San Fernando, officially the City of San Fernando, is the most populous city and second most populous municipality in
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
, after
Chaguanas
The Borough of Chaguanas is the largest municipality (83,489 at the 2011 census) and fastest-growing
– Afr ...
. Sando, as it is known to many local Trinidadians, occupies 19 km
2 and is located in the southwestern part of the island of
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...
. It is bounded to the north by the
Guaracara River, the south by the
Oropouche River Oropouche or Oropuche can refer to:
*Cumaca Cave
* Oropouche (constituency), a constituency in the parliament of Trinidad and Tobago
* Oropouche fever
* Oropouche orthobunyavirus, a species of virus
* Oropouche River
* Oropouche East (parliamentary ...
, the east by the
Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway, and the west by the
Gulf of Paria
The Gulf of Paria ( ; ) is a shallow ( at its deepest) semi-enclosed inland sea located between the island of Trinidad and the east coast of Venezuela. It separates the two countries by as little as at its narrowest and at its widest points. T ...
. The former
borough
A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely.
History
...
was elevated to the status of a city corporation on 18 November 1988. The motto of San Fernando is: ''"Sanitas Fortis"'' - ''In a Healthy Environment We Will Find Strength''. San Fernando is called Trinidad and Tobago's "industrial capital" because of its proximity to the
Pointe-à-Pierre
Pointe-à-Pierre ( ) is a town in Trinidad and Tobago. It lies north of San Fernando and south of Claxton Bay. It is most famous as the site of the country's largest (and now, only) oil refinery which used to be run by Petrotrin, the state-ow ...
oil refinery and many other petrochemical,
LNG
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...
, iron and steel and aluminium smelters in places such as
Point Lisas
Point Lisas is a major industrial centre in Trinidad and Tobago and is host to the ''Point Lisas Industrial Estate'' and the ''Port of Point Lisas'', both of which are managed by Plipdeco (the Point Lisas Industrial Port Development Company). Po ...
in
Couva
Couva is a town in west-central Trinidad, south of Port of Spain and Chaguanas and north of San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, San Fernando and Point Fortin. It is the capital and main urban centre of Couva–Tabaquite–Talparo, and the Greate ...
,
Point Fortin
Point Fortin, officially the Republic Borough of Point Fortin, the smallest Borough in Trinidad and Tobago is located in southwestern Trinidad, about southwest of San Fernando, in the historic county of Saint Patrick. After the discovery of ...
, and
La Brea.
Geography Of Trinidad and Tobago

San Fernando is a coastal city. It is bounded by the
Guaracara River to the north, the
Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway to the east, the
Southern Main Road
The Southern Main Road is a major road in Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, alo ...
to the southeast, and the Oropouche River to the south. The city proper is located on the flanks of two hills – San Fernando Hill (formerly known as Naparima Hill) and Alexander Hill. Several mansions on the pinnacle of Alexander Hill house belong to some of the more prominent San Fernandian families. The Cipero, Vistabella, Marabella and Godineau Rivers all enter the sea within the city limits.
Cityscape
San Fernando, unlike Port of Spain, does not have many skyscrapers. The tallest building in the city is the 18-story San Fernando Teaching Hospital, an extension of the San Fernando General Hospital. Some notable areas within San Fernando are:
* Downtown is the commercial centre of the city. Independence Avenue, commonly known by the pre-independence name of Broadway, runs through this area of the city. High Street is the centre of most commercial activity in the city, running from Chancery Lane/Independence Avenue to Pointe a Pierre Road. This area is also home to King's Wharf and the San Fernando Waterfront, currently the subject of a major redevelopment project. The Water Taxi and Bus Terminals are located on the Waterfront. Many of the cities schools and medical centres are located in this area.
* Pleasantville is a suburban area to the east of the city, flanked by the San Fernando Bypass and the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway respectively.
* Vistabella, Sumadh Gardens and St. Joseph are residential areas immediately to the north of the city, surrounding San Fernando Hill.
* Marabella is a town often considered part of the Greater San Fernando area. It is a major commercial centre and is especially notable for its proximity to the former Petrotrin oil refinery. It is often considered the northern limit of the city.
