Unique Retreats and Journeys

Tobago Nature and Gastronomy Discovery

from £1,985* per person

Itinerary Dates 2023 & 2024

On this trip not only will you get to enjoy this gem of an Island but also give back to the local community. We will use local guides, dine at local restaurants, contribute to the turtle conservation project SOS Tobago and will participate in numerous other local experiences. Travel Matters are also proud partners of Trees for Cities and will plant a tree for each traveller on this trip.

Day 1

Welcome to Tobago - Caribbean's best kept secret and one of the last truly yet to be discovered unspoilt islands!

Arrive on BA flight and get transferred to The Villas at Stonehaven, a tranquil and serene hillside sanctuary. Intimate, secluded and wonderfully off the beaten track, unknown even to many locals, adjacent to a 260-acre protected forested bird sanctuary and within walking distance of the beach, it’s a hidden gem with spectacular sweeping ocean and tropical forest views.

Dinner at a local restaurant - fabulous beach side dining with fresh seafood, premium ingredients and awesome wine & cocktail list (Dinner included).

Day 2.
Today we explore the underwater world of Tobago!

We depart at 10am for Pigeon Point Heritage Park and embark on a private boat tour for Buccoo reef and Nylon Pool experience. Marvel at the underwater world of green loggerhead turtles, endangered leatherbacks and giant manta rays as well as exquisite reef formations - snorkelling gear will be provided and snorkelling will take about 20-30 minutes. Afterward we stop at the island's popular 'Nylon Pool' for a swim in its shallow sandbar waters.

12:30PM Return to Pigeon Point Heritage Park for lunch at a local restaurant

You will spend your afternoon relaxing on the beach

3:00PM Depart Pigeon Point for souvenir shopping at Storebay beach

4:30PM Purchase some street food at Crown Point

6:00PM Depart Pigeon point aboard kayak for Bioluminescence tour - glowing plankton will light up the night during this spectacular otherworldly bioluminescence tour through the mangroves and along the coastline. Going by kayak you’ll have the best seat in the house for this magical display of showmanship featuring some of the ocean’s smallest but most dazzling organisms.

Breakfast and Lunch included
Day 3

Sunday is traditionally reserved for relaxation and you have it all to yourself to catch up on some reading, sunbathing by the pool or on the beach. Conserve your energy as you will need it for the evening! Tonight we will be attending the famous Sunday school for street food and steelpan experience. This is a loud, vibrant street party and an ideal way of sampling one aspect of Tobagonian social life. It starts 8pm Carribbean time! Meaning that locals will be arriving between 9PM and 9:30PM - we will have plenty of time to sample local street food as our dinner.

Day 4

Today it is all about gastronomical delights so get your stomachs ready! We start with the dirt oven experience for our breakfast with some fragrant freshly baked goods. We would have bread or cassava bake with saltfish and tomato buljol. We get the opportunity to light the dirt oven and insert goods to bake and ask the operator questions about the cooking process of the dirt oven.

To burn the calories we consumed, we will venture on a short stroll on the Tobago Plantations boardwalk, through a magical mangrove forest that will take us to one of Tobago's best kept secrets: the Petit Trou lagoon. We will explore this unspoilt, untouched, undiscovered gem teeming with natural beauty.

Depart the boardwalk for chocolate tasting - did you know that Trinidad and Tobago cocoa beans are promoted amongst the best quality beans in the world?

We will take you to the local place that actually makes chocolate on a small scale right there in Tobago. The owner will explain how he makes the chocolate and the machinery used will be there on display while he explains the various parts of the process. A variety of different blends will be presented and each person will be given a small parcel of different blends to leave with.

12:00PM Depart chocolate shop for a cooking demonstration and lunch of the famous local delicacy of dumplings and crab. You will be able to see via an interactive cooking class how the famous and tasty Tobago crab and dumplings are prepared. The cook of the house may ask for you to participate in the cooking experience (you don't have to participate, you can just look on and ask any questions). At the end of it all, we will all sit and eat while observing the hummingbirds buzzing around at the feeders which can be seen around the house.

(for those who don’t eat shellfish an alternative could be offered)

2:30PM Depart for The Villas at Stonehaven

Afternoon at leisure. 

For dinner we will have a friendly informal BBQ at our villa with fresh catch of the day and some rum punches of course! It's your chance to get to know each other better!

Breakfast, lunch and dinner included

Day 5

Today we start early and depart at 8:00am for the Rainforest tour with a local guide via the windward road. Explore the many trails of the oldest protected forest reserve in the Western Hemisphere and experience nature up close and personal.

11:30am Depart the Rainforest for the world-famous Argyle Waterfall - Tobago's highest waterfall is a must-do if you are a nature lover; the three-tier falls are not only a breath-taking sight to behold but make for a refreshing swim after a day of exploring.

Lunch at a local restaurant. The meal will consist of either chicken or fish along with the other items that come complimentary with the meal. They may include: peas, breadfruit pie, salad, rice, callaloo.

Afternoon at leisure. 

Dinner at Tobago's premier Italian restaurant. Herbs are home grown, breads are home baked, and local ingredients are sourced from the best suppliers on the island Breakfast, lunch and dinner included).

Day 6

Today we drive to Speyside where we will take a boat to the reef for snorkelling.

After snorkelling we head over to Little Tobago for a short 40 minute hike and tour of the island. The island is only one mile long and is also known as Bird of Paradise Island and is home to nesting colonies of Red-Billed, Tropicbird, Red-footed and Brown Boobies among other species. We will be following an experienced guide who will be sharing the history of the island and showing us birds as he spots them.

After the tour we will head for lunch in the country area before heading back to the villa at around 2.30PM.

You can relax at the villa for the rest of the afternoon and head out for turtle watching later in the evening - provided that we get word from the turtle guide of a sighting (Breakfast and lunch included - dinner is at leisure).

Day 7

This day is at leisure, for you to recharge your batteries before heading home the following day.

In the evening we will have farewell dinner at a local restaurant Caribbean kitchen (Breakfast and Dinner included)

Included
All meals where stated, 7 nights accommodation based on two sharing, private transportation & a guide throughout the tour. A tree will be planted by our charity partners Trees for Cities for every participant.

Not included

Travel insurance - Highly Recommended

International Airfare with British Airways

Single supplement = £300

Anything not explicitly listed as included

(*Rates are subject to change)

The tour is provided by our partners in Tobago - Trinbago Tropical Tours & Excursions

Terms & Conditions

£300 deposit required to book