Ali Baba Tours - Boat Trip

[Stephen Hull]

As lucky winners of the first prize in the June myTobago competition we had the pick of the prizes. For us, there was no hesitation in opting for a boat trip with Ali Baba Tours. We had previously enjoyed a great day out with Brian (Mr Ali Baba himself) on a trip down to Buccoo Reef and the lagoon with our four children (10, 4, 3 and 1). This time we opted for a trip up the island taking in the Sisters (a group of rocks a few miles offshore) and ending up in Pirates Bay at Charlotteville.

We left the littlest children at home (it can be a bit lumpy at the Sisters) and took my sister and her eldest son who were over visiting, although on the day we had pretty calm weather. While I have been in Tobago now for nine months, I never get tired of the spectacular views sailing along the north coast. For my sister and her son it was simply fantastic. Beyond Castara there are relatively few places where the road passes close to the shore, so much of this coast can only be seen from a boat.

We saw turtles and flying fish on our way up the coast along with just about every kind of sea bird. We also trailed a few fishing lines off the back of the boat and caught some bonito and a grouper (we also lost a good snapper at the boat and a decent barracuda - my fault!). Brian let the boys steer the boat for a while which they really loved.

I'm not a big Charlotteville fan (sorry Steve) although I must admit it looked far more impressive from the sea. I had never been to Pirates Bay before - what a beautiful beach and clear water, with some impressive reefs to snorkel over round the sides.

And Brian just personifies all the good things about Tobago - friendly, knowledgeable, humorous and totally chilled!

Thanks Brian and the myTobago website for such a fantastic day.

Steve