Peak Jan–May
Manta rays
One source gives January to May as the best odds (DAN Alert Diver), another March to May (Undercurrent 2014), and a Speyside guide says mantas pass through all year (Divernet).
1973Buccoo Reef Marine Park designated (Wikipedia (Buccoo Reef))
83,488 haNorth-East Tobago UNESCO biosphere reserve (2020), 68,384 ha of it sea (Global Voices 2020)
96fish species counted in reef surveys in 2011–13 (Alemu 2014)
1776Main Ridge forest reserve protected (UNESCO tentative list)
Why Tobago
Tobago is a 300 km² island 35 km north-east of Trinidad and about 160 km off Venezuela; Scarborough is its capital, English is spoken and the currency is the Trinidad and Tobago dollar (Wikipedia). It lies near the mouth of the Orinoco, where the river’s outflow meets the nutrient-rich Guiana Current (DAN Alert Diver): the Atlantic-side sites are drift dives, while the Caribbean side has almost no current (DAN Alert Diver). Buccoo Reef in the south-west has been a marine park since 1973 (Wikipedia (Buccoo Reef)), and in 2020 UNESCO named the North-East Tobago biosphere reserve: 83,488 ha, most of it sea, from Belle Garden to Moriah, with the Main Ridge forest at its heart (Global Voices 2020). A Tobago Marine Parks Bill passed the Tobago House of Assembly in April 2026 (Trinidad Express 2026) and in May 2026 was awaiting tabling in Parliament (TTT 2026).
Most diving is centred on Speyside, at the opposite end of the island from the airport (Wikipedia), about a two-hour drive (Scuba Diving); more than 40 sites lie within ten minutes’ boat ride of the Speyside dock (Scuba Diving). Other dive shops work from Crown Point in the south-west (Undercurrent 2014). A.N.R. Robinson International Airport has flights to London, New York and Frankfurt (seasonal) (Wikipedia); the air bridge from Trinidad takes about 20 minutes and the ferry from Port of Spain 2.5 to 5 hours (Discover T&T). Tobago’s recompression chamber is at Roxborough Hospital (THA), about 20 minutes from Speyside (Undercurrent 2014).
Location
Where the sites are
Tobago is about 30 miles (48 km) long. The calm Caribbean side runs from Crown Point up the north-west coast; the Atlantic side, swept by the Guiana Current, has the drift dives off Speyside, Little Tobago and Charlotteville in the north-east.
Tobago
Dive sites, from the north-east round to the south-west
- 1The Sisters
- 2London Bridge
- 3St Giles Islands
- 4Batteaux Bay (Trinity wreck)
- 5Goat Island (Japanese Gardens, Angel Reef)
- 6Little Tobago (Kelleston Drain, Bookends, Black Jack Hole)
- 7Cardinal Rock
- 8Arnos Vale
- 9Mount Irvine (Wall, Extension, Maverick wreck)
- 10Buccoo Reef
- 11Crown Point (Flying Reef, Diver’s Thirst offshore)
Loading the map…
The site map works offline and prints. Satellite is interactive: zoom and drag, and tap or hover a pin for its name (it needs an internet connection). Positions are approximate. Kelleston Drain, Japanese Gardens, Bookends, Black Jack Hole, Flying Reef, Diver’s Thirst and the Maverick and Trinity wrecks have no published position of their own, so they are shown at the charted island, bay or point they lie by; Kariwak Reef and Cove Ledge have no pin. Positions: NGA GeoNames. Coastline © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Choose your dive
Six field pages, with where and when to look for each species and links to go deeper.
When to go for what
Pick a month to see what is at its peak. Tobago is dived all year. Sources give the water as about 26 °C (79 °F) from January to April and 28–29 °C (82–84 °F) from July to November (DAN Alert Diver), or as low as 24 °C in January and February (Discover T&T). The dry season, roughly December or January to May or June, brings the best visibility, up to 30 m; from about June to November the Orinoco’s outflow clouds the water (DAN Alert Diver; Scuba Diving; Wikipedia). Hurricane Flora wrecked the island in 1963, and the eye of Hurricane Beryl passed just north of it in 2024 (Climate Tracker Caribbean).
Peak Dec–Mar
Hammerheads
December to March gives the best chance at the Sisters (Scuba Diving); another source says October to May (Tropical Sky).
Peak Dec–Jul
Red-billed tropicbirds
On Little Tobago from December to July, in the hundreds (BBC Wildlife).
Peak Mar–Aug
Leatherbacks nesting
The official season ran from 1 March to 31 August in 2025 (Ministry of Agriculture, T&T 2025); another source gives March to September, peaking in late May and early June (Discover T&T). Hatchlings emerge from May, peaking in August (Discover T&T 2013).
Peak May–Jul
Black jacks
Black jacks gather at Black Jack Hole, off Little Tobago, from May to July (Scuba Diving).
Background photo: Megan Applegate (a school of fish, Tobago)
Six to know by sight
Six animals divers and visitors meet at Tobago, with the mark that gives each away. The species pages have the full notes and sources. Photos are labelled with where they were taken.
Plate I
Manta ray
Mobula
- Look for
- A huge, flat, diamond-shaped ray; Tobago mantas “topping 4 m” are reported.
- At Tobago
- Off Speyside and Little Tobago; the Sisters and Mount Irvine.
