Need Tobago advice

[a1parrothead]

Hello all,
I just spent a LONG time reading this forum and links from postings regarding Tobago. I am seriously thinking of going for a couple weeks in July. There will be 4 of us, all Advanced divers from Oregon, so I don't mind the currents. I could use some more advice though.
If we fly directly onto Tobago (from Atlanta) via Delta, it looks like we can arrive only on Sat. and depart only on Sunday. This makes for a short or long stay with really not much in between. Other then that, any other reasons NOT to fly Delta directly to Crown Point on Tobago?
Car rentals? Any ideas or suggestions for who to go with or not? I assume I can pick one up near the airport.
Now for the 2 big questions. Who to dive with and where to stay. As far as accommodations, I would prefer to rent a small house or the such where we could prepare our own meals.
I do not want to dive with any resort type operation. I want to find a smaller operation that will take the 4 of us out.
I know all of this sounds pretty demanding, but I have been VERY fortunate over the years with the places we have stayed and who we have dove with. We like quiet, small places. If I could find a small all-inclusive on Tobago, that's probably where we would end up.
Any help would be great.
Thanks, Jeff

 

[swamp diver]

If you can make the Delta flight work that is the one with the least amount of hassle although I can't remember if it was operational last summer when passenger volumes were down. If not you'll have to fly through Port of Spain.

If you are interested in renting a great apartment with cooking facilities I'd recommend the upper floor of this one in Charlotteville. It will sleep four people very comfortably.
The CharlotteVilla, Charlotteville, Travel Tobago - Caribbean pure !

As for diving out of Speyside if you don't want a resort type operation then there is only one choice if you consider safety your primary concern. Stuart is a quite a bit more expensive but it will only be yourselves on the boat.
Tobago SCUBA Diving: CaribStu Dive Service

You might want to check out the weather in July and make sure that is not the peak of the rainy season but even so there will be lots to see both underwater and topside.

Stuart or the lady who looks after Charlottevilla can arrange a 4WD for you to pick up at the airport.

More info on the hotels, car rentals, and dive ops on this site
www.mytobago.info

Peter

 

[petermichelle]

For a clean apartment I highly recommend Arnos Vale Apts run by Victor Forde. He also rents cars. The apt is off the beaten track in the little village of Plymouth --- 10 minutes to great beaches. It is quite central for south coast diving. Ground floor is a spacious 2 bedroom with a patio and garden. We dove with World of Watersports. Had great dives with them. But they are a resort op and size of group depends on how busy things are. Over Christmas, we had 10 days of diving with just the 3 of us on the boat.

Check out Tobago - myTobago Holiday Accommodation & Tourist Information Guide

 

[Roncone]

Hi Jeff,

Our group of 3 just got back from Tobago 5 days ago. We have been tending towards liveaboard vacations lately, but our purpose was to spend more time in current in preparation for a liveaboard trip to Socorro this Fall, so we went land-based this time, booking 6 days of diving. We also flew into Crown Point via Delta and found this arrangement to be quite efficient.

After much reasearch, we ended up deciding to dive with Caribstu for 5 days, and stayed at Blue Waters Inn in Speyside. Our first day of diving, however, was with World of Watersports near Crown Point, just so we could see what diving was like elsewhere on the island.

We enjoyed our 2 first dives in Crown Point, but in retrospect, would have done all of our diving in Speyside. There is no comparison between the 2 areas with respect to topside scenery, reef quality, and marine life. Caribstu ran a terrific program for us. He runs private tours, so he will not book additional divers on his boat once he has made a booking. Yes, he does cost a little more than other operators, but looking at the service he provides, I'm shocked that his fees are so low. We got a personalized week, choosing our own dive sites, dive times and surface interval locations. He is a wealth of knowledge, extremely safety-conscious, and seemingly knows every piece of reef and those crazy currents and conditions like the back of his hand. Despite having problems with his boat, he managed to get completely organized for our arrival and salvaged the week as well. Due to his emphasis on safety and lack of Nitrox, you will be making only 2-3 dives per day. We were happy with this but some divers may want more. When we booked our first day with World of Watersports (the only Nitrox supplier we could find), we were told that their blender was down but would likely be running by the time we arrived. It wasn't.

I have never visited Tobago, but soon discovered that finding decent service ANYWHERE is very difficult. We only got decent service near the Crown Point area. Otherwise, don't expect to get what you order at a restaurant. Don't expect a menu. Don't expect proper road directions. Don't expect intelligent answers to questions. Don't expect to pay the confirmed rate at your hotel (yes... upon checkout at Blue Waters Inn, our rate on our invoice had DOUBLED. When I showed the hotel staff my email CONFIRMATION with the original rate, they said that the email was wrong and that they expected us to pay the new rate. It took about 45 minutes of debating to have them honour their original rate. Interestingly, when we left for dinner immediately afterwards, our room was mildly robbed with no sign of break-in to our door which was ALWAYS locked). In retrospect, I would not have stayed at a hotel, but rather a house/villa, where we could oraganize our own meals. Even hotel restaurants that advertise specific hours of operation will be "closed" without warning. We were thankful to have peanut butter and some bread in our room, because there were at least 4 or 5 instances where we could get no food anywhere! This made for a good laugh, but in reality, was pretty inconvenient. Incidentally, I walked into Aquamarine (Blue Waters Inn's on-side dive-op) just to check out the place a few days after arriving, and I received the greeting that I had come to expect from many businesses in Tobago... a recognition grunt acknowledging my presence and an angry look that I had come to refer to as the "what do you want with me? You're disturbing me while I sit on the step looking bored" look. Thanks but no thanks.

We rented a car from Sheppy's and the man is a gem. He runs an excellent efficient business, has great vehicles and was really good to us, despite having sideswiped his vehicle into a rock wall a few days after arrival. I give him my highest recommendation!

I don't think you'll be disappointed diving with Stu.

If you have any questions, please feel free to pm.

Ron

 

[swamp diver]

Nice write up Ron. The service at Blue Water Inn doesn't sound any worse than what one might find on the Toronto Transit Commission.

Good to hear Stuart has his boat up and running again. How is Smitty the boat captain doing these days?

Peter

 

[DALECO]

Hello. I am also going to Tobago in July, but I am staying at Crown Point with my family+, for a total of five divers. Our experience ranges from 4 dives (my 13 y old son) to my wife and myself (about 160 dives from Maine to Tobago Cay). I can see the three kids diving in the Crown Point area, but the wife and I are eager to dive Speyside. I'd like suggestions about some good, honest dive operators who will give us our best dive experience.

 

[schu1842]

My son, daughter in law and I dove with the World of Watersports shop in January. It is located in an old Hilton complex that presently has no operator. I believe there was some run in with the government but I'm not sure what the deal was. The dive shop is still up and running. One of the directors is John Borrett - a retired diving instructor from the UK. He picked us up at the cruise ship - took us to the shop and took us from the resort to the dive boat. We then shared the boat with another dive group. Its my understanding that a storm wrecked some of the other operator's boats and this group was sharing the boat. The dives were very good but entry was by back roll and getting back into the boat required a weight - gear handoff and then timing the pitch of the boat and launching yourself through a small doorway onto the deck - there was no ladder. John met us at the boat and took us back to the shop to rinse the gear off, etc. Prior to the dive John briefed us on what to expect and some of traits of the local culture/population. He took us back to the ship with plenty of time to spare. While John did not conduct the actual dives he was a great resource and made sure we were with competent staff. You may want to contact him to get his advice and see what kind of deals they are offering.