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White American Experiences Trinidad & Tobago

White American Experiences Trinidad & Tobago

Name: Kevin

Comments: I've recently returned from a week-long 'vacation' in Trinidad and Tobago. I place the 'vacation' in quotation marks because it was anything but. After 6 days of travelling, I felt lucky to escape with my life and limbs intact.

I am American (white male), and felt completely unsafe travelling anywhere while in Trinidad and Tobago, where normally I am confident that I can avoid dangerous situations, places, and people. I traveled to try and see some of the world's most amazing beaches, diving, and natural rainforest beauty, birds and wildlife, but found that T&T is violent, dangerous, and simply NOT a place ANY tourist should ever consider visiting in the near future, especially white tourists. It was the most unfriendly and subtlety racist country I have ever visited - there were no smiles, I had MULTIPLE well-meaning residents warn me to take special care. You think Trinis and Trinbogians would want more tourists! I saw very few tourists (who dared venturing outside the resort gates) even when I was in Crown Point and other supposedly high-tourist areas of Tobago. Port of Spain should be avoided at all costs. It's a nightmare and cess-pool to visit. I know what I'm talking about as I spent a week travelling in Trinidad and Tobago. I quickly came to realize that travelling by Maxi Taxi was best avoided, as was going anywhere at night. The police, especially on Tobago, seemed to be for show. "Sunday School" was a joke - I left early as it seemed like an invitation to robbery and murder of anyone who looks like a tourist. Flimsy doors, locks, and security, etc. Pigeon Point, the premiere beach, was basically deserted. I could go on and on. It really is very, very bad, and I advise anyone not a native Trinidian or Tobagian, and especially white people not to travel there. It's not fun. It's overpriced (even though relatively affordable) for what you get. It's too bad. Amazing coral reefs and other things, and then nothing seems to be done about protecting a vital industry - tourism. I heard locals, when after having a few beers, really tell you what it's like - the police don't solve crime, the government is probably involved in some way. I view Trinidad and Tobago as an emerging dictatorship that is being quite obviously corrupted by massive drug trafficking. One look at the prime minister's official portrait at Piarco/POS intl airport in his dark-shaded sunglasses and you know you might have stepped into the realm of the tin- pot banana republic. It's unfortunate, as I met many many T&T's who were fairly kind, given the circumstances, but on the whole, when traveling outside, people were quite unfriendly. Tourists getting raped and murdered by being chopped up by machetes in a country as small as this with as many natural and economic resources really does tell you something. Until T&T wakes up and corrects the situation it will get inevitably worse, as word like this spreads, and the few remaining (white) tourists who come from Germany, Canada, Holland, etc. (outside T&T) will stop coming because they are targeted. It's an unfortunate fact, but true. The earlier comment about the rich v. Poor divide is also true, as a cause of the crime. Sure, there are nice new buses, good cell phone service, and other things, but you also have very expensive food (a meal at KFC, an American franchise, costs around $38TT (about $6.50US), but wages I saw for, say, an armed security guard pay only $16-18TT/hour. That means one has to work over two hours to buy one meal). Food in regular supermarkets (like Penny Saver) is relatively expensive for locals. Sure, one can buy doubles and roti on the corner for $3TT, but a country where food is expensive will undoubtedly have trouble with crime.) The tourism industry is crumbling as I speak. After returning to Miami and going to South Beach, friendly, safe, and beautiful, I nearly kissed the ground. If you like adventure , travel with 24hour armed security, and live off- shore on your own secured yacht, sure, go, but otherwise...don't. Sorry, beautiful country, but unsafe at the moment, for everyone, local or visitor, white, black, Inidan or otherwise, young, old, male, female, etc. EVERYONE.

Tobago and Trinidad Experiences American White

Kevin, interesting story. The thing is if a Trinidadian say the exact same things you mentioned, most people would accuse them of unpatriotic and just plain hateful but I know exactly what you mean. Lucky for you that you're there for good, some of us don't have much of a choice at the moment.

White American Experiences Trinidad & Tobago Caribbean / Tobago & Trinidad

Whomever wrote this actually sounds like a Trinidadian not someone that stayed here for just a few days. Perhaps someone that recently visited after living abroad for a long time. I agree with some thing but I don't know what he is talking about with the smiles. We are not like the Japanese if that's what he was expecting. Is he a celebrity or something?