Plate II
Scalloped hammerhead
Sphyrna lewini
- Look for
- A hammer-shaped head with a notch in the middle of its front edge.
- At Tobago
- The Sisters, off the north coast, mostly December to March.
Photo to come
Plate III
Leatherback turtle
Dermochelys coriacea
- Look for
- The largest turtle: no hard shell, but leathery skin with seven ridges.
- At Tobago
- Nests on the north-west beaches from March.
Plate IV
Red-billed tropicbird
Phaethon aethereus
- Look for
- White, with a red bill, a black mask and very long tail streamers.
- At Tobago
- Breeds on Little Tobago, December to July.
Photo to come
Plate V
Creole wrasse
Clepticus parrae
- Look for
- Violet-purple, with a yellow patch towards the tail in adults.
- At Tobago
- One of the three commonest reef fish; schools at Japanese Gardens.
Photo to come
Plate VI
Flamingo tongue
Cyphoma gibbosum
- Look for
- A small snail with an orange-spotted, black-ringed mantle, on sea fans.
- At Tobago
- “As common as sand in Tobago.”
What divers report, site by site
From DAN, Scuba Diving, Discover Trinidad & Tobago and other accounts. Depths and details differ between sources, and individual dives vary.
Kelleston Drain
Just south of Little Tobago: home of the brain coral Guinness lists as the largest colony, about 3 m high and 5 m across, with large barracuda and green morays.
Source: Guinness World Records; DeeperBlueJapanese Gardens
A slow drift at about 10–20 m off Goat Island, through a rock passage (Kamikaze Cut) where nurse sharks sleep; black coral below 30 m.
Source: DAN Alert Diver; Scuba Diving; DivernetBookends and Black Jack Hole
Off Little Tobago: two rocks with a cut between them, sometimes with strong current and tarpon in the surge; black jacks gather at Black Jack Hole from May to July.
Source: Scuba Diving; Scuba DivingThe Sisters
Five pinnacles about two miles off the north coast, breaking the surface and dropping to about 40 m; hammerheads and mantas.
Source: Scuba Diving; Scuba Diving; DAN Alert DiverLondon Bridge
An advanced dive through a rock arch off the St Giles Islands; the passage starts at about 15 m, with boulders at 15–24 m and nurse sharks on the sand.
Source: DAN Alert Diver; Discover T&TMount Irvine Wall and Extension
A shallow wall on the calm Caribbean side, at about 5–18 m, with seahorses, frogfish and batfish; the Extension slopes to about 24 m, with eagle rays and the odd manta.
Source: DAN Alert Diver; Scuba Diving; DAN Alert DiverMaverick wreck
A former Trinidad–Tobago ferry sunk as a dive site off Mount Irvine, in about 30 m. Sources differ: sunk in April 1997 and 51 m (168 ft) long, or sunk in 1996 and 56 m (185 ft) long, once the Scarlet Ibis.
Source: Discover T&T; Scuba Diving; PADIFlying Reef and Diver’s Thirst
About a mile off Crown Point: Flying Reef is an Atlantic drift with its top at about 15 m, a 17th-century anchor and mantas; Diver’s Thirst is best dived at low tide.
Source: DAN Alert Diver; Scuba Diving; Scuba DivingKariwak Reef and Arnos Vale
Easy dives: Kariwak has sand at about 5.5 m sloping to 12 m, with stingrays, flying gurnards and trumpetfish; Arnos Vale goes to about 13–20 m.
Source: Scuba Diving; DeeperBlue; DIVE magazine; DAN Alert Diver; Discover T&TThe Trinity
A 30 m (100 ft) former supply vessel sunk in 2016 at Batteaux Bay, Speyside.
Source: Afar 2026Currents
On the Atlantic side a 2-knot current is “unremarkable” at Speyside (DAN Alert Diver), and Bookends and London Bridge are for experienced divers (Scuba Diving; DAN Alert Diver). Dive with a local operator who knows the tides.
Photos
Photos marked “Megan Applegate” were taken at Tobago in November 2024, except some species she photographed elsewhere (Bonaire, Palau, Socorro or Cocos Island), which are labelled with the place. The others are credited reference photos, and species without a photo show “Photo to come” or link to photos online.
Background photo: Megan Applegate (barrel sponge, Tobago)
More information
Every link opens in a new tab. Each species page cites its own sources as well.
- Wikipedia — Tobago
- Wikipedia — Buccoo Reef
- Ramsar — Buccoo Reef / Bon Accord Lagoon Complex
- Global Voices — North-East Tobago named a UNESCO biosphere reserve (2020)
- UNESCO — Tobago Main Ridge Forest Reserve (tentative list)
- Trinidad Express — THA passes Marine Parks Bill (2026)
- DAN Alert Diver — Tobago
- DAN Alert Diver — Tobago (second article)
- Discover Trinidad & Tobago — Diving: kingdom of the corals
- Scuba Diving — Tobago: where to dive
- Scuba Diving — Navigating Tobago’s underwater landscape
- Scuba Diving — Tobago’s Sisters
- Undercurrent — Manta Lodge, Tobago (2014)
- Divernet — Driving north (Speyside)
- Alemu (2014) — Reef fish of Tobago, Revista de Biología Tropical
- ITOPF — Gulfstream oil spill, 2024
- Institute of Marine Affairs — Stony coral tissue loss disease
- Discover T&T — SOS Tobago and the turtles (2013)
- Wikipedia — Little Tobago