Tobago Uncovered – From Rainforest to Reef
Tour Introduction
Delve into Tobago’s wild beauty with this varied itinerary that spans the island’s lush interior and sun-drenched coast. Start with the iconic beaches of Store Bay and Pigeon Point, then head inland to the secluded Cuffie River Nature Retreat and go birding in the Main Ridge Forest Reserve. Explore Little Tobago off the quiet northeastern tip, before winding down with a few nights in Castara village, soaking up its laidback charm, and some privately guided snorkelling in the clear waters of Englishman’s Bay and Rockstone Bay. Nature, culture, and Caribbean magic—wrapped into one unforgettable escape.
Full Itinerary
Met on arrival at Crown Point Airport and transfer to hotel.
Staying at Kariwak Village. Includes No Meals.
Today is at leisure to relax or explore on own. It is a short walk to Store Bay Beach and the various local eateries and bars on Milford Road. The hotel also operates a daily shuttle service to the white sand and turquoise sea of Pigeon Point.
Staying at Kariwak Village. Includes Breakfast.
After a relaxed morning transfer inland to Cuffie River Nature Retreat, a secluded ecolodge bordering the Main Ridge Forest Reserve.
Staying at Cuffie River Nature Retreat. Includes Breakfast and Dinner.
This morning accompanied by the lodge's resident guide explore the lush rainforest and abundant birdlife. Over 100 species of birds have been recorded at the lodge and its environs, and the iconic Trinidad motmot is usually quite easy to spot. The afternoon is at leisure to relax, or independently explore.
Staying at Cuffie River Nature Retreat. Includes All Meals.
After an early breakfast meet your private guide and drive to Main Ridge Forest Reserve for a morning of birding. This is the oldest protected forest in the western hemisphere, established in 1776 to protect the watershed. A variety of bird species might be seen including blue-backed manakin, white-tailed sabrewing, olivaceous woodcreeper, great black hawk and collared trogon.
Continue to Speyside for a delicious waterfront lunch in a local restaurant, then on to Blue Waters Inn on Batteaux Bay for an afternoon at leisure. The hotel is nestled in the quiet north-eastern end of the island with a beautiful sandy beach to relax on and 46 acres of wildlife-filled tropical gardens to explore.
Staying at Blue Waters Inn. Includes Breakfast and Lunch.
After breakfast transfer by glass-bottomed boat for a shared tour to Little Tobago Bird Sanctuary on protected Little Tobago Island. During the boat trip along the edge of the island you will see a variety of seabirds including red-footed and brown boobies, magnificent frigate birds and red-billed tropic birds. Those who also want to snorkel will be rewarded with views of some of the largest brain coral recorded in the western hemisphere! The afternoon is at leisure to relax or explore on your own.
Staying at Blue Waters Inn. Includes Breakfast.
After a relaxed breakfast transfer south-westwards to the fishing village of Castara on Castara Bay with its long, sandy beach. Spend five nights here in comfortable accommodation overlooking the Bay.
Staying at Castara Retreats. Includes Breakfast.
Spend the morning exploring the underwater world of Englishman's Bay and Rockstone Bay on a privately guided snorkel tour. Fauna might include parrotfish, trumpetfish, wrasse, sergeant majors, rays, schools of baitfish, and the occasional hawksbill turtle.
Staying at Castara Retreats. Includes No Meals.
Enjoy a day at leisure to relax, swim or snorkel in the calm waters of Castara Bay, hike to a nearby waterfall, or arrange activities directly with the hotel. Castara Retreats offers a variety of tours and activities with local providers including rainforest walks/birding, boat trips to secluded bays (with beach bbq!), and stand up paddleboarding.
Staying at Castara Retreats. Includes No Meals.
A day at leisure to relax or arrange activities locally.
Staying at Castara Retreats. Includes No Meals.
A final day to relax or arrange activities directly with the hotel.
Staying at Castara Retreats. Includes No Meals.
After a relaxed morning transfer to Crown Point International Airport.
Includes No Meals.
