Guide to Tobago

So much more than simply another Caribbean island in the sun, Tobago offers a wealth of reasons to escape winter in Britain. Little sister to Trinidad and, thankfully, still relatively untouched by developers' claws, the island is home to picture postcard-perfect beaches (complete with obligatory palm trees), pristine coral reefs, and an abundance of flora and fauna - as well as the oldest protected rainforest in the western hemisphere.

Tobago, which takes its name from the Carib word tavaco (originally meaning a pipe, then tobacco) also has shack-loads of charm. The ease and pace of Tobagonian life hits you the minute you step off the plane and snake slowly towards immigration - a tiny, scruffy two-roomed affair, utterly unprepared for the arrival of a jumbo jet. Yet, sedately, officials rubber-stamp 400 passports, endearingly greeting each traveller with a grin.

The dimensions of Tobago, 41km long and 12km wide, are uncannily close to those of the Isle of Wight. But Tobago has the advantage of lying just 11 degrees north of the Equator. The island has the Caribbean Sea on its leeward (western) side and the Atlantic Ocean on its windward (eastern) shores. And very different they are, too.

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