If this is your first time traveling to Trinidad, you likely have a lot of questions. Here we answer some common questions and include some useful links and resources.

• Is it safe to travel to Trinidad?
• What vaccinations do I need?
• Can I drink the water?
• What else do I need to know?

Some useful links and resources

The best place to start when looking for information before traveling to a new country is your government’s travel guides and advisories.

These guides contain all the important information you need to know to ensure you stay safe and healthy during your trip. The guides are usually put together with the local consulate who have on-the-ground knowledge and experience of the country. 

Here are links to the Canadian and American guides:

• Canada
• United States

We strongly recommend you read these in detail before you travel to Trinidad.  

Is it safe to travel to Trinidad?

This is probably the biggest concern for visitors to the island. Crime is certainly an issue with high rates of murder and violent crimes. 

While it might sound quite scary when you hear about it, when you are there you will see that it is business as usual for everyone and there’s no atmosphere of fear or terror. 

Most of the crimes are targeted, but there are some well-known high crime areas that you will want to avoid including Laventille and the Beetham Highway.

What vaccinations do I need?

Zika has become a major concern for visitors to the Caribbean and South America, especially for pregnant couples or those trying to conceive.

There have been recorded Zika outbreaks in Trinidad, so if this is a concern for you, I encourage you to read the Centre for Disease Control’s recommendations here.

Other than that, just ensure you have your routine vaccinations up to date and you should be fine.  

Can I drink the water?

The tap water is safe to drink in Trinidad, as is eating from street vendors.

For added peace of mind, we do recommend drinking bottled water as you really don’t want to risk ruining your Carnival! But no need to worry if you’ve had tap water.

Be sure to also bring along any of your go-to stomach medication (Immodium, Gravol etc.) as back-up.

As with traveling anywhere, you will also want to make sure you have medical coverage for your trip. 

What else should I know?

Here are a few other quick tidbits of information that might be useful:

• Visas are not required for US and Canadian citizens who are staying under 90 days
• Local
• The weather will be hot and sunny during Carnival as it is dry season (yay!)