The Caribbean - Transit Port of Spain and Trinidad/Tobago guesthouses

Two questions about Trinidad and Tobago.

First, how is the transit at Port of Spain? I would have about an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes between flights. Additionally, how is immigration?

Second, is there any cheap stays on either Trinidad or Tobago? I am looking at the $20 range. I saw the other website that someone posted and they had a few here and there in Tobago but wondered if anyone had other suggestions.

Thanks.

Hi Darren, short answer is not too reliable. So allow yourself time to get from POS to TAB.

Depending on your time of arrival in POS Immigration/baggge/Customs can take anywhere from 30mins to 1.5 hours. One difference at POS is that you can shop in duty free on arrival between Immigration and Customs.

Once through Customs (which operates both a nothing to declare line, and a something to declare line), you will have to go and check in for your flight to TAB. Schedules for the carriers are at http://www.tobagoexpress.com and http:///www.bwia.com (these are both US$31 return) and at http://wwwflycaribbeanstar.com and http://www.liat.com (who are both US$47 return)

Delays are common as well as overboking and there is often a large crowd of standby passengers. If you can get confirmed reservations in advance do so!

Needless to say a lot depends on when you fly - holiday weekends, late Friday, late Sunday, and early Monday are all very busy. In addition a lot of locals holiday in TAB during July-August. So like everywhere else - plan ahead and don't be in a rush.

I'm not much help with cheap stays - your best bet would be at http://mytobago.info for some independent advice. Most of the city hotels in Port of Spain are not cheap, there are some smaller hotels but they are not likely to be cheap either. At the lowest end of the scale would be a room in a guesthouse with shared bathroom facilities. Again I don't have any experience that I can share, but these are usually used by backpackers and impoverished students - don't expect much!

Two questions about Trinidad and Tobago.

First, how is the transit at Port of Spain? I would have about an hour to an hour and fifteen minutes between flights. Additionally, how is immigration?

Second, is there any cheap stays on either Trinidad or Tobago? I am looking at the $20 range. I saw the other website that someone posted and they had a few here and there in Tobago but wondered if anyone had other suggestions.



Thanks.

Thank you for the info, Peter. I should have been clearer for what I meant by transit. I am routed through POS as part of a long ticket. My intention is to stop and visit Tobago (so the info you have provided is still important for if I stop) but whether I stop really depends on whether I can afford to since from there I am heading somewhere else for six weeks. So when I referred to a transit, it would have been a sterile transit between a flight from and to the US. I found a few places for about $30, which is I think within my budget, so I think that I will be able to stop.

Thanks for all your help. The site you gave is the one I got a lot of info from.