Carnival in Trinidad & Tobago
In an article about the future of Trinidad and Tobago tourism, General Manager of the Port of Spain Hilton, Ali Khan, stated the need for the country to expand beyond Carnival tourism. The twin island Republic puts on one helluva party every February or March and the population swells with over 40,000 tourists joining the majority of the one million local population. The question that needs to be asked from a tourism perspective is what about the rest of the year?
Hills surrounding Port of Spain are beautiful
When I landed in Port of Spain earlier this year for Carnival, as soon as it was light, I was struck with how similar the topography resembled Costa Rica. Beautiful hills covered with lush vegetation surrounded the city. This attractive scenery was in the capital. I was soon to find out it would only get better in the interior.
After Carnival was over, and we had time to re-cooperate, we hit the jungles, the swamps, enjoyed a beach, and had a few more beers. I think we enjoyed after Carnival activities just as much as the party itself.
A little post Carnival relaxation
Since I had just returned from Costa Rica, I was constantly comparing the two countries. In some ways Trinidad & Tobago compared favorably and in other ways not so much. When it came to natural beauty and wildlife, Trinidad & Tobago held up well. When it came to a tourist infrastructure, this is where Trinidad & Tobago was weak.
The beautiful Asa Wright jungle
During a tour of the Asa Wright Nature Center, which is one of the main attractions in the interior, someone asked our guide if anyone camped in the reserve. Our guide had to ask him to repeat the question. This was not because he did not hear it or could not understand him as our guide spoke perfect English. The reason he asked him to repeat was the word “camping” was not in his vocabulary, nor was it in the lingo of this beautiful nature reserve.
A similar refrain played out in the Caroni Swamp except this time it was the author who asked the question. While on a boat tour with 30 other visitors, I raised my hand and asked if you could kayak the swamp. The guide looked at me incredulously and said you would get lost even though a place like the Everglades in Florida, which is probably ten times the size of Caroni, allows full solo exploration.
At Caroni, you either have to take a boat tour or find a guide. Adventure guides are not easy to find here and do not trek every day to the same locations, so you have to accommodate to their schedule instead of vice versa.
A rainbow delights eco-tourists at Caroni Swamp
Trinidad & Tobago is a beautiful country, but it is not so easy to enjoy it if you are a visitor bent on adventure travel. Lack of access and guides is just one problem. It is not so easy to get around the island without a car. You pretty much have to hire private drivers, rent a car, or figure out the Maxi Taxi system. There are buses, but they are not very prevalent. Therefore, there are no real logistical budget options for backpackers.
Another point that Mr. Khan makes in his article is the fear of crime. One of the best ways of getting around both Port of Spain and beyond is the Maxi Taxi, which is a shared van that makes regular stops. There are some warnings to avoid these do to the threat of getting mugged. As Mr. Khan points out, no one wants to visit a country and be the victim of a crime.
Hiking in the Chaugauramas National Park
Another problem with eco-tourism development is squatters. I have it from a reliable source that there are issues with squatters in the jungle. The problem with squatting is it leads to unchecked urban sprawl. Trinidad is a small island and the interior with places like Asa Wright, Caroni, and Nariva Swamp are worth conserving and expanding. If urban sprawl continues, it could be a problem as people hack away at the inner rainforest. There are 17 species alone of hummingbirds in Trinidad & Tobago. People come from thousands of miles to see the wildlife and wild places of Trinidad & Tobago.
Trinidad & Tobago is nicknamed the “land of the hummingbird” – A white-necked Jacobin in his element at Asa Wright
Therefore it is my recommendation that the country first of all protect and expand conservation efforts in places like Asa Wright, Caroni Swamp, Nariva Swamp, and other worthy places. After protection is in place, then it would be wise to provide more activities for visitors to enjoy in these beautiful places. They should build more and longer hiking trails, canoe and kayak opportunities, and perhaps a place to camp. I was really surprised at how short the hiking trails were at Asa Wright. They only have a couple of short trails in the middle of a jungle wilderness.
