Sights—Pitch Lake; snorkeling in Dragon's Mouth; the scarlet ibis at Caroni Swamp National Park; the pink-sand beaches of Tobago; diving in Tobago; bird-watching at Asa Wright Nature Reserve; Carnival.

Museums—Amerindian artifacts at Arima's museum; Carnival costumes at the National Museum; varied exhibits from famous pirates to the coup of 1990 at the Chaguaramas Military History and Aerospace Museum; artifacts from the island's history at Tobago Historical Museum; a visit to the Angostura Rum Distillery.

Memorable Meals—Shark-and-bake at Maracas Beach or callaloo soup and oildown at Breakfast Shed; tea at Mount St. Benedict Monastery; mangoes and citrus fruit from Adventure Farm and Nature Reserve; roti from Patraj roti shop; rum punch on the beach at sunset.

Late Night—Dancing to steel drums or calypso music at Mas Camp Pub, Zen Entertainment Center or Jenny's; watching sea turtles hatch during a night tour of Great Courland Bay in Tobago.

Walks—A stroll along the beach at Maracas Bay; nature trails in the hills behind Pax Guesthouse at Mount St. Benedict Monastery; a hike through the Northern Range or on one of the Asa Wright Nature Centre's trails; a visit to Queen's Park Savannah or the Botanical Gardens in Port of Spain.

Especially for Kids—The cannon-lined walls of Fort King George; Gun Bridge; watching steel-drum performers in the street; Kiddies Carnival.

Trinidad and Tobago are the last links in the Lesser Antilles island chain before it bumps into South America. The rich dynamics of an area where the confluence of the cool Atlantic Ocean mixes with both the effluent waters of the Orinoco River of South America and the warmer Caribbean creates an unusual marine bounty for visitors. The southern tip of Trinidad sits just 7 mi/11 km from the coast of Venezuela. The northern third of Trinidad contains mountains known as the Northern Range, which include the island's highest peak, Cerro del Aripo (3,085 ft/941 m). The center and south of the island are relatively flat, consisting of fertile plains that give way to mangrove swamps and beaches at the coast. Tobago, 21 mi/32 km northeast of Trinidad and considerably smaller in size, is dominated by rain-forested hills in the center of the island, with sandy beaches and lush jungles forming its perimeter.

Trinidad became the first inhabited island in the Caribbean when Mesolithic Indians made the 7-mi/11-km crossing from the South American mainland in about 5000 BC. Various Amerindian tribes followed, and after the birth of Christ their population moved up through the Western Antilles all the way to Puerto Rico. When Columbus arrived at Trinidad and Tobago in 1498 on his third visit to the New World, the native population was nearly 35,000.

He named Trinidad after the Holy Trinity, which he saw represented by three peaks on the southern coast. The island was settled by the Spanish, but the colony struggled until Spain granted land to Roman Catholics from other Caribbean islands. As a result, many French planters came to the island and brought with them large numbers of slaves. In 1797, the British invaded and the island became a British holding. When Britain banned the slave trade, indentured workers from India were brought to the island to work the sugarcane plantations.

Tobago was little more than a pirate haunt until sugarcane and coffee were planted in its rich soil. The island changed hands many times before it became a British Crown colony in 1877. It united politically with Trinidad in 1888. The islands became an independent nation in 1962 and a republic in 1976.

Oil made Trinidad and Tobago one of the richest nations in the Caribbean by the 1970s, but a fall in oil prices led to difficult economic—and political—times. Expansion of the natural-gas industry in the 1990s strengthened the economy. In 1995, Trinidad elected its first prime minister of East Indian descent, an event that focused attention on the racially based political divisions in Trinidad and Tobago. Drug-related crimes are another problem facing the country: Its proximity to South America has made it a transshipment point for cocaine intended for North America.

Although British influence is still present, most obviously in the islanders' love for cricket, other nationalities are more visible today: The descendants of African slaves and indentured laborers from India now make up Trinidad's two largest ethnic groups. Those of Chinese, Middle Eastern and European descent are present in smaller numbers. In comparison, Tobago's people are quite homogenous, most tracing their heritage to Africa.

The island's main attractions are charming people, rhythmic music, Carnival celebrations, empty beaches, colorful shopping, market-fresh food, underwater caves and reefs, Hindu temples, Islamic mosques, bird sanctuaries, watersports and relaxation.

If you like festivities and partying—especially Carnival—you'll like Trinidad, particularly the exciting nightlife of Port of Spain. If you're looking for seclusion and peace on a beautiful beach in a lush, tropical paradise, then Tobago is for you. Travelers put off by the noise and commotion of a large urban center should avoid Port of Spain, and those primarily interested in a beach vacation might prefer the already established beach culture of Tobago (although Trinidad is improving dramatically of late).

Leatherback turtles, one of the largest species of turtles in the sea, are often seen on Trinidad (March-July). Matura and Fishing Pond on the east coast and Grand Riviere beach on the north coast are the best spots for viewing the turtles. On Tobago, the best sightings occur at Stonehaven, Bloody Bay and Parlatuvier. Contact local tour operators for more information.

Trinidad was once part of the South American continent. For this reason, it has plants and wildlife not found on other Caribbean islands and, together with the many Caribbean species present there, accounts for the richest flora and fauna of any set of islands in the entire Caribbean.

Buccoo is the goat-racing capital of the world. Started by an Englishman in 1925, the current race has a beautiful facility built beyond the beach at Buccoo, where every Easter Tuesday the place attracts a crush of locals and visitors to Tobago.

Shango is a local god of thunder and lightning derived from African vodun (voodoo) or the Orisha movement of the Spiritual Baptist faith.

Some islanders claim soucouyant (vampires) occasionally fly around the island at night.

Every street in Trinidad has two names; the ones on the maps visitors buy on the island and the ones on the street signs.

Lawbreakers beware: The practice of flogging convicted criminals has been revived on the islands. The punishment is rarely used, but its presence is seen as a means of deterring crime.

Fans of famed Trini author V.S. Naipaul can see his tidy, two-story boyhood home at 26 Nepaul St. (at the corner of Western Main Road), St. James (near Port of Spain).

If you ever hear locals refer to someone as "maco," this means they are the kind of person who minds everyone else's business.

As famous as Trinidad is for the steel drum, the island also is the birthplace of calypso, another lively form of music associated with the tropics. Typically, calypso features a fast beat and witty lyrics that express the singers' opinions and amusing observations—sometimes political, sometimes bawdy, sometimes both. In fact, calypso songs have been credited with making or breaking politicians.

Parang is another original musical form found there, and it is usually sung in Spanish as part of pre-Christmas celebrations.

If you spot a huge person relaxing outside a hotel on Tobago, it's not a giant, it's art: The 8-ft/2.5-m sculptures produced by artist Luise Kimme are carved from tree trunks and often depict islanders engaged in everyday activities such as relaxing, dancing and going to church. They are also found outside many buildings and landmarks.