Trinidad and Tobago Hotels

Mix lazy days on the beach with adventurous eco-trips above and below water in this Caribbean idyll. Order a rum punch, get ready to dance to a steel band, and fall in love with chilled Trinbagonian culture.

Families flock to the palm-fringed white sands of Maracas Bay on Trinidad's north coast, and leatherback turtles come ashore to nest on deserted Matura Bay in the north-east. The colonial buildings of capital Port of Spain form a stunning backdrop to the much-loved Carnival, and manicured white sands and crystal clear waters draw couples to Pigeon Point on Tobago's west coast.

Walk past fluttering prayer flags on your way to Waterloo Hindu Temple in Chaguanas, birthplace of Nobel Prize-winning writer VS Naipaul. Read the cryptic Mystery Tombstone at Plymouth in Tobago and work out who lies there. Take in coastline views from the cannon at Scarborough's Fort King George.

Explore Mount St Benedict, the Caribbean's oldest Benedictine monastery, and hike around the surrounding rainforest hills. See exotic birdlife at the Asa Wright Nature Centre in the Northern Range hills, and tread the banks of natural asphalt Pitch Lake. Trek through the bamboo groves and towering ferns of the Tobago Forest Reserve, and recover on the deserted beach at Pirate's Bay.

Take a boat trip to the stalactite-dripping caves at Gaspar Grande. Surf at Las Cuevas Bay and Maracas Bay, and snorkel the turquoise waters of Nylon Pool. Board a glass-bottom boat to Tobago's Buccoo Reef and dive the coral reefs with turtles and sharks from Tyrrel's Bay. Join in a game of beach cricket with the locals.

Taste a unique blend of African, Indian and Latin American flavours. Rotis (meat and vegetables wrapped in Indian-style flat bread) and shark and bake (a deep-fried sandwich) are favourite beach hut snacks. Port of Spain is known for its excellent jerk chicken and seafood stews. Dine on Creole chicken or fried flying fish from rustic eateries in Scarborough and Plymouth.

Start the night at a panyard in Port of Spain and boogie to steel bands practising for Carnival season, then party to DJs playing Latin and soca (modern calypso) in local clubs. Join the yachtie crowd under a starry sky at Chaguaramas, or gaze at the sunset and party through the night at Buccoo on Tobago.

Find pottery workshops at Chaguanas on Trinidad. Browse for shell jewellery and carved driftwood in Scarborough, and market stalls at Tobago's Store Bay. Buy beautiful batik sarongs on the sands at Turtle Beach.