Beyond The Blue

Trinidad Listed on National Geographic’s “Best of the World 2023.”

By Anna Walcott-Hardy

across the Caribbean. Legislation outlawing turtle hunting in 2011 and declaring sea turtle species as environmentally sensitive in 2014, also helped these efforts, as well as nation-wide educational campaigns.

It’s not surprising that Trinidad and Tobago topped the ‘Best of the World 2023’ for family vacations by National Geographic. The islands are rich in a variety of marine life: turtles and dolphins can be found in waters off the islands on the North Coast of Trinidad to the bays of Tobago; Sting Rays and Manta Rays frequent the waters especially in Tobago at Mount Irvine, Castara and Emerald Bay; and exotic fish thrive in several reefs and inlets. Sea turtles have been around since the time of the dinosaurs, but like most local marine life, remain at risk because of pollution, over-fishing and coastal development. Hopefully, through our concerted efforts these protected ecosystems will flourish once again.

Help Save The Turtles

Turtle-watching permits and tours are offered by Nature Seekers, the Grande Riviere Nature Tour Guides Association, the Turtle Village Trust, the Las Cuevas Eco-Friendly Association and partners of SOS Tobago. International volunteers can sign up through organizations like the Oceanic Society and Canadian Sea Turtle Network.

National Geographic explorers and Lindblad Expeditions got to experience the unforgettable spectacle of the Scarlet Ibis in flight at the 12,000-acre mangrove forest and marsh on the west coast of Trinidad. A definite bucketlist contender, the Caroni Swamp is a protected wetland, with several channels, lagoons and mudflats, that runs alongside the Caroni River and into The Gulf of Paria.

Home to over 100 species of birds, as well as caiman, crabs, swamp boas and anteaters, the mangrove swamp was recently re-named the Winston Nanan Caroni Bird Sanctuary. The crafty whistling of tour guide and 3rd-generation-owner of Nanan’s Bird Sanctuary Tours, Allister Nanan, ensured that the group of 48-explorers got a special treat of seeing a variety of birds including the red, white and black masked cardinal, pygmy kingfisher, swallows, hawks and screech