Getting there and when to go

There are three ways to reach Tobago. In winter, direct from Frankfurt. Otherwise with a change on Barbados or in Trinidad, and from Trinidad either by plane or by ferry. From April to October the route always runs via Port of Spain or Barbados.

For timing, ask the weather service. It is dry from January to May, which is also when Condor flies. To enter you need a passport and a free card that you fill in online.

Direct from Frankfurt

TuesdaysCondor, November 2026 to March 2027

Island hop from Trinidad

20 to 25 minutesdepending on the source

Ferry from Port of Spain

3 to 4 hoursper the German Foreign Office, plus check-in

Dry season

January to Mayper the Met Service

Passport

6 monthsvalid beyond the end of your trip

From Europe: Condor on Tuesdays, otherwise with a change

In the 2026/27 winter schedule Condor flies from Frankfurt to Tobago from November to March, once a week, on Tuesdays according to Condor. The airline's Tobago page lists the outbound flight as nonstop, about ten hours, and the return with a stop on Barbados, just under twelve hours in total.

The same airline's Caribbean overview puts it differently. It only says Tobago is served on Tuesdays "with a short stopover in Barbados", without saying in which direction. Condor also notes that the FAQ on its route page is partly AI-generated. Go by what the booking screen shows for your flight.

From London there is a second route. According to a schedule report on Aeroroutes, British Airways flies twice a week from Gatwick via Bridgetown on Barbados to Tobago, starting on 27 October 2026. British press reports instead mention daily Gatwick to Barbados flights from 25 October "with a connection to Tobago". How often the flight actually goes on to Tobago, only a BA booking will tell you.

Virgin Atlantic no longer flies to Tobago directly. KLM only flies Amsterdam to Port of Spain on Trinidad, via St. Maarten according to Aeroroutes, while one portal calls the route nonstop. From Tobago itself Caribbean Airlines flies to Barbados, Port of Spain, New York and Toronto. Outside the Condor Tuesday, that means a change in Port of Spain or on Barbados.

The island hop from Trinidad

Caribbean Airlines shuttles between Piarco, the airport for Port of Spain, and Tobago. Locally it is the airbridge. Germany's Federal Foreign Office gives about 20 minutes in the air, Caribbean Journal 25. Short either way.

The state subsidises the route. Since January 2023 a one-way ticket has cost TT$200 and a return TT$400, up from TT$150 each way before (as of 2026). Higher, unsubsidised peak fares have been discussed, with no start date announced. The fuel surcharge Caribbean Airlines introduced in April 2026 does not apply on this route.

The Foreign Office advises checking in about two hours before departure. Leave enough time if you are connecting from a long-haul flight in Port of Spain.

The ferry from Port of Spain to Scarborough

The ferry is run by TTIT, a unit of the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago. According to the operator, the vessels are the T&T Spirit, the A.P.T. James, the Buccoo Reef and the Galleons Passage. The A.P.T. James is a 94-metre catamaran for 926 passengers and 250 cars. TTIT does not say how long the crossing takes. Germany's Foreign Office gives three to four hours plus two hours for check-in, Rome2Rio about three.

An adult economy ticket costs TT$75 one way and TT$150 return, premium twice that (as of October 2026). You book on ttitferry.com, at the terminal or through a travel agent. Tickets bought online are valid only on the booked date, they cannot be changed, and the name has to match your photo ID.

The ferry is not reliable. The schedule states that vessels may be swapped "without notice", and in 2026 one or another kept dropping out:

• January 2026: the Buccoo Reef is in dock, the A.P.T. James fills in.
• 1 February 2026: the T&T Spirit is withdrawn after debris got into its engines.
• 9 February 2026: the Buccoo Reef is back in service.
• March and April 2026: several changed departures.
• August 2026: the A.P.T. James runs almost every sailing.
• Mid-September 2026: the October schedule comes without either fast ferry, only the A.P.T. James and a cargo ship. Hotels on Tobago report cancellations.
• 29 September 2026: the minister in charge announces extra October sailings with the T&T Spirit and the Buccoo Reef, six of them. For Tobago Carnival 2025 there had been 22. Tickets for 27 to 30 October sell out within 24 hours.

One TV report names the Galleons Passage instead of the T&T Spirit as the second missing vessel in September. Whether the T&T Spirit officially returned after February, the operator has not announced; its latest bulletin dates from 18 August 2026. Check departure and vessel directly with TTIT before you travel. Where the ferry docks in Scarborough is on the town's page.