Tour Accommodation
Kariwak Village
Overview
Located close to the airport and popular beaches at Crown Point, Kariwak Village is a long-established, family-run property offering a peaceful and characterful base for exploring Tobago. The accommodation consists of simple but comfortable thatched cabanas and garden rooms set in well-maintained tropical gardens.
The on-site restaurant serves fresh, locally sourced meals with a focus on healthy Caribbean-inspired cuisine. Guests can take part in yoga sessions in the open-air ajoupa, enjoy the small pool, or unwind in the shaded garden areas. Kariwak Village is well positioned for visiting Tobago’s rainforest interior, nearby coral reefs, and cultural highlights, making it a convenient and calming stop at the start or end of a wildlife-focused itinerary.
Swimming Pool
Air Conditioning
Rooms
Facilities
Restaurant, swimming pool, yoga space, massage services.
Rooms have air conditioning and private bathrooms. There are 18 Poolside Cabanas and six Garden Bungalows.
Optional Activities
Visits to Store Bay beach and Pigeon Point, watersports, massages, yoga.
Cuffie River Nature Retreat
Overview
Located in Tobago’s lush western rainforest, Cuffie River Nature Retreat is a peaceful sanctuary for keen birders in particular. Surrounded by pristine forest and vibrant greenery, the retreat offers direct access to some of the island’s richest birdlife. Hummingbird feeders placed throughout the property attract a dazzling array of species. One of the retreat’s standout features is its highly knowledgeable in-house birding guide, who leads engaging nature and birding walks along nearby forest trails. Guests frequently spot Tobago’s signature species, including the rufous-tailed jacamar and the Trinidad motmot, both of which are relatively easy to find in the area.
Swimming Pool
Air Conditioning
Rooms
Facilities
Outdoor swimming pool, lounge and dining room, Wi-Fi throughout the property, terraces for birding and relaxing,
Room categories include: Deluxe Room, Family Suite and Executive Suite. All have an en suite bathroom and tea/coffee making facilities.
Local Wildlife
Collared trogon, green-backed trogon, Trinidad motmot, rufous-tailed jacamar, blue-backed manakin, blue-grey tanager, spectacled thrush, barred antshrike, rufous-vented chacalaca.
Hummingbirds: white-tailed sabrewing, white-necked jacobin, ruby-topaz, copper-rumped, rufous-breasted hermit, black-throated mango.
Blue Waters Inn
Overview
Blue Waters Inn is a small, 38-room hotel nestled in a secluded horseshoe bay in the quiet north-eastern end of the island, with a beautiful sandy beach plus 46 acres of wildlife-filled tropical gardens. The hotel benefits from friendly service and pleasant, well-kept rooms, each with air-conditioning, ceiling fans and sea views from every room. Some have a private balcony overlooking the beach, others have a private patio area.
Blue Waters Inn offers safe swimming and excellent doorstep snorkelling and diving on reefs featuring over 70 species of coral as well as turtles, eagle rays and manta rays. There are hummingbird feeders and nature trails through the forest at the back of the property where many birds can be seen including rufous-vented chachalaca, Trinidad motmot and orange-winged parrot.
The restaurant, Aqua, is situated on a deck right on the beach, a superb setting for a Caribbean dinner. A freshly updated menu including delicious locally caught fresh seafood, as well as a selection of Caribbean and western cuisine, is wonderfully prepared and cooked. On certain days a BBQ with a steel drum band performance is offered.
The well-stocked bar serves a wide range of cocktails and beverages as well as snacks with a picture perfect, sea view backdrop. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the communal areas.
Other facilities include a games room, tennis court, infinity pool and Jacuzzi, TV and tea and coffee facilities in the lobby, dive centre, sun loungers, currency exchange and a safety deposit box.
Little Tobago, with its impressive bird sanctuary is only a few minutes away by boat, where red-billed tropicbirds and magnificent figatebirds can be found. Half an hour away is St Giles Island, the southern Caribbean’s largest seabird colony.
