Pigeon Point, Tobago tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 00:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are America/Port of Spain local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Last spring tide on Mon 18 May (range 1.1m). Next neap on Fri 22 May.

Spring tides cluster around new and full moons (biggest swings). Neap tides land on quarter moons (smallest swings). See the spring tide and neap tide glossary entries for the why.

Pigeon Point is in the southwest corner of Tobago, a spit of land that extends into the calm water between the main island and the outer reef line, and it is the most photographed beach in Trinidad and Tobago. The image that has appeared in Caribbean promotional material since the 1970s — the thatched-roof jetty extending into turquoise shallow water, the palm-lined white sand in the foreground — is Pigeon Point Heritage Park. The beach itself is enclosed by a reef line on the western side that keeps the water calm and shallow; the protected lagoon between the beach and the reef holds less than 1.5 metres depth across most of its extent at low tide, which suits families, snorkellers working the reef edge, and glass-bottom boat operators running the short tour to the outer reef. Buccoo Reef, the most accessible and most visited snorkel site in Tobago, sits 2 km offshore from Pigeon Point and is reached by glass-bottom boat from the jetty. The reef has suffered bleaching pressure over several decades of warming sea temperatures and visitor impact, but the coral coverage is recovering in patches; parrotfish, sergeant majors, and the occasional turtle are reliable sightings. The Nylon Pool, a shallow naturally occurring sandbar in the open water between Pigeon Point and Buccoo Reef, is visited by the same glass-bottom boats; the sandbar sits at 0.5 to 1.0 metres depth and is the location of the traditional stand-in-the-sea-on-a-sandbar photo. The depth of the Nylon Pool varies noticeably with the tide — on a spring low the sandbar can be barely ankle-deep; on a spring high it submerges to thigh depth. The mixed semidiurnal tide at Pigeon Point runs a spring range of roughly 0.4 to 0.6 metres. Inside the Pigeon Point lagoon the tide effect is primarily a depth variation over the sandy bottom; the beach width changes by 10 to 15 metres between spring high and spring low. The reef edge to the west of the lagoon is more exposed, and the snorkelling depth on the outer face drops at low tide, putting the shallowest coral heads at less than a metre. Snorkelling visits to the outer Buccoo Reef face are generally planned for mid-tide rising or higher. The heritage park admission fee covers beach access and use of the facilities; the thatched jetty and the beach chairs along the main strand are included. Kayak rentals and paddleboard hire are available at the park entrance. All tide predictions on this page come from Open-Meteo Marine gridded model — accuracy within plus or minus 45 minutes on timing and 0.2 to 0.3 metres on height.