Parlatuvier Beach
Best for. Slow travellers who want a real working fishing village and rainforest scenery over a polished swim, and who like a beach with daily life still on it.
Best spot. An early morning when the boats come in and the nets are hauled, watched with a drink from the lookout bar above the bay as the village wakes.
Know this. The water shelves quickly only a few feet out and there is a river mouth at one end, so this is a place to wade and watch more than a long easy swim. For that, Englishmans Bay next door is better.
Parlatuvier is the kind of bay you come upon slowly, on the winding north coast road where the rainforest tumbles almost to the water. It is a soft crescent of sand, perhaps five hundred metres, wrapped in steep green hills, with a small river slipping into the sea at one end and the village strung along behind. The fishing boats are drawn up on the sand, and on the right morning the community still sets and hauls a seine net by hand, one of the few places in Tobago where you can watch that older rhythm at work. This is a working bay first and a beach second, and that is exactly its character.
The honest read is that Parlatuvier rewards the watcher more than the swimmer. The water is usually calm and sheltered, but it shelves quickly only a few feet from shore and there is a river mouth to mind, so it is a place to wade in to your waist, float a while and come back, rather than a long shallow family paddle. If a classic swim and a snorkel are what you want, Englishmans Bay just along the coast is the prettier, easier choice, and the two make a natural pair on one drive. Come to Parlatuvier instead for the life on the sand, the scenery and the quiet.
For a slow naturalist this is a morning to plan around the boats. Arrive early, watch the catch come in and the nets gather, take a cold drink up to the lookout bar above the bay for the view down the crescent, and buy fish fresh from the people who caught it if it is going. Keep back from the working boats and nets, tread softly through a small community that is not putting on a show for you, and take your litter away. Parlatuvier gives its best to visitors who treat it as a village they are lucky to pass through.
Clubs near this beach
Parlatuvier keeps a village bar and a lookout above the bay rather than a beach club, so the club layer here is a cold drink and a long view down the crescent.
Photo: David Chacon via GoogleParlatuvier village bars
The village keeps a small shop and a bar or two, including a lookout bar set above the bay with a long view down the crescent, the natural place for a cold drink as the boats come and go. There is no minimum and no daybed scene, just a quiet community by the water, with hours that ease in the low season, so opening times are to be confirmed.
No resort club on the sand
There is no beach club or daybed strip at Parlatuvier, which keeps it real. For an organised beach day with food, shade and watersports you head to the southwest near the airport, where our directory gathers the venues and the Buccoo Sunday party. Here the evening is a village bar, the boats and the green hills going dark.
The north coast, by car
Parlatuvier sits on the wild north coast of Tobago, reached along the winding, scenic coast road, roughly fifty minutes to an hour from Scarborough and the southwest depending on the day. There is little public transport, so most visitors drive or take a taxi, and the journey itself, climbing through rainforest with the sea opening below each bend, is part of the reward.
The road drops into the village and the bay, with the boats and the jetty at one end and the river mouth at the other. Bring water, sun cover and some cash for the bar and any fish, and fill the tank before you set off, since services on this coast are sparse. Aim for a calm dry season morning for the gentlest water, the chance of the nets and the easiest drive, and pair it with Englishmans Bay close by.
Photo: Rainer Ebert via GoogleNot ready to book?
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Common questions about Parlatuvier Beach
Is Parlatuvier Beach worth visiting?
Yes, if you want a real working fishing village rather than a resort beach. Parlatuvier is a quiet crescent bay on the wild north coast, framed by rainforest hills, with calm water, boats drawn up on the sand and nets still hauled by hand at dawn. It is low key by design, with little more than a bar or two, so come for the slow rhythm and the scenery rather than facilities.
Can you swim at Parlatuvier?
Yes, the bay is partly sheltered so the water is usually calm with small lapping waves, but there is a noticeable drop off only a few feet from shore, so it shelves quickly into deeper water. Keep a close eye on children, take care near the river mouth at one end and judge the sea yourself, as there is no lifeguard and conditions are typical rather than guaranteed.
Parlatuvier or Englishmans Bay?
They sit close together on the north coast and make a natural pair. Englishmans Bay is the prettier crescent for a swim and a snorkel, while Parlatuvier is the working fishing village with more local life and a river mouth. For the classic postcard beach choose Englishmans, and for living village character choose Parlatuvier, or honestly do both in one slow drive.
How do you get to Parlatuvier?
By car along the north coast road, roughly fifty minutes to an hour from Scarborough and the southwest depending on conditions. There is little public transport, so drive or take a taxi, travel in daylight on the winding rainforest road and fill the tank first, as services on this coast are sparse. The drive itself, with the sea opening below each bend, is part of the pleasure.
Are there facilities at Parlatuvier?
Very few. There is a small shop and a bar or two, including a lookout bar above the village, but no resort facilities, loungers or reliable kiosk on the sand. Bring water, sun cover and some cash, buy fresh fish from the fishermen if it is going, and treat the village with courtesy as the quiet working community it is.
