Teachers'  Travel - interesting tours and travel - since 1970

       
   Tobago Nature Tour

    Feb 4 - 11, 2009   or    March 4 - 11, 2009
    (plus an optional additional week )
  
  ABOUT TOBAGO
The islands of Trinidad and Tobago are forgotten gems in the Caribbean – green emeralds in a dazzling turquoise sea. Over 400 species of birds occupy Trinidad while the tiny island of Tobago counts at least 210. Jewel-like Hummingbirds hover over colourful hibiscus. Blue-crowned Motmots and Purple Honeycreepers flutter amid lush foliage. Trinidad and Tobago also boast 2,300 different flowering plants (700 of them are orchids).  This is paradise for nature lovers with ecological diversity which includes the oldest legally protected forest in the world. Tobago is the "Isle of Robinson Crusoe" - the perfect tropical island that captivates visitors with blue skies, unspoiled white beaches, birds of gold and fish that fly. It is magic. 

On our nature tour we fly directly to Trinidad and then connect (20 minutes) to the island of Tobago. We stay at Crown Point Beach Hotel - a small, casual resort with shady tropical gardens, a lovely beach and gorgeous views of the turquoise Caribbean. From here we take guided nature walks and tours including the Main Ridge Rain Forest and the Arnos Vale bird sanctuary. On one day we fly to Trinidad to visit the world-famous Asa Wright Nature Centre. This nature centre is deep in the mountain forest and is one of the most interesting places in the natural world with an amazing variety of tropical birds. It attracts nature-loving visitors from around the world - in 2007 we arrived the day before Prince Charles. In Trinidad we also visit the Caroni Wetlands to see the magnificent spectacle of flocks of thousands of brilliant red Scarlet Ibis coming home to roost at sunset. 

The biodiversity of Tobago is tremendous. All the major ecosystems exist here: tropical rainforest, mangrove, wetlands, lowland forest, coral reef systems and seabird nesting islands. Each of these systems has a rich species diversity that includes 210 species of birds.

In March, endangered giant leatherback turtles come ashore to the beach of their birth to dig their nests and lay their eggs and if we are lucky we may see the fascinating ritual.