100 things to do in Trinidad & Tobago

What do I do in Trinidad? Every post on Lonely Planet, Couchsurfing seems to ask this, when it comes to Trinidad. Aside from the ridiculously obvious ones … there is actually tons of things to do in Trinidad … but it would take the full year to do this list in Trinidad, since many festivals coincide with religious holidays.

This is my personal list of 100 things to do in Trinidad … building over time.

1. Have a piece of Trini KFC at the world’s busiest KFC restaurant in Independence Square, Port of Spain. (Beijing doesn’t compare …)
2. Go to South Trinidad to a little town called Debe (pronounced Day-bay) … and have one each of the following - “doubles”, “aloo pie”, “saheena”, “baiganie”, all with slight pepper and wash it down with a freshly cut cold coconut.
3. Get video at night from Lady Young Lookout
4. Tour the Carib Brewery in Champ Fleurs
5. Go drinking in a traditional Trinidadian rumshop …
6. Have a cold coconut outside the Queens Park Savannah at 1am
7. Order Char Sue Kai Fan in a Chinese restaurant with tons of pepper.
8. Go to a traditional Parang Lime
9. ………………………………………….in Paramin
10. Attend a traditional Hindu wedding and eat your food off a washed Banana leaf
11. Driving through the Coconut trees on the Mayaro – Manzanilla stretch
12. Go see the view from Fort George
13. Then drive and see the view from Mount St. Benedict
14. Go birdwatching at the Wild Fowl Trust in Point-a-Pierre
15. Then do some birdwatching at the Caroni Swamp & Bird Sanctuary
16. Turtle Watching in Grande Rivière (Mar-Aug)
17. More birdwatching at the Asa Wright Nature Centre
18. Take a trip “Down the islands”
19. Go bat watching at the Gasparee Caves
20. Have a “Bake and Shark” at Maracas Beach
21. Play All Fours in a rumshop lime – note… Trinis do not play Dominoes
22. Go surfing at Toco
23. Make a footprint in the Pitch Lake
24. See the Sunset from the Temple in the Sea
25. Hike to the two highest points in Trinidad : El Tuchuche and El Cerro del Aripo
26. Have a lunch picnic in Galera Point, Toco
27. Attend the Panorama Steel Pan finals (Carnival Season only)
28. Play Mud Mas
29. Tour the Angostura Distillery and learn about Angostura Bitters
30. Watch the West Indies cricket team play at the Queens Park Oval
31. Have dinner with the Yachties
32. See the sunset from Naparima College
33. Have a Christmas dinner with Ponche a Crème, Pastelles, Black Cake and Sorrel
34. Walk the entire length of the Brian Lara Promenade
35. Have breakfast at the Breakfast Shed
36. Take a picture at the Maracas Lookout and have some preserved Mango.
37. Cross the stage for Carnival
38. Play mas in Carnival Band
39. Go to a cooler fete
40. Go to an all inclusive fete , then another, and another
41. See Machel Montano perform
42. See David Rudder perform at the Normandie Hotel
43. Learn to wine!
44. Go see the Nylon Pool
45. Hike to the Paria Waterfalls
46. See the mud volcanoes in the Devil’s Woodyard in Hindustan
47. Learn to make deyas in Edinburgh Village, Chaguanas.
48. Go to a Chutney fete in Rienzi Complex, Couva
49. Attend a political rally – PNM, UNC, NAR,COP – doesn’t matter – same bullshit anyway – but entertaining nonsense.
50. Go to a Calypso tent.
51. Have drinks at Smokeys & Buntys
52. Go to Argyle Falls in Tobago
53. Hosay in St James. There are 5 Hosay yards connected to the St. James observance, the Cocorite Hosay Yard, Bis (Bisnath) Yard, Balma Yard, Panchaiti Yard and the Ghulam Hussein-Ali Hosay Yard.
54. Phagwa in Saith Park, Chaguanas or Felicity.
55. Divali Nagar (City of Lights)
56. Midnight Doubles at the Doubles Factory in Aranguez
57. Visit the Dattatreya Mandir in Carapichaima.
58. Visit the Treveni Mandir in Hardbargain
59. Take picture in front Hardbargain village sign
60. Touch all four corners of Trinidad
    1. Toco (North East)
    2. Icacos Village (South West)
    3. Amoco Jetty – Guayaguayare (South-East)
    4. Tetron Base – Chaguaramas (North West)
61. Visit all the islands, “Down de Islands”
62. Go reef swimming off Little Tobago
63. Go “shopping” in the malls : Gulf City, West Mall, Valpark, Long Circular – note not made for North American, European or Arabic standards.
64. Go see the view at day and night from San Fernando Hill
65. Go to a Curry Duck lime and play some Windball Cricket
66. Head down to Manzanilla Bay for Ash Wednesday
67. Have dasheen parata roti at the Tobago Blue Food festival in Bloody Bay