The Buccoo Reef of Tobago was very much a world famous destination even as far back as the mid 20th century. Indeed, even the British Princess, Margaret was heard to comment on the lovely translucent blue of the water. She is said to have named it after the then innovative Dupont invention 'nylon'.

Salient facts about Tobago's Buccoo Reef

Tobago's Buccoo Reef is a long, breathtaking curve of coral reef stretching from the Pigeon Point to the Bon Accord lagoon. The reef is one of the most interesting and accessible places to see the wonders of the underwater world. The protected area is home to millions of coral polyps and various types of coral, including Star Coral, Flower Coral and Horn Coral.

In addition to the magnificent scenic opportunity, the glass-bottomed boat tours allow non-swimmers the opportunity to enjoy the reef, and equipment is provided for skin divers or snorkelers.
Buccoo Reef and Bon Accord Lagoon are located on the leeward coast of southwestern Tobago. This is one of the two localities in Trinidad and Tobago characterized by contiguous reef, seagrass, and mangrove ecosystems.

The reef system is approximately seven square kilometers in area and is characterized by an arc of five reef flats that enclose a shallow reef lagoon and the Bon Accord Lagoon. There is patchy distribution of coral communities within the reef lagoon, mainly staghorn coral and star coral.

buccoo reef

The Bon Accord Lagoon is characterized by macroalgae and seagrass communities. The mangrove wetland fringing the lagoon is primarily red mangrove, but white mangrove is also common. Black mangrove and button mangrove are also present. Seaward of the reef flats, the forereef slopes to depths of 15-30 m. Brain coral, star coral, and elkhorn coral are the dominant coral species on the forereef.

The Buccoo Reef- Bon Accord Lagoon area is unique to the southern Caribbean due to its size, attractiveness, and easy accessibility. It is located on the calmer, leeward southwestern coast of Tobago. Such attributes have led to its development as a major tourist attraction.
Guided tours to the reef were first started in the 1930s.
Today, the primary activities associated with visitor use at Buccoo Reef include glass-bottom boat tours to the Outer Reef flat, the Coral Gardens, and the Nylon Pool, Snorkelling is an activity on the shallow backreef areas of the Outer Reef flat.
Sport-diving occurs at forereef sites, but this activity is not really popular at Buccoo Reef due to the presence of higher quality dive sites at other reef localities in Tobago.

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This useful infomation about Tobago is courtesy Angelles Tobago Villa. Angelles is a very spacious, extremely well appointed luxury holiday home. It definitely offers the best value for anyone, whether it's couples, family groups, even small specific interest groups.