Utila or Tobago, which is better?

[KUFan452]

My BF and I are trying to decide between spending a week in Utila or Tobago. My BF has dived Roatan, but I have not. Neither of us has been to Tobago. Can you help us decide? Has anyone been to both and, if so, can you provide a good comparison of the pros and cons?

 

[Doc]

I see that you have double posted this, here and in the Lesser Antilles section as well.

Utila diving is fairly well similar from dive operation, one to the other.

Before anyone can give you a fair comparison, even if it is apples to oranges, you're going to have to decide and state which end of Tobago you want to enjoy diving. You really can't do both, no matter what some salesmen might propose, unless you spend a week on both ends of Tobago.

Are you looking at Tobago's area of Pigeon Point (South/Caribbean Side) or the North end (Speyside/Atlantic) ? If you really haven't made up your mind on that, this is a secondary question and is premature.

You're going to want to do both Islands in your dive lifetime.

 

[KUFan452]

I think we plan to go to both eventually. Honestly we haven't really decided which end of Tobago we would dive. I know that the diving is in the north is more difficult and has ripping currents. Generally we're not into the partying scene so my guess is that the north might be better, but honestly we're open to either option. I'm a little nervous about currents but want to get over my fear. My BF is a newly minted instructor so I trust him to help me. My BF is concerned that Tobago is not constantly discussed as a top dive destination and thus, that it we will see nothing and regret the trip.

 

[Johnmpcny]

Just got back from Tobago and dove 3 days 2 tanks dives in the south and 2 days 2 tanks in the north. Wife was brand new and had no problems at all. Yes the north was better but the south is not a bad choice.

We used undersea Tobago and were very happy. It is just over a hr drive from s-n and the drive while sharp is worth seeing. We made a day of it and went around the island. I stayed at Birdies nest and they had a rental car. Check out Tobago.com for reviews of places. The food has many more choices in the south, there is little to do in Spreyside other than dive. Blue water Inn was being worked on but very nice. We had Marlon as our dive master and Smitty was the boat cap. I will say some of the operations had pretty large number of divers going out. I prefer 6-8 per boat. We dove the mostly with the 4 us + Marlon. Marlon actually owns his boat www dot cocomotion dot net and does Dive Trips. I would ask if he can provide a private designed dive vacation for you. It may cost a little more but you get his wit and personal attention. We even saw a albino eagle ray on one of our southern dives.

If doing it again I would still at birdies nest and dive both ends. I would not stay in Trinidad as long as we did and spend more time in tobago diving

 

[Johnmpcny]

sorry I ment to say check out mytobago dot com the best guide to all things about the island.

 

[Trinigordo]

Having done hundreds of dives in both Tobago and Utila I feel qualified to answer this question.

It really is an apples to oranges comparison and like with the fruits it may come down to personal preference.

But very important in this decision is when are you actually thinking of doing this travelling, both destinations have slightly different seasonal calendars.

Mikey

 

[KUFan452]

Thanks for all of the info! Since we couldn't choose, we decided to use our hotel and airline points and go to Maui over New Years for free. It's hard to be free Hawaii! So, I think that for our next trip (probably late spring), we might try Tobago. Thoughts on late spring in Tobago?