum is taken seriously here. Puncheon can top 70 percent alcohol, so pace yourselves at fetes and let a local mix your first rum punch. At fetes and Carnival, stay together, keep an eye on your drinks and agree on a meeting point in case you get separated.
Quick tips
- Book airport transfers through your hotel and stay off Trinidad's roads after dark.
- Order doubles with 'slight' pepper the first time; 'blaze' means serious heat.
- Turtle watching on protected Trinidad beaches from March to August needs a permit, which lodges and licensed guides arrange.
