Beaches and bays

Red buoys draw a line off Pigeon Point, and beyond it the glass-bottom boats head out. At the other end of the island lies a bay with nothing on the sand but fishing boats. Both are Tobago.

The beaches face two seas. In the west and north it is the Caribbean side, which locals call leeward. In the south and east it is the Atlantic side, windward. Not every beach has lifeguards, and where they are posted, discovertnt says they work during the day, roughly nine to five or ten to six. A red flag means do not swim here. On the Atlantic side, Rough Guides writes, there are usually no lifeguards at all.

Three things have changed the beaches in recent years. In early February 2024 oil leaked from a capsized barge off Cove on the south coast, affecting the shore between Scarborough and Sandy Point. In July 2025 unusual amounts of sargassum seaweed washed onto the western beaches. And in December 2024 the island government warned of Portuguese man o' war at popular swimming spots. Each beach page says which of this applies to it.

No beach on the island flies a full Blue Flag so far. Mount Irvine Bay, Bloody Bay and King's Bay have held pilot status since 2020.

South-west

• 
  South-westPigeon Point

  A jetty with a thatched roof, red buoys in shallow water, and you pay at the gate.

• South-westStore Bay

  Land, drop your bags, and two minutes later you are on the sand.

West coast

• West coastBuccoo Beach

  A fishing beach where people dance every week and goats race at Easter.

• 
  West coastMount Irvine Bay

  Paddle on the left, surf on the right, with just a few rocks in between.

• West coastBack Bay

  No bar, no lifeguard, and even its exact location depends on whom you ask.

• West coastStonehaven Bay

  Two hotels at one end, and at night leatherback turtles come ashore.

• 
  West coastTurtle Beach

  By day hotel guests lie here, by night leatherbacks dig their nests in the sand.

• West coastArnos Vale

  The hotel has closed, the reef is still there.

North coast

• North coastCastara Bay

  Between the fishing boats there is still room for your towel.

• North coastLittle Bay

  The way down is steep, and at the bottom it goes quiet.

• North coastEnglishman's Bay

  One building on the sand, forest behind it, and from the road just a blue and white sign.

• North coastParlatuvier Bay

  People fish from the jetty, boats rock in the bay.

• North coastBloody Bay

  Five kilometres out the Sisters stand in the sea, on the beach there are showers.

North-east

• North-eastMan o' War Bay

  Where the fishermen haul in their net, you spread out your towel.

• North-eastPirate's Bay

  No bar waits at the bottom, just the cove where "Robinson Crusoe" was filmed in 1952.

• 
  North-eastSpeyside: Tyrrel's Bay and Batteaux Bay

  From the village beach you can see the island where the tropicbirds nest.

• North-eastKing's Bay

  Dark sand, calm water, and now and then fishermen draw their net right across the bay.

Atlantic coast

• Atlantic coastBacolet Bay

  Steps lead down from the road, and the old fort sits above the bay.

• Atlantic coastLittle Rockly Bay

  Not much for swimming, but good for walking at low tide.

• Atlantic coastCanoe Bay

  At the end of a bumpy dirt track you pay to get into shallow water.

• Atlantic coastKilgwyn Bay

  A short walk past the beach club, then shade under the sea grapes.