There still are some variables involved (flight costs, room rate, how many people are coming, etc), but just to give you an idea on what kinda money you'd be spending, here's what I came up with:
Let's suppose these figures are based on four people with us staying in the villa (the most expensive housing option):
Room
$450 x 3 nights = $1350 (w/o tax)
$1350/4 = $337.50 per person
Flight
$509 per person
Food
Varying, maybe $30 per day (that's about TTD 180!). Maybe $90 for the entire trip.
Of course there's still shopping, clubbing, sightseeing, and other expenses like transportation. There's a kitchen in the villa so by going grocery shopping, that'll cut down on those costs. With the exception of transportation, everything else is optional. We even have the option of renting a car instead of each of us paying cab-fare everywhere. It's really up to the individual on how much money to spend.
So, for just the essentials (room, flight, & food), that's about $940. By the end of April, if you put away less than $200 per month for the trip, you'll have the money you need for this trip. Or, you can do like me and use your income tax refund 
Just keep in mind that the exchange rate is in our favor. If you decided to switch over only $100, that's still $632 TTD!
Right now I'm trying to figure out how bad is their inflation. If I'm paying one American dollar (6.32 TTD) for a pack of gum, that's a problem. (Haha, thanks Deonna for the example) I'll keep you posted.
I also thought about going to Miami and staying in South Beach. For my peace of mind, I wanted to see if taking a weekend trip to Trinidad would be worth it. Comparing everything side by side, the only way Miami comes out ahead is on the flight. Everything else is comparable or even cheaper on the islands. Then, factor in that lovely exchange rate and there's really no question.
I figure since we're spending money anyway, might as well go as far as we can and see some place "exotic". Agree?
There is a mandatory TT$100 (about $16) per person, airport departure tax to be paid; so keep that amount put aside.
*****UPDATE****
Okay, Delta DOES run a direct flight from Atlanta to Trinidad but it's only certain days 
. I see there's a flight departing Wednesday afternoon (May 9) around 3pm with a return flight on Sunday (May 13) for $593 with tax.
Delta is planning on running a direct flight from Atlanta to Tobago, but that won't be put into service until April, if approved. Not only that, they haven't posted the days/times these flights would run.
I'll keep you posted.
There are no direct flights from Atlanta to Trinidad/Tobago at the moment. We'd fly Continental since Delta's unavailable. There's a stopover in Houston and then we fly into Trinidad (POS). I could be wrong, but so far I don't see where we have the option of flying directly to Tobago from Atlanta.
In order to get to Tobago, we have the options of ferry and plane. The slower ferry takes about 5 hours while the "express" ferry is about 2. The flight between the two islands is only 15 minutes and costs about $50 (300 TTD). The carrier for the intra-islands flight is Tobago Express.
I checked the flight two days ago and it was $469. Now it's up to $509. We'll have to keep our eyes open and snatch up the tickets when a good price comes along.
Looks like the preferred place to stay is a villa. So far, everyone that I've sent the link to has fell in love with the spot. We're looking at The Villas at Stonehaven. These villas are actually on the island of Tobago which means that we'll have to hop another short (15 minute) flight to get there from Trinidad.
Currently, the rates are $450 per night for 4 guests or $650 for 6 guests.
That picture above is of apartments that are available to rent. I need to find that information again. They look nice (we know how that goes).
I'm still looking into other options though. What I'll do is keeping updating this entry with all the places I find, and we can put it to a vote later.
I'll need feedback on which island y'all would prefer to stay on. Trinidad has the bustling cosmopolitan feel while Tobago is like being in the country. I've heard it described as Trinidad feeling like Miami while Tobago is like Gullah Island.
Most of the picturesque views are of Tobago. It has the beautiful beaches, snorkeling action, waterfalls, and flora and fauna. Trinidad, well Port of Spain the capital, has the nightlife and the shopping. Don't get me wrong, there are a few bars and things on Tobago, but they are to a much smaller scale.
We can have the best of both worlds being that we can fly back and forth between the two islands if we please. Our best bet would be to decide what we want to do while down there and go from there.
Personally, I say we stay on Tobago.
Currently, the exchange rate is 1 USD to 6.32 TTD. Last year I used Bank of America to order money before we departed Brazil. Trust me, MUCH less of a hassle to do it this way. Unfortunately, they don't carry the currency we need this time.
However, Deonna ordered hers online and had no problems. She used Ordercurrency.com. Unlike Bank of America, you aren't given the option of what size bills you want. Deonna received all her currency in 50 dollar bills. This posed a problem in Rio since there was a chronic lack of small bills there. Anyway, we just went to the bank every day to exchange them into smaller notes, no biggie. (I haven't read anything that gives me the idea that this will be a problem in Trinidad)
Also, the smallest amount of money you can exchange at one time at the above site is $300. That translates to about 1600 TTD! I don't know about y'all, but I do NOT plan on carrying that much cash especially since the ATMs in Trinidad will take our credit/debit cards as long as they have either a Plus logo (Visa) or Cirrus (Mastercard).
I suggest that we each decide how much cash we want to carry and then make one or two transactions with this company. Not only will this prevent us from having too much cash on hand, but it'll also save us in delivery and other charges. This can be discussed later.
We're not required to have any vaccinations/inoculations. However, there is an extremely small risk of yellow fever. It's up to you to decide if you want to have to a shot. Check out the link to the CDC's page for more information here.
YAY, we won't need a visa to visit these islands.
As you all may or may not know, because of new Homeland security policies, we'll all need passports to travel to the Caribbean now.
All first timers need to apply in person for the passport. Check here for detailed info: http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/first/first_830.html
Here's the link for the passport form itself (.PDF): http://travel.state.gov/pdf/DS-0011.pdf
The passport processing fee is $55, the application execution fee is $30, and the security surcharge is $12 therefore your total cost for the passport will be $97. Your passport will be valid for 10 years from the date of issue except where limited by the Secretary of State to a shorter period.
To find the closest passport acceptance office to you, go here: http://iafdb.travel.state.gov/
(The links were acting a bit screwy when I posted this entry. If for whatever reason they don't work, just go to the main page of US State Department for travel).
We're looking at the second weekend in May to make this trip. These dates aren't in stone and will firm up shortly. I'll keep y'all posted.
Looks like we won't be seeing Tokyo this year. 
School for me, and my sister not being able to come, really put the brakes on the Japan trip this year. Maybe 2008 will be better.
I'll leave all the Japan links just in case anyone else might need them.
BUT, all hope is not lost! We've switched gears a little bit and are now planning to go to Trinidad/Tobago in May. I'll start posting details shortly.
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