A flourishing Caribbean town
During your cruise in the Caribbean Sea, after disembarking from your cruise ship in the port of Scarborough, Tobago’s capital, you will discover a surprisingly appealing place, its houses and roads spilling higgledy-piggledy down a hillside, with the Atlantic providing a magnificent backdrop for Fort King George, perched at the top of the hill.
The island’s administrative centre and its main port, Scarborough is a flourishing town, brimming with a brisk vibrancy. Devoid of any touristy pretentions, its street corners buzz with liming locals, while pavement stalls are perused by shoppers and the bars spill out onto the streets.
Away from the bustle, the shady suburb of Bacolet is home to some of Tobago’s most upmarket hotels and the secluded Bacolet Bay Beach. Though the largest town on the island, Scarborough is still pretty tiny, with most of the commercial action spreading back up from the port and along the precipitous Main Street.
During your holiday in the Caribbean, you will be able to go on an excursion to Scarborough’s Botanical
Gardens, which date to the late nineteenth century.
Today, the broad sweeps of lawn interspersed with planted beds and shade trees could pass for a English park, were it not for the garish crimson of towering African tulips, flamboyant trees and the yellow and pink cascades of the poui trees.
Forking off Main Street, Fort Street twists its way up a steep hill on its way to one of the most prominent sights in town, Fort King George. The complex is the largest fortifications in Tobago, built by the British in 1777 and occupied by French troops between 1781 and 1793, who built the solid stone perimeter walls. There are several signs dotted around the complex giving some background to the buildings. Just 30 minutes from the capital, you will find Pigeon Point Beach where the shoreline is definitively Caribbean; powdery with sand with calm turquoise sea on one side and the ubiquitous swaying palms on the other.
