The month of May was quite a busy month for my family. We celebrated my husband’s birthday, our 7-year wedding anniversary, my first Mother’s Day, my daughter turning one and two weddings of our close friends. Yeah, told ya it was busy. 😪
Read about how we survived 7 years of marriage here.
I was therefore very, very excited for our end-of-May getaway to one of my favourite places – Tobago. 🤩
I discovered the beauty of this island in the latter part of my life but fell in love with it immediately. 😍
While I do enjoy the hustle and bustle of Trinidad, I feel so blessed that our country has our very own retreat. We try to go as often as we can.
This trip was particularly special since I got to experience a little bit of ALL that I love about Tobago!
My Tobago Family!
Even if I wasn’t in love with Tobago, it would still have a piece of my heart. ❤
This is because my wonderful father-in-law and his beautiful wife (dubbed our “Tobago mummy”) reside there. They always welcome us with open arms👐 and are so warm and loving that we always feel at home. We love spending time with them and always miss them immensely when we are back in Trinidad.
The Sights!
Pigeon Point Beach
Of course, how could you go to Tobago and not go to any of the beautiful beaches?
My absolute favourite Tobago beach is Pigeon Point, specifically because of its calm waters and surrounding beauty. A perfect place for my one-year-old and a non-swimmer like myself.
Despite visiting many times before, it was actually the first time I walked out onto the jetty.
I don’t have to say much about this iconic feature of Tobago but we definitely took lots of photos.📷
View from the jetty 
Gorgeous Pigeon Point sunset 
Family shot
📷: Darrion P. Carrington
Bird-watching
Some years ago, we visited the Adventure Farm and Nature Reserve in Plymouth, with another married couple, to do some bird-watching and nature walking. So I wanted my daughter to experience it since she seems to have an affinity for ducks and other birds (well presently she thinks all birds say “quack” but she will get there).🐥
Welcome 
The coy pond 
We spotspot the Motmot (Photo credit: Darrion P. Carrington)
While the reserve looks a little more worn than I remember and one of the guides mentioned that some people would have stolen some of the wildlife😕, we were still able to see some amazing hummingbirds and a motmot during our nature walk.
The hummingbirds in slow motion (believe it or not)
📷: Darrion P. Carrington
The Food!
Caribbean Kitchen, Castara
On our first afternoon in Tobago, a good friend of ours took us to the Caribbean Kitchen at Castara Retreats. She swore by the food and said that she frequents the restaurant.
We TOTALLY understood why. Does the word ‘YUMMY’ mean anything to you?
Their ingredients are so fresh and the food so flavourful, I feel like my mouth is watering just reminiscing. 🤤
If you visit, and you should, I implore you to try the griddled prawns.
Even if you aren’t quite sure what prawns are (ahem, like I was), TRUST ME.
Everything we ordered was delicious, even the wedges. And I mean, I was so impressed that they were somehow able to make the best-tasting fried chunks of potato.
Not only is the food delish, so too is the view. 😃
The restaurant has open-air dining, with views of the beach and the surrounding rainforest. You can’t help but be in awe. The sunset view was spectacular.
The entrance 
The sunset 
One of the open air dining areas
The gorgeous view (Photo credit: Darrion P. Carrington)
They even provided some tea-lights when the sun went down that gave a warm ambience. It was so relaxing having amazing food and listening to the sound of waves.
Setting the mood 
Must have griddled prawns!
If it wasn’t clear before, I HIGHLY recommend this place. It was a truly wonderful dining experience. 👌
Jemma’s Treehouse Restaurant, Speyside
When I first heard about this restaurant, I definitely had to visit. A treehouse restaurant?! I was surprised I hadn’t heard of it before.
It was a 45-minute drive from Scarborough to Speyside and while I got a little motion sickness😖 , I was glad we visited for lunch on our second day in Tobago.
If you are looking for tasty authentic creole food, this is the place to get it.
It was disappointing that it wasn’t quite the “treehouse” I imagined but in Jemma’s defence, it is built around a tree.
Jemma’s Treehouse Restaurant (Photo credit: Darrion P. Carrington)
Either we were really hungry or the food takes just a tad bit to be prepared, but we got excited maybe 3 or 4 times when the server was bringing trays of food only to realise they were for other diners.
The wait wasn’t too bad since the view of the beach and of Little Tobago was beautiful. The sound of the waves and the gentle breeze through the rustic, open-air restaurant was also very relaxing.
When we did get our food, we were actually surprised by the sizable portions. The food was tasty and the breadfruit pie in particular was a unique, yummy dish. The server was friendly and accommodating as we had our lively one-year-old daughter with us.
The food
(Photo credit: Darrion P. Carrington)
Me trying to wrangle my toddler
(Photo credit: Darrion P. Carrington)
The window that let in the sea breeze (Photo credit: Darrion P. Carrington) 
After the meal (Photo credit: Darrion P. Carrington)
All in all, a unique and authentic dining experience.
Crab and Dumpling!
But you can’t visit Tobago without getting some crab and dumpling! And we were fortunate enough that our Tobago mama loves us soooo much that she cooked some herself!
Did I mention that she is an amazing cook?🙌
On our third day in Tobago, she cooked up a wonderful meal of curried crab, dumplings, dasheen, cassava, breadfruit and plantains! This was one time we didn’t mind getting a little crabby!
Before… (Photo credit and plate belongs to Darrion P. Carrington) 
After…(Photo credit and plate belongs to Darrion P. Carrington)
Can’t Wait to Get Back
While I knew it was a much-needed getaway, I didn’t realise HOW MUCH we needed it until we were there. It was the most fun and relaxation we had had in a while, being new parents.
(Side bar – How long are we considered new parents? It seems like every phase brings a new challenge. Lol)
Our daughter had been to Tobago three times before this but I really feel like she enjoyed this trip the most. She was definitely the most excitable and active!
But I can’t wait to plan our next getaway to Tobago. It really is our own little paradise! 🏝
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