North America
Carnival rhythms, rainforest birds and a quiet sister island.
Trinidad and Tobago are two very different islands just off Venezuela. Trinidad is busy and cosmopolitan, known for Carnival in Port of Spain, steelpan music and birdlife at the Asa Wright Nature Centre and Caroni Swamp, where scarlet ibis return to roost at dusk. Tobago is slower, with the Main Ridge Forest Reserve, Buccoo Reef and beaches such as Pigeon Point and Englishman's Bay.
Food reflects African, Indian, Chinese and European roots: doubles for breakfast, bake and shark at Maracas Bay, roti and curry crab. Carnival falls before Lent, usually in February or early March. January to May is the dry season, and the islands lie mostly south of the hurricane belt, though June to December is wetter.
January, February, March, April.