Paradise on Earth
A top down view of the main bathing area
Pigeon Point is hands down the most beautiful beach in Tobago. It is that beach that you see in those travel magazines and the Caribbean Vacation commercials. It is the beach that popularized the quintessential image of the jetty with a carat top shed amidst turquoise blue waters and has won many awards! It is not just a beach though as it is also 25 acre nature reserve protected and thoroughly maintained by local authorities.
Entrance with ticket booth
We begin our journey at the entrance with large lavish gates and walls and a ticket booth. It was about 20 dollars per person and we were handed handbands that were stuck on. It was the kinds that you get at raves or clubs that are hell to get off!
Once you get past the booth, the fun begins! The well kept lawns and rows of coconut palms line the winding driveway to the main beach area. There were many beautiful beach condos along the way that you can stay at if you decide to take a day pass or maybe for a few days even.
One of the beach condos that could be rented
As we got to the end of the road, we saw that Pigeon Point was indeed somewhat of a protrusion of land surrounded by breathtaking waters. The end of our drive in was signaled by a carpark and an awesome sign with the different activities that could be don on the beach such as wind surfing, snorkeling and so on.
The sign at the carpark with so many things to do!
We left our car and headed straight for the white sands. What greeted us was that "ideal Caribbean beach" sight! The jetty, white sands, turquoise waters and colorful glass bottom boats available for tours amidst the reefs. Although it was raining all week, the weather was remarkably good for a beach day!
We first decided to check out the jetty before getting wet. It was unusually bright out, so much so that my eyes were watering and I could not see that well to take photos, so excuse the bad composition and angles! Also my lens became fogged up as we had just left the resort where the AC was turned up all the way and the temperature difference caused some condensation to happen inside the lens!
Close narrow angled shot of the jetty
They spared no effort in ensuring that the jetty was well branded for everyone to know that this was a Heritage Park. The jetty provided a very close of view and feel of the water and I could not help but want to just take a dip right then and there! It looked so tempting!
Top down view of the jetty
I decided that I would take a quick dip, then send up the drone to see what I could get. The waters were extremely clear and I could not get over the color! The temperature was the perfect amount to cool you down after walking around on the hot sands during a sweltering day, it was almost invigorating and refreshing at the same time. There were not that many people there and we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.
Some bathers enjoying the pristine waters
Aerial Views
An off shore view of the beach
My favorite part! The drone shots provide such an amazing paradigm shift in covering a location blog wise. We are no longer restricted by the X and Y axises but now can view from the Z axis as well. From the first image you can get an idea of how clear the waters are! Those dark regions are the reef corals and is part of the Buccoo reef which can be seen way in the background!
A top down view of the beach
Here is another view of the beach from the shoreside from the top down. You can get a sense for the overall layout here with the jetty as a landmark. I also just love the idea of being able to see through the waves to the bottom of the ocean. It seems like that shouldn't be possible but it was! You can use the boats and cars in the shot to get a sense of scale as well.
A vibrant shot of one of the glass bottomed boats on tour
Speaking of boats, I wanted to show case the famous glass bottomed boats that run tours in and around the reefs in the area. Their vibrant hues add so much to the natural Caribbean aesthetic. Since Pigeon Point is in the path way of the tour routes, I managed to get a shots of them in their "natural habitat" amongst the reefs. The boat in the above photo has vibrant green and reds and proudly flies the national flag of Trinidad and Tobago, the red white and black!
A westerly view of glass bottomed boats in the area
An easterly view of the boats, with some more in the distance
Here are two more shots of boats while they were passing by Pigeon Point. If you look closely, you can see that they usually have two decks, one that is shaded and has seating around the glass windows that provide a clear view of the reefs and their flora and fauna in the depths below and another that allows you to climb to the roof of the boat and enjoy the ride back. The latter deck is amazing when you take the tour around sunset!
The above photo shows the western coastline of pigeon point in the foreground and a better view of Buccoo Reef in the background. Even at this distance, the color variation due to undulating depths and vast forests of coral is visible and breathtaking.
All in all, Pigeon Point was indeed a quintessential Caribbean Beach ideal as the authorities of the island touted. There was so much to see and do and the facilities as well as the natural and manmade beauty was unparalleled, at least within the twin Island state. Thanks for coming along, Cheers!