* Cocoyea and Mon Repos are located to the east of the city, along the San Fernando Bypass.
Some of the major roadways within the city include the San Fernando Bypass, Lady Hailes Avenue, Independence Avenue, Pointe a Pierre Road, Cipero Street, Coffee Street, Rushworth Street, Royal Road, Navet Road and the Southern Main Road.
San Fernando is especially notable for the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA), Skinner Park, Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, King's Wharf and the San Fernando General Hospital. It is also notable for its commercial centres and malls: South Park, C3 Centre, Carlton Centre, Gulf City Mall, Gopaul Lands, and numerous smaller shopping centres and areas centered around High Street and Cipero Street.
San Fernando is sometimes said to be the Southern capital of the country, and supportive of this name is the major role the city plays as the centre of many activities for people in South Trinidad; many people go to school and work in the city every day.
Climate
San Fernando has a
tropical rainforest climate
A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...
, bordering on a
tropical monsoon climate
An area of tropical monsoon climate (occasionally known as a sub-equatorial, tropical wet climate or a tropical monsoon and trade-wind littoral climate) is a tropical climate subtype that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification category ' ...
. Although the city does not technically qualify as having a true dry season, there is a noticeably drier stretch from February to April.
Demographics
Ancestry
Infrastructure
Health
The San Fernando General Hospital is located on Independence Avenue, close to the city center. It is considered the main trauma unit for the southern part of the island, and is administered by the Southwest Regional Health Authority (SWRHA).
There are numerous health centres in towns and villages around San Fernando that are considered to be part of the urban area. There are also a number of private medical institutions, such as:
* Southern Medical Clinic
* Surgi-Med Clinic
* Gulf View Medical Center
The San Fernando Teaching Hospital is connected to the San Fernando General Hospital by a skybridge, and is the main teaching hospital.
Transport
Road
San Fernando is dominated by private car commuting and has a very dense network of roadways. There are numerous points of entry into the city.
* The Rienzi Kirton Highway runs from Cipero Street to Ruth Avenue, where it becomes Independence Avenue.
* The San Fernando Bypass runs along the outskirts of the city, providing access to many of the suburban areas.
* The Golconda Connector Road connects the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway to Cipero Street & the San Fernando Bypass. The Tarouba Link Road also connects the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway to the San Fernando Bypass at the northern end of the city.
* Alternatively, traffic can exit at Corinth and enter the city via the Naparima Mayaro Road and Royal Road, or via Pleasantville.
* Lady Hailes Avenue runs from Cipero Street to Kings Wharf along the city's waterfront, connecting to the Reinzi Kirton Highway/Independence Avenue at only three points. It serves as a quicker point of entry to the city center as it terminates just outside the city center. There are plans to widen Lady Hailes Avenue into a four-lane dual carriageway, much of which has already been completed, as part of the waterfront revitalization project.
The city is often plagued by heavy traffic delays.
Public Transport
The San Fernando Bus Terminal is located to the North of Kings Wharf. There are numerous taxi stands around High Street. The water taxi service links San Fernando to Port of Spain via sea in approximately 1 hour.
Air
Like the rest of the island, the city is served by
Piarco International Airport
Piarco International Airport is an international airport serving the island of Trinidad and is one of two international airports in Trinidad and Tobago. The airport is east of Downtown Port of Spain, in the suburban town of Piarco. The airpor ...
, approximately 37 km away from the city center.
Prominent San Fernandonians
*
Stephen Ames
Stephen Michael Ames (born April 28, 1964) is a professional golfer formerly of the PGA Tour, who now plays on the PGA Tour Champions. The biggest win of his career was at The Players Championship in 2006. He holds dual citizenship of Trinidad an ...
(born 1964),
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
golfer
*
Eugene Chen (Chen Youren) (1878–1944), Foreign Minister of China
*
Hasely Crawford
Hasely Joachim Crawford TC, OLY (born 16 August 1950) is a former track and field athlete from Trinidad and Tobago. In 1976, he became his country's first Olympic champion. Hasely Crawford Stadium, in Port of Spain, was renamed in his honou ...
