• In February, enjoy the Carnival (Mas Dominik). This entails two weeks of celebrations, culminating in parades.

• Arrange a jeep safari tour to the hinterland of the country from Roseau, the main centre for visitors on the southwest coast.

• Dominica is characterised by a lush, green landscape and a mountainous interior covered in dense tropical forests. Some of the best hiking trails can be found in the Morne Trois Pitons National Park, which covers 7,000 hectares (17,000 acres) in the south-central part of Dominica. Places of interest in the park include the (volcanic) Boiling Lake, the second-largest actively boiling lake in the world, and the Emerald Pool, Middleham Falls, Sari Sari Falls, Trafalgar Falls, Freshwater Lake, Boeri Lake and the Valley of Desolation.

• See the attractions of Cabrits Historical Park, including the Cabrits Peninsula, which contains the historical ruins of Fort Shirley and Fort George, 18th- and early 19th-century forts, and a museum at Fort Shirley.

• Discover the Carib Indian Territory, home to the only remaining Carib Indians in the Caribbean.

• Other places of interest include the Sulphur Springs, the Central Forest Reserve, Botanical Gardens, Titou Gorge, L’Escalier Tête Chien, several areas of rainforest and a variety of fauna and flora.

• There are good opportunities for scuba-diving and snorkelling, the latter being very popular in the Soufrière area, where volcanic cliffs drop into the sea. Visibility is usually up to 80m (263ft). In some places you can reach good snorkelling sights by kayaking along the coast.

• Whale and dolphin watching is on offer.

• The beaches are mainly of black volcanic sand, but there are a few white-sand beaches on the northeast of the island. Swimming is possible in the sea or in the island’s secluded rock pools, notably at Trafalgar Falls, Emerald Pool and Titou Gorge, where two hot springs filter into a rock pool fed by a river.

• There are facilities for parasailing, windsurfing and waterskiing at coastal hotels. Motor boats and sailing boats can also be chartered along the coast and fishing charters can be arranged for larger groups.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.