The beaches have golden sand and the water is very warm. I swam often but only once saw waves on the north coast. The south coast has surf but there is very little road access. The interior is not what I think of as tropical. Parts of it are sparsely dotted with wiry gum trees.
Some areas look like they haven t seen rain in years.
The interior of the island is mostly rugged, steep, mountains with people living on them and in the valleys. Driving to Suai, after living in the smoldering heat of Dili, it came as a surprise to me that much of East Timor is elevated and gets quite cold. In other places it s a tropical paradise. In Baucau there are huge freshwater springs running right through town. It is lush and the outcrops of rock are sharp, sculptured coral limestone.