Trinidad & Tobago

THE FOOTBALL

Football in T&T has exploded since the Soca Warriors’ qualification for the 2006 World Cup, but the game was already developing pre-Germany.

The T&T Pro League gained full professional status in 1999, with the season running from April to December.

The national team plays in the 27,000-capacity Hasely Crawford Stadium, one of several grounds updated to host the Under-17 World Cup in 2001.

For a real combination of football and tourism, though, cross to Bacolet in Tobago and visit the Dwight Yorke Stadium, named after the island’s most famous son.

THE PLACE

The Caribbean is famed for its white sandy beaches and T&T is no different.

Maracas Bay is Trinidad’s longest and most popular – and for good reason. It has a cove and fishing village at one end, great snorkelling, crystal-clear waters, and a host of good seafood restaurants. Even the two-and-a-half-hour drive from Port of Spain, through tropical rainforest, is spectacular.

The dry season (January to May) is the best – and consequently most popular and expensive – time to visit and particularly worthwhile if you can catch the two-day carnival, the dates of which vary from year to year. To catch any football, however, you might need to be more flexible...