Public telephones take 25¢ coins but if you're making international calls , it's easier to use the Companion phone cards (TT$10, TT$30, TT$60 and TT$100 + VAT) issued by Telecommunication Service of T&T (TSTT) and available in newsagents, pharmacies and supermarkets. You can rent a cellular phone from Caribel (tel 868/652-4982, ) for around US$35 per week plus call charges. Only tri-band units work in T&T, and as TSTT has a monopoly your mobile phone will not work unless you register with them first. Phones must be TDMA and digital compatible.

The local TT Post is reliable if a little slow. A normal letter takes one to two weeks to Europe and the US, three to Australia. Most towns and villages have a post office (Mon-Fri 8am-4.15pm). Letters and postcards to anywhere in the world cost TT$4.50, and decorated aerogrammes can be sent worldwide for TT$2. Post boxes are small, red, rare and easily missed.

You'll find internet services mainly at cyber-cafés, computer shops and some hotels in Port of Spain, Crown Point and Scarborough. Prices are generally TT$10-15 for half an hour.

The country code for Trinidad and Tobago is 868.