Klara Glowczewska reports on the growing allure of extreme remote travel

In a travel column for townandcountrymag.com, Executive Travel Editor Klara Glowczewska reports on the growing allure of extreme remote travel, arguing that travelers increasingly chase geographically induced uncanny experiences for a mix of bragging rights and a primal pursuit of the unknown. Reflecting on a formative 25-year-old encounter in Eswatini—formerly known as Swaziland—where a drive up the Highveld left her with a crushing existential awareness of cosmic insignificance, Glowczewska details how she and other travelers seek out vast, unpeopled areas despite the inherent discomforts.

Evaluating Readiness for Off-the-Grid Expeditions

Before embarking on journeys to the world’s most isolated corners, travelers must weigh specific logistical and physical realities. While Global Rescue memberships can fill the absence of 911 services by providing extrication in case of illness or injury, connectivity remains a major hurdle.

SpaceX Starlink is still unavailable in countries like Greenland and Namibia, and banned in others such as China, forcing travelers to rely on pricey satellite phone calls or limited 1,600-character Garmin InReach satellite text messages. Furthermore, operators to far-flung destinations frequently enforce strict baggage limits, requiring travelers to survive out of a carry-on for a week or more. Camp amenities may require living au naturel without hair salons, enduring unscripted schedules dictated by Mother Nature, and utilizing outhouses.

Ultra-Isolated Itineraries in Mongolia, South America, and Nepal

Several tour operators and lodges now cater to travelers seeking genuine isolation without completely sacrificing upscale comforts. Nomadic Expeditions has launched a 15-day Grand Traverse in Mongolia, the world’s most sparsely populated country. The itinerary kicks off in Ulaanbaatar, moves north by private Cessna, and houses guests in expedition-style gers—except for stays at the Three Camel Lodge and Three Eagle Camp—where visitors can learn falconry from Kazakh eagle hunters and spot rare gazelles and wild horses in the Great Gobi B Protected Area.

For polar and wilderness enthusiasts, White Desert has introduced the Echo Charlie Collection, utilizing a repurposed 1940s DC-3 aircraft carrying only 12 passengers to land on remote South American airstrips. Everything about this South American journey rekindles my sense of childish wonder at the world, says Patrick Woodhead, founder of White Desert.

Luxury Wilderness Retreats Across Europe and the Southern Hemisphere

Other destinations combine rugged isolation with daily luxury. In Namibia, Natural Selection has opened a six-tent camp at Nkasa Linyanti within the 74,000-acre Nkasa Rupara National Park, offering lush wetlands with extraordinarily high wildlife density and minimal human presence. In Alaska, Wrangell–St. Elias National Park hosts Ultima Thule Lodge, located 100 miles from the nearest road, where guests arrive by chartered plane and explore Wrangell–St. Elias National Park of wilderness via Super Cub planes equipped with oversize tundra tires.

Meanwhile, in Europe and the South Pacific, properties like the Kilchoan Estate on Scotland’s Knoydart Peninsula offer wild-swimming and golden eagle viewing alongside five restored stone and timber cottages equipped with spas and whiskey. As Philip Haslett of French Promise notes regarding such hybrid destinations, Sometimes, you want no one around and a Michelin restaurant 15 minutes away.