Canouan
Less than a decade ago, this four-mile sliver of emerald hills and empty beaches offered little more action than services at the Anglican Church and a sensational beach on Glossy Bay. Today, Canouan is still a discovery, although it probably won't be for long: It draws Americans looking for the latest island their friends have never heard of and Brits seeking beaches less traveled. Their likely destination of choice: Raffles Resort Canouan Island, the first Caribbean progeny of the legendary chain. The grounds sprawl across nearly two-thirds of the island, and each of its 156 rooms and suites comes with a golf cart for tooling around in. Not content to comb the three beaches—including one that's clothing-optional? There's an 18-hole golf course and a Trump casino (784-458-8000; canouan.raffles.com; doubles, $815–$910). More subdued are the Tamarind Beach Hotel, with 40 wicker-furnished rooms and suites near the lapping waves, and the clean, modern, motel-style Ocean View Inn, on a fine beach, with sea views from the second floor (784-482-0477; doubles, $140).

Mayreau
At just a mile and a half square—with 3,000 feet of beach, no roads, and until 2005 no electricity—Mayreau doesn't have many activities. But with its crescent of white sand, the handful of visitors (mostly sailors) aren't complaining. Its one resort, the family-owned and -run Saltwhistle Bay Club, started as a beach bar for yachties and has evolved into an eight-room hideaway on 23 acres of oleander and coconut palms. The restaurant is a series of round thatched-roof stone booths; order the lobster salad sandwich, a secret family recipe (784-458-8444; saltwhistlebay.com; doubles, $480; lunch entrées, $7–$13; dinner entrées, $17–$28).

Mustique
You don't have to be a gazillionaire to visit Mustique—but it helps. The 1,400-acre former sugar plantation has been a magnet for the rich since jet-setters built villas here in the 1960s. Lodgings are limited. Mick Jagger's digs might be beyond your budget: His six-bedroom, five-bath Japanese-inspired Atlantic-side beach villa sleeps ten (contact Mustique Co., 800-747-9214; mustique-island.com; villa, $11,000–$16,000 per week). If so, the Coutinot House, a cottage on the grounds of the Cotton House Resort, is just over the hill, on the Caribbean side. It has four massive guest rooms and one suite, all with private verandas, four-poster beds, and views of Endeavour Bay (784-456-4777; cottonhouseresort.com; doubles, $815).

Union Island
Three-square-mile Union Island is a yachtie pit stop on the way to nearby Tobago Cays, five uninhabited islets that make up a national park. There are bars and restaurants, mostly in the main town of Clifton, but few places to stay since the two main hotels closed for renovations. Near Clifton's landing strip, what was once the Anchorage Yacht Club is scheduled to reopen at the end of 2009 with 75 new rooms and suites, some on stilts (784-458-8221; eliteislandresorts.com). Outside town, the Big Sand Hotel will reopen later this year—possibly with a spa—on its crescent of pearly sand (784-485-8447; bigsandhotel.com). Meanwhile, the best options are two nearby private island resorts: all-inclusive Palm Island, 135 acres of trees, sand, and two-story beachfront cottages (784-458-8824; eliteislandresorts.com; doubles, $815–$960), and the 113-acre Petit St. Vincent Resort, which has oversized stone-and-wood bungalows, some by the designer behind most of Mustique's posh homes (800-654-9326; psvresort.com; doubles, $960).