10 top Caribbean secrets

(CNN) –

Butter-colored sands.

Fluttering palm trees.

Cinematic sunsets.

We all understand the appeal of the Caribbean, but with visitor numbers rising year after year — according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization more than 25 million people visited the region last year — is there anything left of the older Caribbean?

The following destinations aren’t the easiest to reach — expect twin-prop planes and a distinct lack of road signs and rest stops — but the quieter nooks of the Carib are worth seeking out.

Secret Road

Route de la Trace (Martinique)

An ostentatious slice of the Cote d’Azur that’s floated off to the Caribbean.

That’s how most visitors perceive the French territory of Martinique.

But take the N3 road north and you’ll soon be far away from the bling and Burgundy set.

Departing from Fort de France in the direction of Morne Rouge, the road runs along the volcanic Pitons du Carbet with sign-posted hiking trails radiating off the main route.

Otherwise known as the Route de la Trace, this coiling snake of asphalt was originally built in the 1600s by Jesuits, the road they toiled to create curls around bamboo forests, small botanical gardens, ferns and even a small size replica of the Sacré-Coeur Basilica from the motherland.

At the end of the road, rising high into the clouds on most days, sits the still active Mont Pelee, which destroyed the entire town of St. Pierre when it last erupted back in 1902.

The rocky climb takes around three hours but the view from the top of the rim over the dimpled green peaks of the island is, on a clear day, one of the finest in the Caribbean.

And you’ll almost certainly have it all to yourself.

Route de la Trace, Highway N3; Martinique

Secret “locals” experience

Meet the People tour (Cuba)

Township tours, where tourists get to look at poor people through the windows of a minibus, are often patronizing.

The charity Traidcraft, however, have bucked this trend with its Meet the People tour of lesser known parts of Cuba.

Ostensibly designed to show the consequences of the long standing U.S. trade embargo on the island (and the ingenuity of the methods used to get around it), in reality the tour is an instant fast track into the lives of Cubans who you simply won’t meet poolside at the resorts.

You could find yourself taking in a traditional hog roast with a Cuban farming family, touring the orchards of fruit farmers in Ciego de Avila or simply chatting with the workers at the sharp end of the Cuban economy.

It’s a tour that is, thankfully, short on predictable snapshot moments yet fascinating in its ability to introduce you to the everyday side of an island that has long been forced to mend and adapt to some of the world’s hardest trade restrictions.

Saddel Skedaddle, The Cycle Hub, Ouseburn Regeneration Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK; +44 (0)191 265 1110

Secret National Park