Trinidad and Tobago - Getting There

The Crown Point International Airport on Tobago is located in Crown Point, 11km south west of Scarborough. Taxis are available to and from the airport and a list of prices for standard journeys is published in the arrival lounge. The facilities available at the airport include a bank, bureau de change, duty-free shop, restaurants and car hire agencies.

Trinidad's airport is the Piarco International Airport, located 25km east of Port of Spain. Buses are available between the airport and the city with the journey time being around 25 minutes. There are also taxis available from the airport to the city and to hotels throughout the island. Set taxi fares are posted in the taxis but the fares do increase after midnight. It is quite common to share taxis. The facilities in the Piarco Airport include duty-free shops, ATM's car hire, restaurants and tourist information.

The national airline is Caribbean Airlines. The majority of international flights arrive and depart from Trinidad, although airports in both Trinidad and Tobago handle international air traffic from the UK, the US and Europe, as well as Australia and the Far East. Piarco International Airport is three and a half hours flying from Miami, five hours from Toronto, five and a half hours from New York and nine and a half hours from London. Crown Point Airport in Tobago is just 12 minutes flight from Trinidad. There are some direct flights from Europe, but it may be that you will have to fly to Miami or another location and take a connection flight, depending upon your starting point.

There is a large cruise-ship dock on the south side of Port of Spain; the complex houses a customs hall, clothing and souvenir shops as well as car-rental agencies, taxis and a few local eateries. There is also a smaller cruise-ship dock on Tobago in central Scarborough and cruise ships dock regularly at the islands for their passengers to spend the day there.

There are regular ferries to and from South America and a ship leaves from Pier One in Chaguaramas at 9am on Wednesday mornings for Guiria, Venezuela. It is a 3 and a half hour journey and costs around TT$ 400 as well as an additional departure tax.

It is essential that you have the correct passport and any other documentation required when travelling to and from Trinidad and Tobago. When you arrive you will be asked to fill in an Immigration Arrival Card. You are required to fill in the line that asks where you are staying, if you are unsure of where you are staying, simply list any local hotel.

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