TOBAGO
Getting there: Caledonian Airways (non-stop 8hrs) and British Airways (via Puerto Rico 12hrs).
Accommodation: all accommodation is low-rise and most are relatively small scale. At the top end of the market is Coco Reef. Seven nights all-inclusive package from £1,019. Less expensive popular choices are the Grafton Beach and Le Grand Courlan. Tobago’s most charming and characteristic hotel is Kariwak Village, famed for its staff and the best food on the island.
What to see and do: there are a number of waterfalls, spectacular in the wet season, and treks through the rainforests are popular activities. Snorkelling, diving trips and a cruise on the Kalina Catamaran are the principal water-based activities. Fort George is worth a visit for its views, grounds, buildings and museum. The Arnos Vale Waterwheel complex is a beautiful site with a restaurant set around the remains of an 18th-century sugar mill. By night it’s the island’s most romantic dinner venue.
Nightlife: outside the hotels there is little staged nightlife. For the best regular local “jump-up” go to Buccoo on a Sunday night where street players put on a mini carnival. Bonkers Theatre at the Toucan Inn is better than its name suggests and the open-air theatre at Arnos Vale is magical.
Eating out: island food is fairly mediocre but the exception is the Kariwak Village where the food and service is faultless. Curried crabs and dumplings are the speciality.
Shopping: batiks are the island speciality; try the Cotton House (Scarborough and Bacolet Bay) and Batik Backyard (between Pigeon Point and Store Bay).