Internet, Mail, and Shipping in Trinidad and Tobago

The local phone company offers a handy dial-up service on both islands called 619-EASY. Simply connect your laptop to the phone line and dial 619-3279 using the word EASY as your username. The charge is 12¢ a minute. Because of crime concerns in Trinidad, it is inadvisable to use Internet cafés in downtown Port of Spain or in areas along the east-west corridor. Almost every hotel offers Internet service, and newer ones (such as the Marriott) offer wireless high-speed access. In Trinidad, most hotels allow nonguests to use their Internet services for a fee.

In Tobago, the best Internet café in the Scarborough area is J-Puter Tech, which offers access for about $4 an hour. In Crown Point, the most fun choice is the Original House of Pancakes Ltd., which happily combines Internet access and pancakes. The Internet is $5 an hour, but the pancakes are an additional cost.

Postage to the United States and Canada is TT$3.45 for first-class letters and TT$2.25 for postcards; prices are slightly higher for other destinations. The main post offices are on Wrightson Road (opposite the Crowne Plaza) in Port of Spain and in the N. I. B. Mall on Wilson Street (near the docks) in Scarborough. There are no zip codes on the islands. To write to an establishment here, you simply need its address, town, and "Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies."

Internet Cafés

Computer Planet Ltd. (Ariapita Ave. and Luis St., Port of Spain, Trinidad. 868/622-6888). J-Puter Tech (20 Burnett St., Scarborough, Tobago. 868/639-3393). Jus Click (Royal Palm Plaza, 7 Saddle Rd., Maraval, Trinidad. 868/628-2316). Original House of Pancakes Ltd. (Milford Rd. and John Gorman Trace, Crown Point, Tobago. 868/39-9866).