When people hear the word Caribbean, immediately pictures of women in grass skirts, white sandy beaches, cocomut trees and primitives with spears come to mind - this will be a very big surprise when it comes to visiting Trinidad.

Geographically, Trinidad and Tobago are located at the southernmost end of the Caribbean chain of islands, just north of Venezuela.

Population: Trinidad is made up primarily of Indian immigrants (too much history for this page) and African immigrants, plus a healthy section of Chinese, Syrian, American, European and Spanish people.

History: Trinidad was found by Columbus back in 1492, when he came further south than he had originally planned. African slave labour was used (hence our African population) until slavery was abolished in 1834 and Indian as well as Chinese labour (hence our Indian and Chinese population) was sought to replace them. Trinidad had a heavy Spanish influence (as evidenced by some the names of places) but also had a French input (just ask anyone about "patois" [pro: "pat-wah"]), however, England was our ruling country until 1962, when Trinidad decided to make it on their own.

When travelling, Trinidad can offer an option as a cheaper vacation to the budget minded vacationer - but beear in mind, that there are ALWAYS hidden costs on any vacation.

Travelling within Trinidad is somewhat tricky, and as a foreigner, I would always recommend a tour guide and a rental car - and let the tour guide drive. In Trinidad, we adhere to the British system in which we drive on the left hand side of the road, which can get somewhat confusing to some people when they just get here. Driving in Trinidad is quite an experience, and is not recommended for the faint of heart - because of a booming oil-driven economy, the island of Trinidad is quite full of cars, and the supporting roadway system was not originally designed for such a heavy flow of traffic. Alternative public transport is available in terms of taxis, the PTSC (Public Transportation Service Corporation) buses and numerous minibuses, called maxi-taxis. Taxis work just like anywhere in the world, but be prepared to share your car with others, because unlike other places, Trinidadians know their fares and pay accordingly - there are no meters.

Sightseeing is a matter of taste - there are numerous nature trails all over Trinidad, suited for just birdwatching, hiking for all types, historical monuments, the zoo (which is currently under renovations, if I am correct), the botanical gardens, and my personal favourite - the drive from Mayaro to Manzanilla: it is several miles of driving with the ocean just a few feet to your right, with only a small couple of rows of very tall coconut trees blocking your view.

Because of land space and erosion concerns, beaches are not very large, and make for a somewhat secluded swim, in certain places. There are several beaches - but beware, the classic blue water is not always available because of our geographic location - Trinidad is one of the larger islands of a river coming out of South America, and on the south coast, silt sometimes can be a problem, but on the north and east coasts, swimming, surfing and sand castles rule. Oh - swimming on a beach is subject to safety conerns, no matter where you are, so make sure that there is a lifeguard on duty (first world problems, but third world financing) before you let your children venture into the water. Beaches that should be worthy of checking out are Manzanilla, Mayaro (both on the east coast, facing the Atlantic, so walk with your surf board), Maracas, Blanchisseuse, Chaguaramas (all on the north coast, facing the Caribbean Sea), Los Iros, Quinam, Columbus (all on the south coast).

Shopping malls are quite a few, with strip malls also growing in number. The bigger malls are Gulf City Mall in South Trinidad, Trincity Mall (in a more centralised location), Long Circular Mall, West Mall (both in Western Trinidad) and the recent comer - MovieTowne. Credit cards are no problems and all malls have at least one bank in them (not opened on weekends, though) for travellers' cheques). For souvenir items, I recommend Gulf City Mall in South Trinidad and Trincity Mall.

Night life - this can get very hectic, if you want to check out everything you can.

For the younger crowd, Trinidadians have also developed a love for drag and street racing. While certain modifications are not street legal, there are quite a few speed-demons out there and not enough police radar scanners - so be warned. Wallerfield in central Trinidad offers a legal place to compete in drag races and track competition, but because of its location and limited opening hours (weekends only) quite a few people have taken to street racing.

In terms of keeping in touch with home, Trinidad currently has one telephone company, which is currently gearing up for international competition. In spite of all the local complaints, TSTT offers a fairly decent service, in terms of their pre-paid phone plans (an excellent offering for vacationers). GSM phones working tri or quad-band features should have no problem getting connected - CDMA or other technology-phones are not supported. WiFi hotspots are extremely limited (currently just the airport and a couple select cyber cafes) and there is no such thing as "free internet" - cyber cafes are only so-named because of the computers - none of them I know make any coffee. So, if Starbucks was your main hangout, you will have to do some work finding a local alternative.

ADDITION:
Due to numerous e-mails I have received after placing this review up, I have to edit this page to add a couple more things.

Trinidad has a problem in terms of crime - being a citizen of Trinidad, I must say that this is true (because all countries have problems with crime). Crime is a problem because of our location - the first island off the south American continent. This location makes us a prime target for south American drug cartels, which are trying to get their drugs into the USA and Europe. Needless to say is the entire stigma attached to drug dealers and their "affiliates". Luckily, tourists are not a target (and I say this based on the extremely low number of tourists reporting any crime against them), but the more "financially secure citizens are a target for kidnappings.

Personally, I have lived in Trinidad for my entire life, and was the victim of a crime only once - my car was broken into and all the audio equipment was stolen - and I take risks, going out and returning home at various hours of the night and day, attending parties, roaming all over, beach parties...it is just a matter of being smart.