Castara & The Beach

If the location is key to creating a perfect holiday, then Castara Retreat must be close to perfection.

Castara is a small fishing village of around 500 inhabitants. The village is located on the Caribbean coast of Tobago, just 45 minutes drive from the Crown Point airport, and backed by the oldest protected rainforest in the Western Hemisphere. The residents of the village support themselves with a combination of fishing, tourism and environmental work.

Castara Beach is an easy three minute walk down a winding footpath. The beach is ideal for swimming, body surfing, sunbathing, or simply to wander along the sand to buy a drink, choose freshly caught fish for dinner, or have a friendly chat with the locals. The sea in the bay offers excellent bathing and snorkelling and is far less susceptible to the currents on the Atlantic coast.

The village of Castara is just a four minute walk down the road. There you can pick up home made bread at Veronica's, reserve a table for the evening at Marguarite’s excellent restaurant, order a take away, or collect provisions from the stores. The shops are simple, but the people are delightful, and the mangoes are always plentiful.

Take a longer 10-minute stroll to Little Bay where you can snorkel over a world-class coral reef that begins just a few feet from the shore; parrot fish, angel fish and sting rays are just a few of the everyday sights on the reef among the fan and brain coral. Then have a drink or eat very good food at nearby Brenton’s restaurant.

Or may also wish to turn inland just before the village, by the side of the stream, and head into the rainforest. Here you will be able to spot tree frogs and cocrico birds hiding in the foliage before reaching the small waterfall that cascades into a rock pool surrounded by hanging lianas.

Fishing is practised by the boats in the bay, and pulling the seine nets onto the shore is an activity for all the community, and anyone on the beach who wishes to lend a hand.