(born 1950),
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...
gold medalist (1976)
*
Annie Dookhan
Annie Dookhan (born 1977) is an American chemist who was convicted of felony obstruction of justice, tampering with evidence, and other crimes relating to mass falsification of lab results. At the time of her crimes, she worked at the Massachusett ...
(born 1977), convicted felon and former chemist
*
Hedy Fry
Hedy Madeleine Fry, (born August 6, 1941) is a Canadian politician and physician, and is currently the longest-serving female Member of Parliament. A member of the Liberal Party, she has won eleven consecutive elections in the constituency of ...
,
PC,
MP (born 1941),
Trinidadian
Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The population of Trinidad is notably diverse, with approximately 35% Indo-Trinidadian, 34% ...
-born
Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
politician and physician
*
Assad John Haloute, Co-Founder of
Chefette
Chefette Restaurants is the largest fast food restaurant chain based in the Caribbean island nation of Barbados. Currently operating throughout the island in 15 locations, Chefette is known for its broasted chicken meals as well as a local c ...
*
Stephen Hart, Footballer and Coach
*
Noor Hassanali
Noor Mohamed Hassanali (; 13 August 1918 – 25 August 2006) was a Trinidadian lawyer, judge and politician who served as the second president of Trinidad and Tobago from 1987 to 1997. A retired high-court judge, he was the first person of In ...
(1918–2006),
President of Trinidad and Tobago
The president of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is the head of state of Trinidad and Tobago and the commander-in-chief of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. The office was established when the country became a republic in 1976, befor ...
(1987–1997)
*
Stacy-Marie Ishmael, Journalist
*
Rikki Jai
Rikki Jai (born Samraj Jaimungal; ) is an Indo-Trinidadian chutney music, chutney and chutney-soca musician.
Career
Jai's 1988 debut single ''Sumintra'' told the tale of an Indo-Trinidadian woman from Debe who informed her boyfriend of her prefe ...
(born 1986),
chutney
A chutney () is a spread typically associated with cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt, or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion ...
and
chutney soca
In Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname, chutney soca music is a Crossover music, crossover style music style that blends Soca music, soca and Calypso music, calypso with chutney music—a genre rooted in Indo–Trinidadians and Tobagonians ...
artist
*
Kenny J, Calypsonian
*
Barbara Jenkins
Barbara Jenkins is a Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidadian writer, whose work since 2010 has won several international prizes, including the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and the Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize, ''Wasafiri'' New Writing Prize.
...
, writer
*
Christine Kangaloo
Christine Carla Kangaloo (born 1 December 1961) is a Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidadian politician and lawyer, who has been the 7th president of Trinidad and Tobago since 2023.
Biography
Christine Kangaloo was born into a Presbyterian Church of ...
,
President of Trinidad and Tobago
The president of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is the head of state of Trinidad and Tobago and the commander-in-chief of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. The office was established when the country became a republic in 1976, befor ...
(2023 -)
*
Christina F. Lewis (1919–1974) Pan-African community worker, trade unionist and women's rights activist
*
Che Lovelace, Artist
*
Clement Ligoure, Doctor
*
Patrick Manning
Patrick Augustus Mervyn Manning (17 August 1946 – 2 July 2016) was a Trinidadian politician who served as the fourth prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago twice from 1991 to 1995, and again from 2001 to 2010. A geologist by training, Mannin ...
(1946–2016),
Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
The prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago is the head of the executive branch of government in Trinidad and Tobago. Following a general election, which takes place every five years, the president appoints as prime minister the person who has t ...
(1991–1995, 2001–2010)
* Sir
Trevor McDonald
Sir Trevor Lawson McDonald (born George McDonald; 16 August 1939) is a Trinidadian-British newsreader and journalist, best known for his career as a news presenter with Independent Television News (ITN).
McDonald began his career working as a ...
