Tobago: Cocoa, Fishing and Island Culture

Tobago is shaped by its cocoa industry, communal fishing traditions and historic sites. These themes offer different starting points for planning your trip: in Roxborough, cocoa is linked to chocolate making; in fishing communities, bringing in the day’s catch together is part of the practice described here; and Buccoo contains traces of earlier facilities. Whether your trip includes Tobago, Trinidad or both main islands is also relevant to your planning.

Getting there and travelling between the islands

The Trinidad and Tobago Inter-Island Ferry Service offers daily ferry connections between Trinidad and Tobago. As schedules can change, check the current timetable with the operator before travelling. This lets you take the connection into account when planning without relying on fixed departure times.

Cocoa, fishing and community traditions

In 2005, Tobago’s cocoa industry was revived through the initiative of young Tobagonian and sommelier Duane Dove. Tobago Cocoa Estate is located in the green hills of Roxborough, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. A type of cocoa known as “fine” or “flavour” cocoa is grown there and used to make chocolate. Cocoa history and cultivation thus offer a tangible way to explore Tobago’s agricultural character.

In Tobago’s fishing communities, groups bring in the day’s catch using a method called “pulling seine.” The practice is also referred to as the “tradition of lending hands”; the name itself foregrounds working together. Cocoa and fishing show two different sides of local life: the processing of a cultivated crop on the one hand, and the community effort around the day’s catch on the other.

Harvest celebrations and historic traces

The Tobago Harvest Festival began as a religious thanksgiving celebration for the produce of the island’s villages. The programme described includes a morning service to bless the food and an afternoon concert featuring skits, poems and a cantata by the village choir.

Buccoo Historical Park is located on Golden Grove Estate in Buccoo. As a historic nature park, it features the remains of two water mills, a copra-drying area and an old cocoa building. These three types of remains also make the site interesting for travellers who want to explore the physical traces of earlier uses alongside the landscape and cultural history.

Trinidad and Tobago: a wider travel perspective

The island nation of Trinidad and Tobago lies in the southern Caribbean, northeast of Venezuela and south of Grenada. It covers 5,128 square kilometres and consists of the two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago, as well as 21 smaller islands. Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two main islands. This distinction helps you separate experiences on Tobago from things to do on Trinidad when planning your stay.

Tobago is home to the Main Ridge Forest Reserve. It covers 3,958 hectares of tropical rainforest, including lower montane rainforest, lowland rainforest and xerophytic rainforest. Main Ridge extends lengthwise across about two-thirds of Tobago; the reserve was established by the British in 1776. Its rainforest is a habitat for the rare white-tailed sabrewing (Campylopterus ensipennis), which is endemic to Tobago. The area, forest types and distinctive bird give the nature theme a clearly defined regional dimension.

Reef, events and different travel interests

In the wider travel region, Buccoo Reef can be explored by glass-bottom boat or on a dive. The reef is home to tropical fish and features colourful coral. Check the providers’ current availability before your trip. Trinidad’s major event has a different timeframe: the Trinidad Carnival’s major street parade takes place on Carnival Monday and Carnival Tuesday, with dates varying each year.

Steelpan limes and Panorama competitions are part of the pre-Carnival season in Trinidad. Pan-yard limes are seasonal and organised locally; visitors can talk with locals there and listen to live steelpan music. Rio Seco Waterfall is also on Trinidad: it is about 30 feet high and forms a large, deep pool at its base where you can swim. Water conditions can vary. The annual Great Race, meanwhile, is a speedboat race that starts in Trinidad and ends in Tobago.

When choosing your hotel base, it may help to first decide which islands and experiences you want to focus on during your trip. Rainforest and endemic birdlife, the reef, seasonal steelpan events and the waterfall appeal to different interests and are spread across Tobago and Trinidad. If you include both main islands, factor in the daily ferry service and check the timetable before travelling.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Scarborough, Trinidad, Port Of Spain, Sangre Grande, Eastern Tobago, San Juan-Laventille, Couva-Tabaquite-Talparo, Diego Martin.

Back to the main travel overview: Trinidad And Tobago.