Climate: tropical; rainy season (June to December). Average Temperature: 29°C (83°F). Terrain: Trinidad is mostly plain with some hills in the north; Tobago is mountainous. Time: Summer: EST (Eastern Standard
Time), equivalent to GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)-5 hours; Winter: EST+1,
GMT-4. Daylight savings time is not observed in Trinidad and Tobago.
Money Currency: 1 Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TT$) = 100 cents. Notes of $1, $5, $10, $20, $100; coins of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 cents. TT dollar floats against US dollar. $1.00 US = $6.28 TT (1999). Costs: food and accommodation costs are lower than on the other Caribbean islands. You can eat inexpensive in Trinidad; prices in Tobago are still resonable. Banking Hours: Monday to Thursday: 8am - 2pm, Friday: 9am - 12pm and 3pm - 5 pm. Credit cards: major credit cards
are widely accepted.
Geography Location: Caribbean islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela. Geography: Trinidad and her tiny sister island of Tobago lie off the Venezuelan coast. Along the north of Trinidad runs the Northern Range of mountains, looming over the country's capital, Port-of-Spain. South of Port-of-Spain on the west coast the terrain is low, and the Caroni Swamps contain a magnificent bird sanctuary largely inhabited by the scarlet ibis. On the north and east coasts lie beautiful beaches. Central Trinidad is flat and largely given over to agriculture. Geographic coordinates: Trinidad Latitude 10 1/2°N, Longitude 61 1/2° W; Tobago Latitude 11°N, Longitude 60°W. Highest point: El Cerro del Aripo
940 m.
Air Transport Airports: Trinidad: Piarco International
Airport (POS), is located in Piarco, a town in northern Trinidad, 27 km
(17 miles) east of Port-of-Spain.
Departure Tax: $100TT (about US$ 17) must be paid in local currency. Flight Times: 35 mins from Barbados, 1 hr from Caracas, 3hrs 30 mins from Miami, 5 hrs from New York, 6 hrs from Toronto, 8 hrs 20 mins from London, 9 hrs 40 mins from Frankfurt, 9 hrs from Zurich. International Airlines: Air Canada (Toronto; 669-4065), American Airlines (Miami, New York, San Juan; 669-4661), BWIA International Airways (London, Frankfurt, Miami, New York, Toronto; 627-2942), British Caledonian, Charter Operators. Regional Airlines: BWIA (627-2942),
LIAT (Eastern Caribbean; 627-6274), Air Caribbean (Trinidad, Tobago, Barbados,
Grenada, Guyana; 623-2500), Surinam Airways (627-4747), Charter Operators.
Water Transport Ports and harbors: Port-of-Spain (Trinidad), Scarborough (Tobago). Ferry Service: between Port-of-Spain (868) 625-4906/3055 and Scarborough (868) 639-2417. Monday to Friday leave Port-of-Spain at 2:00 p.m, leave Scarborough at 11:00 p.m. Sunday leave Port-of-Spain at 11:00 a.m., leave Scarborough at 11:00 p.m. From $60.00 TT for a return ticket. Yacht Services: Yacht Services Association
of Trinidad and Tobago, Chaguaramas, 634-4938, email: ysatt@trinidad.net.
Tourist Information Tourist Office: Trinidad & Tobago Tourism Development Authority, 7000 Boulevard East, Guttenberg, NJ 07093, (800) 748-4224, FAX: (201) 869-7628, http://www.visittnt.com. Highlights: Carival in Port-of-Spain, ASA Wright Nature Centre, Caroni Swamp, La Brea Pitch Lake, (Trinidad); Pigeon Point, Buccoo Reef, Argyle Falls, Main Ridge, Charlotteville (Tobago). Entry Requirements: All persons require visas to enter Trinidad and Tobago, exept Commonwealth Countries (except Australia, India, New Zealand, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda); exept the EEC Countries England, Greece, Ireland, Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Luxembourg; except Turkey, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Finland, Israel, Brazil, Colombia, Austria (they have visa abolition agreements with T&T); except Citizens of USA on Vacation for three (3) months or less; except.Citizens of Venezuela arriving from Venezuela on vacation for fourteen (14) days or less; except Citizens of Suriname, Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guyana, Netherlands Antilles (Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire, St. Eustatius, St Maarten and Saba). Extension of stay: possible. Dining: Indian, Chinese, Caribben, International. Tipping: 10% is standard unless a service charge is included in the bill. Taxes: There is 15% Sales Tax on goods and services. There is a 10% service charge and a 10% Hotel Room Tax. Water: Water is safe to drink; bottled spring water is widely available. Electricity: 115 / 230 volts AC, 60 Hz. Continental 2-pin plugs are standard, though variations may be found. Public Transport: by busses and route taxis; transport is inexpensive and very good in Trinidad, still good in Tobago. Driving: Driving is on the left side of the road. Visitors in possession of valid licenses issued in U.S., Canada, France, U.K., Germany and the Bahamas may drive for up to three months. International licenses are also accepted. Public Holidays: January 01st (New Year's Day), January 08th (Eid-il-Fitr), February or March Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (Carnival), March 30th (Spiritual Baptist Liberation Shouter Day), April 21st (Good Friday), April 24th (Easter Monday), May 30th (Indian Arrival Day), June 19th ( Labour Day), June 22nd (Corpus Christi), August 01st (Emancipation Day), August 31st (Independence Day), December 25th (Christmas Day), December 26th (Boxing Day). Sports: diving, snorkeling, golf, deep-sea fishing, windsurfing, sailing, kayaking. Telephone: good local service; excellent but expensive international service by satellite earth station. Country code: 1 868. Outgoing international code: 01. There are no area codes. Emergency numbers: Police 999, Fire & Ambulance 990. Post: The main post office is on
Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain. Airmail to Western Europe takes between
5 days and two weeks. The main post office in Tobago is in Market Square,
Scarborough.
Politics Government type: parliamentary democracy. Legal system: based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction. Nationality: Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s). Ethnic groups: black 43%, East Indian (a local term - primarily immigrants from northern India) 40%, mixed 14%, white 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1%. Religions: Roman Catholic 32%, Hindu 24%, Anglican 14%, other Protestant 14%, Muslim 6%, none or unknown 10%. Literacy: 97.9% (male: 98.8%,
female:
97%).
Economy Industries: petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage, cotton textiles. Agriculture - products: cocoa, sugarcane, rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables; poultry. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, asphalt. Partners: USA, Caricom countries, Latin America, EU, Japan. GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$8,000 (1998 est.). Unemployment rate: 14% (June 1998).
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