Swimming Pool
Air Conditioning
Rooms
Facilities
Restaurant, bar and lounge, infinity pool, Jacuzzi, sun loungers, dive shop, gift shop, tennis court, room service, currency exchange, BBQ, games room, free Wi-Fi in the communal areas and air-conditioning.
Rooms all have Wi-Fi, a private balcony or patio (or both), tea and coffee making facilities, safety deposit box, private bathroom with a hairdryer.
There is the option of larger studios and bungalows also.
Local Wildlife
The coral reef just offshore from the beach is teeming with a large diversity of reef fish including jacks, groupers, kingfish, angelfish, moray and spotted eels, octopus, cuttlefish and the endangered hawksbill turtle.
In deeper waters, eagle and manta rays, sharks, jacks and other large fish can be seen. Night dives can also be arranged which provide a completely different underwater experience and give a chance to encounter eels, lobsters and sharks. For those who prefer to stay dry, glass bottom boat tours are also available.
The forest around Blue Water Inn is a good spot to see the beautiful ruby topaz hummingbird, Trinidad motmot and range-restricted rufous-vented chachalaca. The nearby island of Little Tobago has a large colony of nesting seabirds with magnificent frigatebird, red-billed tropicbird, brown noddy, sooty tern and red and brown-footed boobies all easily seen depending on the season. There is also the possibility of seeing the rare Audubon’s shearwater and roosting white-tailed nightjar.
Optional Activities
Birdwatching tours, cocoa tours, glass-bottom boat trips, kayaking, waterfall excursions, swimming, snorkelling and diving, and excursions to Little Tobago and St Giles Island. Longer excursions to the main ridge forest reserve (Tobago’s largest area of rainforest), Charlottesville and turtle nesting beaches are also possible.
Castara Retreats
Overview
Castara Retreats is situated on a lush hillside above the fishing village of Castara, on the island of Tobago. With sweeping views of the Caribbean Sea and direct access to some great beaches, this award-winning eco-resort is perfectly positioned for both some relaxation time or some more adventure. The property’s handcrafted wooden lodges are sensitively designed to blend into the surrounding rainforest, each with spacious decks ideal for birdwatching, sunset gazing, or simply soaking in the tranquil atmosphere.
Guests can enjoy fresh local cuisine at the on-site restaurant, explore nearby rainforest trails teeming with wildlife, or snorkel straight from the beach. Castara Retreats is a model of sustainable tourism, working closely with the local community and embracing low-impact principles throughout. Facilities include yoga and massage services, complimentary Wi-Fi, and a small library.
Swimming Pool
Air Conditioning
Rooms
Facilities
Restaurant 'Caribbean Kitchen', bar, yoga deck, massage services, complimentary Wi-Fi, mosquito nets, fans, private terraces or decks with hammocks and loungers.
Local Wildlife
Nine-banded armadillo, agouti, opossum, quenk (collared peccary), spectacled caiman, boa contrictor, green iguana, salipenter lizard.
Leatherback turtle, hawksbill turtle, green turtle, orca, sperm whale, orca, humpback whale, false killer whale.
Forest birds: Trinidad motmot, blue-grey tanager, rufous-tailed jacamar, blue-backed manakin, spectacled thrush, barred antshrike, rufous-vented chachalaca.
Hummingbirds: Ruby-topaz, white-necked jacobin, white-tailed sabrewing, copper-rumped, rufous-breasted hermit, black-throated mango.
Seabirds: Red-billed tropicbird, magnificent frigatebird, red-footed booby, brown booby, Audubon's shearwater.
Route Map
Departure Dates
Travel Information
Are International Flights Included?
No. Please contact us for a quote if required.
Flight Info:
British Airways fly direct to Tobago twice per week via St Lucia, and three times per week to Trinidad.
Best Visited:
December to April
Are you ATOL Registered?
Yes. This means we are legally able to book your international flights in conjunction with your ground arrangements so you can book with us with complete confidence. Read more about our ATOL license here.
John Melton
Area Specialist
If you have any questions regarding this Tour, please feel free to contact me on +44 (0)1803 866965
