What's on in Tobago (Scarborough), Trinidad and Tobago through the year

Busy — Christmas and parang, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Dry season

  1 Jan – 31 May

  January to May is the dry half: the tracks into the rainforest reserve stay passable, the water over Buccoo Reef clears, and the Atlantic side calms down enough to swim. Rates follow the weather up.

Still on: Seabirds on Little Tobago (1 Oct – 30 Jun (usually)), Christmas and parang (25 Nov – 1 Jan)

Busy — Trinidad and Tobago Carnival

• Holiday

  Trinidad and Tobago Carnival

  16–17 FebCrowdedClosuresBook early

  The country stops for the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Most of it happens in Port of Spain, so the effect on Tobago is the reverse: the inter-island ferry and the short flight sell out for a fortnight either side. Source ↗

Still on: Dry season (1 Jan – 31 May), Seabirds on Little Tobago (1 Oct – 30 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — travelers describe it as peak season, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Leatherback nesting

  1 Mar – 31 Aug · usuallyTurtle nesting

  Leatherbacks haul out overnight on Turtle Beach and Stonehaven Bay from March, peak between April and July, and the hatchlings run through August. The main beaches are guided-only after dark, and the guides check permits.

• Festival

  Buccoo Goat Races

  7 AprMajor festivalCrowded

  Goats and their sprinting handlers race at Buccoo on the Tuesday after Easter, a fixture here for a century, with crab races alongside. The village and the one road into it are solid all afternoon. Source ↗

Still on: Dry season (1 Jan – 31 May), Trinidad and Tobago Carnival (16–17 Feb), Seabirds on Little Tobago (1 Oct – 30 Jun (usually))

Busy — Buccoo Goat Races

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Dry season (1 Jan – 31 May), Leatherback nesting (1 Mar – 31 Aug (usually)), Buccoo Goat Races (7 Apr), Seabirds on Little Tobago (1 Oct – 30 Jun (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Dry season (1 Jan – 31 May), Leatherback nesting (1 Mar – 31 Aug (usually)), Seabirds on Little Tobago (1 Oct – 30 Jun (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Hazard

  Hurricane season

  1 Jun – 30 Nov

  Tobago sits at the southern edge of the belt and direct hits are rare enough that islanders name them by decade, but the tropical waves that cross it bring the wettest weeks of the year and cancel boat days. Source ↗

Still on: Leatherback nesting (1 Mar – 31 Aug (usually)), Seabirds on Little Tobago (1 Oct – 30 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — Tobago Heritage Festival, Emancipation and Independence

• Festival

  Tobago Heritage Festival

  16 Jul – 1 AugMajor festivalCrowded

  Not one parade but a fortnight in which each village stages its own night: ole time wedding at Moriah, folk theatre, the salaka feast. You drive somewhere different every evening, which is the point of it. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Emancipation and Independence

  31 Jul – 1 SepNational holidayClosuresCrowded

  Two public holidays a month apart, on 1 August and 31 August, and Trinidadians take the ferry over for both. Government offices shut and the Store Bay end is at its busiest of the wet season. Source ↗

Still on: Leatherback nesting (1 Mar – 31 Aug (usually)), Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Peak crowds — Tobago Heritage Festival, Emancipation and Independence

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Leatherback nesting (1 Mar – 31 Aug (usually)), Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov), Tobago Heritage Festival (16 Jul – 1 Aug), Emancipation and Independence (31 Jul – 1 Sep)

Busy — Emancipation and Independence, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov), Emancipation and Independence (31 Jul – 1 Sep)

Busy — Divali

• Nature

  Seabirds on Little Tobago

  1 Oct – 30 Jun · usuallyBirdlife season

  Red-billed tropicbirds nest on the island off Speyside through the dry half of the year and frigatebirds harry them over the ridge. Boats run from Speyside when the channel is calm enough. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Divali

  15 Oct – 15 Nov · usuallyDiwaliClosures

  A national public holiday here, with deyas along walls and driveways after dark. Most of the display is in Trinidad, but the day off and the closed offices apply on both islands. Source ↗

Still on: Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov)

Peak crowds — Divali, Christmas and parang

• Festival

  Christmas and parang

  25 Nov – 1 JanChristmas & New YearCrowdedBook early

  Parang bands work through December and the returning diaspora fills the flights and the guest houses from mid-month. Rooms and hire cars are dearer now than at any point except Carnival. Source ↗

Still on: Hurricane season (1 Jun – 30 Nov), Seabirds on Little Tobago (1 Oct – 30 Jun (usually)), Divali (15 Oct – 15 Nov (usually))

Busy — Christmas and parang, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Seabirds on Little Tobago (1 Oct – 30 Jun (usually)), Christmas and parang (25 Nov – 1 Jan)