Jon Krakauer’s 1996 novel Into the Wild is about a wish to escape life’s frenetic pursuits and retreat into far and distant locations. Chris McCandless, the main character, hitchhikes to Alaska’s Stampede Trail to find himself.
Writers have written many novels about the desire to travel to far-flung places; travelling to remote parts of the world is more desirable now than ever before.
When you want to get as far away as possible, you need to do some research, so we have rewritten the standard travel guide to accommodate your wanderlust. Take a look at where you can go and what you can do in the remotest places in the world.
Let’s create the perfect itinerary starting in Alaska.
1 – Alaska’s Kobuk Valley
See the fantastic dunes at this American outpost. Travellers can only visit Kobuk valley in winter by using a husky dog sledge or snowmobile, and it offers remoteness like no other place in the world.
The closest town is Kotzebue, but it’s 80 kilometres away, and Anchorage is the nearest major airport, with smaller airports at Kodiak and Homer. The Arctic Circle is 26 miles north of this stunning location. If you want to go remote, there’s no getting further away than Kobuk Valley.
For information, Kobuk Valley is 7,007 miles away from Easter Island.
2 – Chile’s Easter Island
Easter Island is one of the most talked-about but remote islands globally, and it’s home to the Rapa Nui people’s famous Moai stone head statues. In the Pacific Ocean, Easter Island is a UNESCO world heritage site.
There are a few well-chosen hotels, but guests are limited to protect the wildlife and environmental structure. If you want to get well away from it all, this is the place to go.
Easter Island to South Seymour Island is a slightly shorter trip, coming in at 2,223 miles apart.
3 – Ecuador’s Baltra (South Seymour Island)
The Galapagos Islands’ most abundant and accessible island is on the remote travellers’ bucket lists; only the most discerning travellers have access to the Galapagos’ secluded islands and archipelagos, including the island of Baltra.
Famously, the Galapagos Islands are home to the giant tortoise, among other unique inhabitants, and were once impossible to reach. Today some islands are only accessible by private jet, and then a boat making Ecuador’s South Seymour island on our list of faraway destinations.
It would take a stunning 8,996 miles to get you from South Seymour Island to Australia.
4 – Australia’s Kure Island
The farthest north coral atoll. This pacific island, which has only had 200 visitors in the last decade, is a bird watcher’s paradise with only a tiny unmade runway on which to land. You must not expect a trip to the gift shop at the end of your visit.
It is impossible to remain overnight on Kure Island unless you wish to try wild camping; it is strictly a day trip location and 8,507 miles away from our next stop Annobon.
5 – Equatorial Guinea’s Annobon
Annobon is a small island off the coast of Africa and has only 5,000 people who live there all year round. Visit this glorious place and see incredible luscious scenery and a plethora of unique animals.
It is popular with scuba divers and is entirely off the usual path; yet, even though it has an airport and basic lodging and facilities, this island is not for the faint of heart.
6 – Russia’s Nenetsia.
There are no hotels in Nenetsia, so far north that just 40 people travelled there in 2018 to witness the beautiful Northern lights. The next significant town is 40 miles away by snowmobile.
The nearest town, and the place to stay overnight, is Naryan-Mar, a magnificent sea and river port town famed among travellers who come to see the Aurora Borealis.
The next stop on our itinerary is Novaya Zemlya, also in Russia.
7 – Russia’s Novaya Zemlya
The last immense landmass is yet to be visited. Novaya Zemlya is so far into the wild and not for those scared of the dark, but if the thrill of being the first appeals to you, go ahead. There are no facilities, so bring supplies.
8 – New Zealand’s Fiordland
Only 8,060 miles from Russia, Fiordland is the spot to go if you enjoy hiking. Camping is your only option in this remote and cavernous area with waterfalls and deep lakes, rocky farmland; windblown vistas is a remote outpost for those seeking solitude.
The furthest air trip on this itinerary is New Zealand to Arizona, the flight across the South Pacific sea is just under 7,000 miles.
9 – Supai in Arizona
If islands aren’t your thing, how about diving into the deepest least inhabited part of the United States? Supai is a secluded area of Arizona buried at the bottom of the Grand Canyon that can only be reached by private plane transport or on foot.
Disconnect from the outside world and stay at the Havasupai Tribe’s ancestral home, inhabited for 1000 years.
The hike to the settlement is strenuous. When you arrive, though, locals will meet you and take you to see the breathtaking views of the famed waterfalls and the surrounding natural countryside.
10 – Kiribati’s Tarawa Atoll
Last but not least, the Island of Kiribati in the Tarawa Atoll, Central Pacific. Kiribati is one of the 32 atolls, the largest of which is Tarawa, which has barely 110,000 people.
These atolls are sinking into the sea and are remote but hospitable to tourists, with some magnificent seaside cottages for rent. Now is the time to visit these islands before they disappear forever.