(born 1939), news reporter
*
Lord Melody
Lord Melody (1926 – 26 September 1988)Thompson, Dave (2002) ''Reggae & Caribbean Music'', backbeat Books, , p.154-155 was a popular Trinidadian calypsonian, best known for singles such as " Boo Boo Man", "Creature From The Black Lagoon", ...
, Calypsonian
*
Mishael Morgan
Marie-Charms Mishael Morgan (born July 15, 1986) known professionally as Mishael Morgan, is a Trinidadian-Canadian actress known for the roles of Hilary Curtis and Amanda Sinclair on CBS Daytime soap opera, ''The Young and the Restless'', the latt ...
(born 1986), TV actress
*
Manny Ramjohn
Manny L. Ramjohn (15 November 1915 – 23 January 1998) was an athlete from Trinidad and Tobago, born in San Fernando, and educated at Naparima College in San Fernando.
Biography
A long-distance runner (5,000 m and 10,000 m), Ramjohn was the ...
(1915–1998), long-distance runner; first person to win a gold medal for Trinidad and Tobago at a major athletics event
*
Raymond Ramnarine, Singer
*
Jean Ramjohn-Richards
Dr. Jean Ramjohn-Richards (born 1936) is a Trinidadian doctor and the former First Lady of Trinidad and Tobago from 2003 until 2013. She was born in San Fernando and was educated at Naparima Girls' High School and Naparima College before att ...
(born 1936), First Lady of Trinidad and Tobago (2003–2013)
*
George Maxwell Richards
George Maxwell Richards (1 December 1931 – 8 January 2018) was a Trinidadian politician who served as the fourth president of Trinidad and Tobago, in office from 2003 to 2013. He was the first president of Trinidad and Tobago and ...
(1931–2018),
President of Trinidad and Tobago
The president of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is the head of state of Trinidad and Tobago and the commander-in-chief of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. The office was established when the country became a republic in 1976, befor ...
(2003–2013)
*
Adrian Cola Rienzi (Krishna Deonarine) (1905–1972), Politician
*
(1923–1994), writer
*
Jlloyd Samuel
Jlloyd Tafari Samuel ( , 29 March 1981 – 15 May 2018) was a professional footballer who played as a defender and midfielder. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, he was raised in England and played for England up to under-21 level. He played 3 seaso ...
(1981–2018), footballer
*
Jerome Tang
Jerome Tang (born October 7, 1966) is a Trinidadian-American college basketball coach who is the head coach for the Wildcats of Kansas State University. He had previously been an assistant coach under Scott Drew from 2003 to 2022 at Baylor, whe ...
(born 1966), head men's basketball coach at
Kansas State University
Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...
*
Sullivan Walker
Sullivan Walker (November 20, 1946 – February 20, 2012) was a Trinidad and Tobago actor who played numerous small and recurring roles on television shows from 1980 until 2005. Walker migrated to New York from Trinidad and Tobago in 1969 an ...
(1946–2012), film and television actor
*
Edward Preston Young, Publisher
*
Rodney Wilkes
Rodney Adolphus Wilkes (11 March 1925 – 24 March 2014) was a weightlifter from Trinidad and Tobago. Nicknamed "The Mighty Midget" he remained relatively unknown outside of local competition until he won the gold medal at the 1946 Central Americ ...
, Weightlifter
*
Keston Bledman
Keston Bledman, HBM (born 8 March 1988) is a track and field sprint athlete, who competes internationally for Trinidad and Tobago.
On 7 July 2007, at the 2007 Pan American Junior Athletics Championships in São Paulo, Brazil, he upset the Ja ...
, Athlete
*
Ade Alleyne Forte, Sprinter
*
Faris Al-Rawi
Faris Al-Rawi is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian politician. He was the former Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago from 2015 to 2022. He was the Member of the House of Representatives for the constituency of San Fernando West from 2015 to 202 ...
,Politician,Lawyer, Former MP of San Fernando West
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Fernando, Trinidad And Tobago
Ports and harbours of Trinidad and Tobago
Municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago
Populated places established in 1784
1784 establishments in New Spain
1780s establishments in the Spanish West Indies
Populated coastal places in Trinidad and Tobago
Cities in Trinidad and Tobago