Improve bus service and transportation within the country to facilitate visitors to and from top tourism destinations. These improvements will also help the local population. They will be able to use this transportation also and the increased visitation will of course help the economy.
It is not hard to find a bus in Costa Rica
Just about everyone and their brother has gone to Costa Rica and raves about the adventure, the scenery, and the wildlife. When people say Trinidad & Tobago the first word out of their mouth is Carnival unless you knew that there are 17 species of hummingbirds there.
While the twin Island Republic will never rival Costa Rica as far as adventure travel, it could improve their tourism dramatically if they built up the eco-tourism opportunities. They could market the combination of eco-tourism, the idyllic Caribbean island of Tobago, and delicious food to woe the tourists the 51 other weeks of the calendar year if they improve their tourist infrastructure, boost eco-tourism opportunities, and clean up the crime. While Costa Rica is great, it does not have that combination.
The Trinidad cuisine is worth visiting alone – A street vendor making doubles
Even without these improvements, I highly recommend a visit to Trinidad & Tobago. Carnival is a once in a lifetime experience, but stay around for awhile and check out these amazing post Carnival options.
Stay tuned,
TT
The goal of Traveling Ted TV is to inspire people to outdoor adventure travel and then provide tips on where and how to go. If you liked this post then enter your email in the box to get email notifications for each new entry. Daily travel photos are excluded from your email in order to not flood you with posts. There is no spam and email information will not be shared. Other e-follow options include Facebook (click on the like box to the right) or twitter (click on the pretty bird on the rainbow above).
[subscribe2]
Good recommendations for going green and being more adventure travel friendly. In the words of Kermit the Frog “Once you go green, you don’t want to ever go back!”
(So Kermit may not have said that but it’s the internet so random quotes attributed to a puppet are OK).
Jeremy Branham recently posted..7 things I learned from the day I almost quit traveling
It is interesting you bring up Kermit because there is a picture of a rainbow here. Call it the Rainbow Connection: the lovers, the poets, and me.
Interesting suggestions. A few things to note: buses in Trinidad do not go to remote areas but there are buses. Secondly, kayaking and conservation do not exactly go hand in hand. Given the Trini proclivity for partying one could easily envisage garbage left on the banks of the swamp and people lighting fires to keep away the wildlife at Asa Wright and then burning down the vegetation. Trinis are slightly careless, it’s all part of their free-wheeling fun-loving personality. The hills surrounding POS are an example. There are accessible trails there and every year there are problems with fires. There are hiking clubs which meet regularly and hike on weekends. It would be great if the tourism office of the government could liaise with them and provide info on their hikes for the visitors.
Thanks for the great comment Denise. I actually did read somewhere that there were buses, but I did not see any when I was there.
When it comes down to it, the country is theirs and conservation must come from within. I always think the more people who come to a place and enjoy it, the better it will be protect. Of course it is true to love a place too much.
It’s always interesting to get the feed back from visitors. As much as Trinis would like to think everything is perfect about TnT, the fact is that much of what you say is true. But all is not lost. Would like to think things will improve for the best. Would be lovely to be able to show visitors a ‘REAL TRINI EXPERIENCE’! I think what they get now is just a ‘taste’.
Nevertheless, I always say that TnT is my home forever and I agree with Ted that a visit here will be well worth every penny, time and effort!
Hi Marina,
Thanks for the comment and glad you agree. My feedback is constructive criticism as I thoroughly enjoyed my stay. I definitely do not all is lost as the capability to build is there.
A country like Trinidad and Tobago should thrive on eco-tourism opportunities! They are fortunate to have so much to work with like Asa Wright and Caroni Swamp. They’ll see an increase in tourists and a dramatic increase in overall profits if they improve methods of transportation, reduce the risk of crime, and promote ways to explore the diverse geographic landscapes this Caribbean island has to offer!
Jesse Richheimer @ Green Global Travel recently posted..Time in a Bottle: Exploring Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Thanks Jesse,
You pretty much nailed their issues on the head. It seems the only way to get around is the shared vans, and I know their are security issues with those. They are kind of confusing to use too.