5 amazing Caribbean islands you’ve probably never heard

First let’s get one thing clear, the Dominican Republic and Dominica are two entirely different Caribbean islands. We’re gushing over the latter, found in the West Indies and pronounced Dom-in-eek-a, got it? Dominica is possibly one of the lushest, most wildly rainforest-clad islands you’ll ever lay eyes on. Black sand beaches, swaying palms, hot and cold waterfalls (the former fed by the world’s second largest boiling lake) and nine dormant volcanoes cast a dramatic topography that simply begs to be explored. Unlike many of the cruise ship-overrun islands further north, Dominica is ridiculously unspoiled and gritty and it’s said if Christopher Columbus returned to the Caribbean today (he first landed in 1493), Dominica is the only island he’d recognise. If plunging waterfalls and lushness galore, hanging with local Rastafarians, drinking cold Caribs and wafting aromas of jerk chicken cooked on steel drum BBQs on the street corner sounds like adventure to you, you’re going to adore Dominica.