St. George's

Grenada's connection to nutmeg runs deep enough that the spice appears directly on the national flag, a rare distinction for any country's agricultural export. The island became a major global nutmeg producer starting in the 18th century, and at its peak supplied roughly a fifth of the world's total nutmeg, earning it the enduring nickname "the Spice Isle" alongside significant production of mace, cinnamon, and cloves.

That industry took a near-catastrophic hit in 2004, when Hurricane Ivan made a direct strike on an island that sits, unusually, near the southern edge of the main Caribbean hurricane belt and typically avoids the worst of the region's storm track. The hurricane destroyed an estimated 90 percent of Grenada's nutmeg trees, a loss the industry is technically still recovering from decades later, since nutmeg trees take roughly seven years to begin bearing fruit and considerably longer to reach full production.

St. George's, the capital, wraps around a horseshoe-shaped natural harbor overlooked by Fort George, a preserved 18th-century fortification with panoramic views across the colorful, hillside-stacked town below. The harbor itself, often photographed from the fort, ranks among the more picturesque capital-city waterfronts in the Caribbean, pastel buildings climbing steep terrain around the water.

Grand Anse, a roughly 3-kilometer stretch of white sand just south of the capital, consistently earns a spot among the Caribbean's best beaches, calm and clear enough for swimming across most of its length, with a manageable density of hotels and restaurants rather than the wall-to-wall resort development found on some more heavily marketed islands.

Inland, the Gouyave Nutmeg Processing Station offers a direct, unpolished look at the industry that shaped the island's economy and identity, workers sorting and drying nutmeg using methods that have changed relatively little over generations, while waterfalls at Annandale and Concord give visitors an easy rainforest counterpoint to the coastal itinerary most Grenada trips otherwise follow. Between the beach, the spice history, and the interior's slow recovery from Ivan, Grenada offers a genuinely layered version of Caribbean travel beyond its compact size.