The first thing you'll notice about Dominica (pronounced Dah-min-EE-ka) is how intensely green the island is. Lush, steep-sided peaks rear up 4700 feet to meet cloud-capped summits that receive enough heavy rainfall to feed hundreds of mountain streams. These in turn nourish the majestic rainforest vegetation that covers over sixty percent of Dominica's centre.

Lying halfway between Guadeloupe and Martinique, Dominica's appeal has nothing to do with fabulous beaches - what few exist are paltry - or idle days spent under a palm tree. Rather, its abundant nature invites rigorous hiking to deep emerald pools, waterfalls and bubbling lakes. Offshore are superb drop-offs, volcanic arches and caves busy with stingrays, barracuda and parrotfish, making for some of the Caribbean's best diving , while whales and dolphins often play off the southern coast, near Champagne , a unique effervescent bay.

Despite all that Dominica has to offer for eco-tourism , however, it's still vastly under-visited, in no small part because it's not easy to reach. There are no direct flights from the US or Europe, and ferries from surrounding islands don't stop daily.