(continued)
OUT OF THE HANDBOOK
PLACES TO STAY:
Asa Wright Nature Centre and Lodge, 20 Farfan St., Arima, Trinidad, West Indies; (868) 667-4655, in the USA 800-426-7781; www.asawright.org; rooms from US$117-165/night (double) and US $145-$210/night (single), including meals, tax, and service charge. The Centre has 26 rooms with private baths, located in the main house or in cottages on the 200 acre nature reserve.
PLACES TO EAT: Room prices at Asa Wright include 3 meals, afternoon tea and complimentary rum punch each day. Meals are served buffet-style in a spacious dining room, and are generally well-prepared and delicious. Nonguests can eat there but must make reservations 48 hours ahead to eat at the Lodge.
GETTING THERE AND AWAY: Trinidad’s only major airport is Piarco International, located 23 km east of Port of Spain. From the USA, direct flights and flights with one or more stopovers are available from several major cities, including Miami, New York, Washington, D.C. , and Dallas. American Airlines flies from all of these cities for prices in the US$500-$700 range at low season (summer in the northern hemisphere). BWIA has daily direct flights to Trinidad from Miami, Washington, D.C., and New York, with prices somewhat lower than American Airlines. Continental Airlines also flies to Trinidad from many major US cities. We flew Continental nonstop from Newark, NJ, with direct flights both ways, for roughly US$500. Asa Wright Centre provides transfers to and from Piarco airport at US$45 per person round-trip (what we used). The Centre is about 11/2 hour drive from Port of Spain. Taxis are available at the airport four roughtly TT$160/person one way to Asa Wright (50% surcharge between 10 pm and 6 am). For those travelling on a shoestring, according to the guidebooks buses and “maxi-taxis” go to Arima from Port of Spain for TT$4 (first take an Arouca route taxi from the airport to Eastern Main Road for TT$2, then switch for a red-striped maxi-taxi to Port of Spain for TT$4). Mt. Pleasant maxi-taxis from Arima can stop at Asa Wright.
GETTING AROUND: Car rental is available on Trinidad, average TT$300/day, through agencies such as Econo-Car (with an office at Piarco Airport; 669-2342 in Trinidad) and others (see guidebooks for details); driving is on the left. Buses and maxi-taxis are an alternative means of transportation. Tours can be arranged through Asa Wright Nature Centre to Caroni Swamp and Nariva Swamp to view wildlife, and to Matura Beach for turtle-watching (prices vary but are usually under US$150/person). Tours to other locations on the island can also be arranged through the Centre.
HIGHLIGHTS: Experiencing flocks of brilliantly-colored scarlet ibis at Caroni Swamp (tours can be arranged through Asa Wright Centre; or independently through Nanan Tours, 645-1305, nantour@tstt.net.tt; James Madoo Tours, 662-7356; or David Ramsahai, 663-4767; all of these companies offer boat tours of the swamp from 4 to 6pm daily for TT$40-$60); seeing red howler and capuchin monkeys and a variety of other wildlife at Nariva Swamp (through Asa Wright Centre, roughly $100 for a full-day tour that includes round-trip transportation, boat tour, nature hike on Bush Bush Island, and birdwatching, or contact the Forestry Department at 662-5114) ; observing leatherback turtle hatchlings and 5-foot-long adult turtles on Matura Beach (March to September; tours available through Asa Wright Centre; or independently through the volunteer conservation group Nature Seekers, 668-0171; for independent tours you will also need permission from the Wildlife Section of the Forestry Division, 662-5114); the breathtaking view of the northern range mountains and chance to get “up-close and personal” with tropical birds on the verandah at Asa Wright Centre; Hiking through the rainforest on the Centre’s trails (Asa Wright Nature Centre, Arima, Trinidad, www.asawright.org).
WARNINGS: According to the policy of the Asa Wright Centre, children under the age of 8 can’t be accommodated overnight. Rooms at the Centre are basic but comfortable, with all the necessary amenities except television. Biting insects can be a problem, especially on Trinidad’s beaches, so bug repellant is a must. Trinidad has relatively few health risks (there is no malaria; yellow fever is present but there have been no reported cases in humans); reasonable precautions are as for any foreign travel. Venomous Fer-de-Lance, bushmaster, and coral snakes are present on Trinidad, but rarely attack humans. Reports of rampant crime on Trinidad seem largely exaggerated. Crime shouldn’t be a problem for travellers staying at the Asa Wright Centre, but reasonable care should be taken in Port of Spain and other urban areas (as for any major city).
FURTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION: Landmark Visitor’s Guide: Trinidad and Tobago (Landmark Publishing Ltd); Lonely Planet: Eastern Caribbean (Lonely Planet Publications).
OTHER: Booking nature tours and field trips through the Centre is highly recommended, and can be done during your stay (not necessary to book months ahead of time); otherwise you’ll have to arrange your own transportation (and in some cases, obtain permits from the Forestry Division). Trinidad belongs to the nation of Trinidad and Tobago, whose currency is the Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TT); the current exchange rate is US$1=TT$6.28.
MAPS: The Landmark Visitor’s Guide: Trinidad and Tobago has a fairly good map of Trinidad on pp. 42-43; the Lonely Planet guidebook has one on p. 540.