Our tipIf you are counting on the ferry, buy your ticket early and online, but only once your date is fixed: changes are not possible. If the sailing is cancelled or full, the island hop from Piarco is your way out.

Arriving at Crown Point: new terminal, then taxi or hire car

A.N.R. Robinson International Airport sits at the south-west tip, in Crown Point, about 11 kilometres from Scarborough. Since 14 October 2026 you land at the new East Terminal, built for three million passengers a year. It was meant to open in March 2026. It took until October.

A hire car pays off as soon as you want to see the north coast. Traffic drives on the left, roads are narrow and winding, and Germany's Foreign Office warns of a high accident risk. The drink-drive limit is 0.8 per mille. Enterprise and National rent to drivers from 21, with a surcharge up to 24, and up to 70.

On driving licences the sources disagree. The German Foreign Office says a German licence is recognised for three months and an international permit for one year. The Enterprise and National page for Tobago airport says 30 days in one place and three months from arrival in another. Bring an international permit and you are covered.

Without a car, it is taxis. The Foreign Office recommends hotel taxis, licensed taxis with a number plate starting with H, or apps. Avoid private cars with P plates working as taxis. The state buses leave from the Sangster's Hill bus terminal in Scarborough for the whole island. Where to stay in Crown Point and elsewhere is on the accommodation page.

Entry: passport, arrival card, return ticket

Germans need no visa for stays of up to 90 days within 180 days. The airports authority lists the same rule for Austria and Switzerland. Germany's ID card will not get you in, though. You need a passport, a temporary passport or a child passport, valid for six months beyond the end of your trip.

New since 17 March 2026 is the online arrival and departure card, which everyone arriving or leaving by air or sea fills in. It is free. It runs through travel.gov.tt, no earlier than 72 hours before travel. You then get a receipt with two QR codes, to show on your phone or printed out on paper at the border. Without it, the German Foreign Office says, entry or exit can be refused.

Have a return or onward ticket ready too, and the address where you are staying. You enter the address on the form and give it again at the border.

When to go: dry season, rain, hurricanes

The Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service splits the year in two. January to May is the dry season, June to December the rainy season, with late May and December as transition periods. Guidebooks often say "June to November". That is the hurricane season. In Tobago the most rain falls in November, in Trinidad in June.

It is always warm. At the weather station at Crown Point airport the mean daily maximum from 1973 to 2004 was 31.0 °C, the mean minimum 23.6 °C. The sea off Crown Point is 26 to 30 °C according to satellite data on the Surf-Forecast site, coolest in mid-February, warmest at the end of August.

The hurricane season runs from June to 30 November, with storms most frequent from August to October. Here the assessments differ. Germany's Foreign Office places Trinidad and Tobago outside the direct hurricane zone, but warns of outer bands bringing heavy rain and landslides. The country's own Met Service writes that Tobago is hit directly more often than Trinidad.

In 2024 came Beryl. On 1 July 2024 the core of the hurricane passed north of Tobago, after the first hurricane warning since the early 2000s. Trees came down, Castara and Speyside lost power, there were minor landslides and no deaths. Carriacou and Union Island further north were hit hard.

Things fill up around the festivals. For Tobago Carnival in October 2026 the ferries sold out quickly, and at Easter the goats race in Buccoo.

Adding Trinidad?

If Port of Spain is on your way anyway, you can add Trinidad. You cross by plane or by ferry. The flight is faster and does not depend on which vessel happens to be running.

Keep the security situation in mind. Germany's Foreign Office describes high crime across the country and names areas of Trinidad to avoid: in Port of Spain the part east of Henry Street, plus Laventille, Beetham, Morvant, Sea Lots, Belmont, Enterprise and Carapo. Shared taxis, the white minibuses with a coloured stripe, are fine in town by day according to the Foreign Office, but not at night or outside town.

Since late 2024 the government has declared a state of emergency several times:

• December 2024 to 14 April 2025: first state of emergency, extended in January 2025.
• 18 July 2025 to 31 January 2026: second, after an alleged plot against members of the government.
• 3 March to 17 September 2026: third, extended twice, with 5,802 arrests.

One source speaks of a single continuous state of emergency since December 2024; the notifications to the United Nations show three separate ones with gaps in between. As of October 2026 none is in force. When the last one ended, though, a law on special operations came in, allowing restricted zones with extended powers. Read the travel and safety advice of your foreign ministry before you go. Other things to sort out before the trip are in the FAQ.