Tobago as a whole is kind of off the tourist and cruising radar and Charlotteville is really off the radar. Most of Tobago’s tourism is actually people coming for a weekend or week from Trinidad, whom they are a country with. Outside of that the foreigner tourist probably makes up around 25% of the tourism. I am not sure why this is since the island is a paradise and has a little of everything to offer from beaches to waterfalls to rainforest to reefs. About the only thing not is plenty of supply is anchorages, as I said in a past blog.
Since Charlotteville was on the far end of the island from where we anchored the boat, Steve and I chose to ride the local bus up there. We could have sailed directly for Charlotteville and anchored in the giant Man O War Bay and even checked into Trinidad and Tobago here, but we chose to check in at Scarborough. Anyways, when we decided to try the local bus up there we were told to get our tickets inside this one particular pastry shop in the middle of town and catch the bus right outside. Let me tell you the pastry shop was the right way to start this trip and then this modern touring bus showed up. Wow! I am used to being in the back of a pickup with benches in the other islands, so this was super nice. All for 8TT one way, that is the equivalent of about $1.25.
Once we dropped over the mountain ridge and down into the Charlotteville valley we got off the bus and headed straight for the beach. From here you can see the bay curve around you making a huge half circle. The beach was quite wonderful and not crowded at all. Truly an out of the way place. There are even a couple quaint little restaurants right on the beach that are way nicer than the driftwood shacks I am used to seeing. Just a great place to spend a day or two relaxing.
After a while I wondered across the street and popped into the tourism office in the village. Funny story about being in there. I figured there was a tourism office that meant there was stuff to tell me and place I needed to see. When I asked the indifferent lady what else I should see while in the village she responded with “that implies there was something you already saw”. Haha.
With that I can tell you the only real thing to do in Charlotteville is hang out at the beach and have lunch in the nice restaurants. I found strolling through town and chatting with some of the locals as time well spent, but that is about all there is. With that said I enjoyed my time and want to come back to this little village on the north end of a seldom visited island.
One of the nice restaurants right on the beach
