5 beautiful islands you should visit to escape tourists

All of the countries below receive fewer than 15 thousand visitors per year, so you're guaranteed a tourist-free adventure...  for now
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Kate Lough19 February 2016

There’s nothing travellers hate more than tourists. Hell is other people, after all. So if you’re the kind of traveller that likes a bit of adventure, who’s happy to go off the beaten track, who spurns five star facilities and loathes inclusive resorts, read on. The United Nations World Tourism Organisation released its international travel survey, including which are the least visited countries around the world.

Make sure you book your visit before the rest of the world finds out...

Tuvalu

Yearly visitors: 1k

Tuvalu – pronounced ‘too-VAH-loo’ is a castaway’s dream in the South Pacific, southeast from Tonga. Its 9 atolls cover just 10 square miles in total, making it the world’s fourth smallest country. Once there you’ll be rewarded with coral reefs, pristine palm-fringed sandy beaches and natural lagoons – and WWII sites as it’s part of the British Commonwealth. One for divers and snorkelers who’ve seen it all.

Sunset on Tuvalu
Corbis

Kiribati

Yearly visitors: 5k

Stretching languorously along the Equator, Kiribati is a patchwork of 33 islets in the Central Pacific, five hours south of Hawaii. Make your way to these remote atolls for world-class fishing, diving and bird-watching. On the main island Tarawa, locals live in raised thatched huts, while on the outer islands life goes on as it has for centuries. Most atolls surround turquoise lagoons and barely rise out of surrounding ocean. Come for world class fishing, diving and bird-watching – or just to enjoy the very, very slow pace of life.

Stilt life: Kiribati
Corbis

Montserrat

Yearly visitors: 7k

This once carefree Caribbean island in the Lesser Antilles used to be popular with Brits until it was hit by a hurricane in 1989 and then a volcanic eruption, which devastated the southern end of the island in 1995. Naturally the volcano is still a worry, but a new capital is maturing in the north in Little Bay. Apart from all that, Montserrat is super serene with lush vegetation and jagged green hills giving it its Emerald Isle name. Eco tourists, this is one for you.

Montserrat
Corbis

São Tomé and Príncipe

Yearly visitors: 8k

An African island west of Gabon in the Gulf of Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe are a volcanic duo known for their striking rock formations. As well as perfect beaches, lush rainforest and lagoons for snorkelling, they have a laid-back Portuguese-Creole vibe (they were uninhabited until the Portuguese arrived in the 15th century) that’s hard to resist. Eco-boutique hotels are springing up here – no tacky resorts allowed. It’s near the equator so you can count on a tropical climate that hovers very close to the 27 degree mark.

Sao Tome and Principe
Corbis

Comoros

Yearly visitors: 15k

A collection of islands in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Mozambique, this is a paradise where you can truly go incognito and get away. Its rich culture takes its nod from Arabs, Persians, Africans and the Portuguese – so you can imagine how colourful it is. In terms of things to do, you can choose between paddling in turquoise waters, hiking through rainforests and volcano-gazing.

N.B If you're unsure, always check it's safe to travel on the Foreign Office website.

Follow Kate on Twitter @kate_lough and Instagram @kateloughtravel

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