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A cluster of about a dozen ochre-yellow tube sponges on a rocky reef, with pale yellow fan-shaped growths beside them — Tobago.

Tobago · Trinidad and Tobago · Pinnacle · Wall · Pelagic & blue water

The Sisters

Schooling scalloped hammerheads from October to May

Area photo: Darren Obbard · CC BY 4.0

The Sisters are a small cluster of islands 2.5 km (1.5 miles) off Tobago's north coast, with a collection of pinnacle dive sites. Steep walls on the northern and western sides draw sharks, barracudas and mantas, and large schools of scalloped hammerheads arrive each year.

Also known as Sisters, Sister's Rocks, Sisters Rocks.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of The Sisters: typical dive to 40 m (to 130 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit40 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 50 m (164 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

11.3326° N, 60.6444° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The pinnacles rise from about 40 m (130 ft), and the dives on them go beyond 40 m (140 ft). On the northern and western landward sides the faces fall as steep walls, where sharks, barracudas and mantas cruise past. Between October and May large schools of scalloped hammerhead sharks migrate to the rocks, and they cruise among the boulders and sand chutes around the base of the pinnacles.

Marine life and season

  • Hammerheads
  • Barracuda
  • Manta rays
Month-by-month season rating for The Sisters
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
PrimePrimePrimePrimePrimeGoodFairFairFairGoodGoodPrime

Season follows Tobago: Large schools of scalloped hammerheads migrate to the Sisters between October and May.

Know before you go

  • Strong currents and large swells are common at the Sisters, so dives depend on patience with the conditions.

Dive videos

SCUBA Dive The Sisters Inside - Tobago · Sal Delello on YouTube

SCUBA Dive The Sisters Outside - Tobago · Sal Delello on YouTube

Sources

  1. Diving in Tobago — DIVEIN
  2. The New Caribbean - Tobago - The Sisters — Scuba Diving
  3. Dive | Tobago Dive Experience — Tobago Dive Experience

More dive sites in Tobago

Reef

Angel Reef

The sheltered, quiet-water reef behind Goat Island

4–18 mbeginner

Reef

Black Jack Hole

Schools of black jacks gather here from May to July

10–40 mintermediate

Reef

Japanese Gardens

Drift on through Kamikazee Cut to a sheltered nook of resident nurse sharks

9–30 mintermediate

Reef

Kelleston Drain

Brain coral colonies up to 5 m (15 ft) across

to 18 madvanced

Similar dives elsewhere

Pinnacle

Mansi Reef (Marker 42)

Yanbu & the Seven Reefs · Saudi Arabia

A lone coral column where hammerheads patrol the open water

10–35 m · max 80 madvanced

Pinnacle

Roca Partida

Revillagigedo (Socorro) · Mexico

A rock small enough to swim around, sharks on every side

to 40 m · max 50 madvanced

Pinnacle

Tiger Rock

Bocas del Toro · Panama

Open-water pinnacles reached only in the September-October calm window

to 35 madvanced

Pinnacle

Darwin's Arch

Galápagos · Ecuador

Hold position at 18–24 m while hammerhead schools pass the plateau

18–24 madvanced