Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Kitts and Nevis is the smallest country in the Americas and the smallest sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere by both area and population. Two volcanic islands separated by a three-kilometer channel, together they cover about 261 square kilometers - you could fit the entire country inside most mid-sized cities. But these tiny islands played an outsized role in Caribbean history, serving as the staging ground for British and French colonization of the entire region.

Brimstone Hill Fortress on Saint Kitts is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the best-preserved colonial fortifications in the Americas. The old sugar railway has been converted into a scenic tourist train that circles the island. Nevis, the smaller and quieter of the two, was the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton and remains one of the most relaxed islands in the Caribbean. The country's economy has pivoted from sugar - the last crop was harvested in 2005 after 350 years - to tourism and one of the world's first citizenship-by-investment programs.