An elongated oval of just 41 by 14 kilometres, TOBAGO features astonishing riches including deserted beaches, pristine coral reefs and a wealth of lush rainforest - the island really does feel as if it's the last of the "unspoilt Caribbean". Though tourism has taken root with breathtaking speed - 40,000 people now visit the island each year - Tobago is hardly the typically jaded resort island. There are few all-inclusives, celebrations, such as the Easter goat races , are attended by more Tobagonians than tourists, and local culture is honoured at the annual Heritage Festival each August. Nevertheless, tourism is changing Tobago. Helping hands sharing the labour of pulling in seine fishing nets are still called by a resonant toot on a conch shell, but nowadays the fishermen often wait until they've captured an audience before hauling the catch onto the sand. And the African drumming that forms a major part of local Orisha and Spiritual Baptist ceremonies is now the soundtrack of many a hotel floorshow.

Physically, Tobago is breathtaking; heavy industry is confined to Trinidad, so the beaches are clean and the landscape left largely to its own devices. The flat coral and limestone plateau of the southwest - the Lowlands - is the island's most heavily developed region, with hotels clustered around powder-sand beaches such as Pigeon Point and Mount Irvine , home to excellent surfing (best during November to February). The tourist clamour is kept in check by the capital, Scarborough , a picturesque port town tumbling down a lighthouse-topped hillside.

The island's rugged windward (south) coast is lined with appealing fishing villages; Speyside and Charlotteville in the remote eastern reaches have some of the finest coral reefs in the southern Caribbean and scuba diving is a burgeoning industry. Tobago is an excellent and inexpensive place to learn to dive, and there's plenty of challenging drift diving for the more experienced, while the many reefs within swimming distance of the beaches make for fantastic snorkelling . The leeward (north) coast has Tobago's finest beaches; some, like Englishman's Bay , are regularly deserted, while at Castara, Parlatuvier and Bloody Bay , you'll share the sand with local fishermen.

The landscape of the eastern interior rises steeply forming the Main Ridge - the mountains sheltering the Forest Reserve , the oldest protected rainforest in the western hemisphere. Ornithologists and naturalists flock in for the bird and animal life that flourishes here; David Attenborough filmed parts of his celebrated Trials of Life series at Little Tobago , a solitary seabird sanctuary off the coast of Speyside. For more casual visitors, the squawking, chirruping forest offers plenty of opportunities for birdwatching or a splash in the icy waterfalls .

One point worth making is that Tobago's close-knit community keeps the island very safe - especially outside the Crown Point area. Ignore the warnings of all-inclusive hotels, which encourage tourists to stay on site claiming that Tobago is dangerous. The best food, entertainment and scenic areas are outside the hotel complexes, so be adventurous, explore and keep the locals in business.