Market turmoil. Digital overload. Scary headlines. On the travel front, it’s no wonder “off grid” and “unplugged” vacations are trending. A recent Booking.com survey revealed that 56 percent of global travelers were seeking “off the beaten path” destinations to escape from the drama of daily life.
“Our clients are taking sabbaticals or going on long trips to faraway places, where they are completely unreachable, no Wi-Fi, no cell service,” said Erica Jackowitz, a co-founder of New York-based Rêve Travel Club, which caters to busy professionals. She notes that many of her clients have recently chosen far-flung destinations like Mongolia, Peru and the deserts of Saudi Arabia.
Does going to the ends of the earth yield peace and restoration, or exhilaration and adventure? At many remote resorts, both. Whether you want a timeout from the collective chaos, or are focusing on a more personal unplugging, here are six spots where you can leave the noise behind.
Ontario, Canada
Sunnd Eco Resort
“When people disconnect from the grid,” said Ann Marie Barry, the owner of Sunnd Eco Resort, “they actually reconnect with themselves, and with each other, and with the land.”
That’s the premise of the small resort she opened with her husband last year in a quiet wooded expanse near Lake Superior in Northern Ontario, in Canada. The nearest town has two seasonal gas stations-convenience stores and a population of 450.
Sunnd’s two geodomes feature wood interiors, fire pits and small kitchens stocked with eggs, pancake mix, local syrup and coffee. One sleeps two people ($249 a night); the other, which sleeps four, has a spiral staircase that leads to a loft ($289). A third mobility-accessible dome will open this fall.
In addition to stargazing from the domes, unwinding in wood-fired hot tubs, or chasing waterfalls along hiking trails, there are adventures to be had. The area has a rich Indigenous history, with pictographs on local rock-faced walls; mineral-rich rocks that can be collected along the beach; and, for divers, shipwrecks, some more than a century old, at the bottom of the lake to explore. Or just enjoy the water, sky and forest views. Ms. Barry wants guests to feel the peace of nature. “It’s not really about going without, it’s about going deeper.”
Wyoming
Darwin Ranch
Nestled on 167 acres in Wyoming’s Gros Ventre Wilderness, Darwin Ranch has been operating for more than 100 years. Surrounded by U.S. National Forest, there are no immediate neighbors and no digital connections.
“It’s certainly not for everybody,” said Oliver Klingenstein, who owns and operates the historic and recently renovated ranch, with his mother, Kathy Bole. “It’s a self-selecting group.” (Note: there is a phone line out for emergencies.)
Six-night, all-inclusive packages (from $4,525 for single; $5,700 for double) are available for up to 18 guests in nine log cabins, each with pine interiors, wildlife prints and modern bathrooms with copper sinks. There’s guided horseback riding for both beginners and advanced riders, fly fishing in rivers and streams, and more than 100 miles of trails and alpine peaks to hike.
Each night, guests are asked what they’d like to do the following day and plans are accommodated. When not pursuing adventure, guests can relax in wood-fired hot tubs and saunas and come together over communal meals that feature local produce, fish and meat. For an extra escapist addition, tack on a three-night backcountry glamping expedition ($575 per night) where you can sleep beside a towering waterfall.
Sweden
Pater Noster
On a craggy island about the size of two football fields off the west coast of Sweden, without even an address (only coordinates), Pater Noster makes a great case for doing nothing but tuning into your senses. The smell of salty air. The sound of waves crashing against rocks. The feel of oceanic winds.
The island was never intended for hospitality, but Mirja Lilja Hagsjö, the chief executive, and her partners leased the property, a protected heritage site, from the Swedish Property Board and renovated and modernized the 19th-century structures during the pandemic. They now welcome guests to their nine-room inn (from $1,800 per night for two, including round-trip boat transport) 120 days a year between April and October. Guest rooms are spacious but cozy, with shiplap ceilings and deep blue accents. Guests can fish or crab in the Nordic waters and then turn over their bounty to the chef who will cook and serve it alongside Champagne. Yoga mats and snorkeling gear are available, and hot tubs are heated with water pumped from the ocean.
The coup de grâce is a lone queen-size Dux bed on the edge of a cliff where you can sleep beneath the crystalline stars (a $320 add-on). “The birds quiet down when it gets dark, you follow the rhythm of the night, and suddenly you wake up with the sun on your face,” said Ms. Hagsjö.
Georgia
Len Foote Hike Inn
Len Foote Hike Inn, which opened in 1998, is a secluded respite for hikers and “stressed-out Atlantans,” according to the nonprofit’s executive director, Eric Graves. At the end of a five-mile moderate hike in the Amicalola Falls State Park, the 20-room inn is modest yet comfortable. Environmentally friendly, with platinum-level, LEED certification, it’s built on stilts and relies on solar panels, composting toilets, minimized food waste and other sustainable efforts. Rooms have bunk beds, wall-mounted fans and hooks to hang backpacks and jackets. A bathhouse has separate facilities for men and women.
Community is key to the experience. Breakfast and dinner, included in the stay (starting at $210 a couple), are served family-style, and there’s educational programming, along with games, puzzles and books from the library.
Mr. Graves encourages guests to “enjoy being away from home, work, or whatever it is. You did not bring them up here for a reason.”
British Columbia
Nimmo Bay
In the 45 years that Nimmo Bay has been operating in British Columbia’s Southern Great Bear Rainforest, it has evolved from a rugged saltwater fishing destination to a cushy resort that melds wellness with the wilderness. It’s about “getting into wild spaces while being held in comfort and luxury,” said Brianna Sloan, who’s worked at the resort for nearly two decades.
At the base of a 5,000-foot mountain that can be reached only by air or water, the resort is surrounded by 50,000 square miles of rainforest, fjords and isolated terrain. The nine cabins of the all-inclusive resort (from about $5,856 per person for three nights) are situated either in the forest or on the water, with high ceilings and oversize armchairs. Guided kayaking, paddle-boarding and hiking are on the activities menu; add-ons include coastal safaris to view bears, orcas, humpback whales and other wildlife, and helicopter excursions to explore the outer reaches of the rainforest.
Wellness options are plentiful. A botanical facial or massage can be enjoyed by a waterfall and forest bathing can be paired with a body scrub. Some of the best detoxing takes place on floating docks in the bay. Outfitted with either a hot tub or sauna, guests can get dropped off there for as long as they like. “That’s something people don’t know they need,” said Ms. Sloan.
Alaska
Sheldon Chalet
Money no object? Perched at almost 6,000 feet on the only private parcel of land in Denali National Park in Alaska, Sheldon Chalet is surrounded by snow-capped glaciers with huge caverns and crevasses.
“It is insanely remote,” said Marne Sheldon, who owns the chalet with her husband. “You cannot walk, you cannot drive; the only approach is to fly.” Which is what some people will do for the reward of skiing a glacier in the summer or taking a polar plunge in one of the frigid glacial pools.
The five-room chalet is rented as an all-inclusive option ($32,000 a night), with everything from menus and experiences tailored to the party. It includes meals that lean into Alaskan seafood, a staff of chefs, concierge and mountain glacier guides, and all outdoor paraphernalia, from harnesses and helmets to skis and snowshoes. Rooms are inspired by Nordic design with king-size beds, faux-fur throws and windows for viewing the mountainous expanse.
Beyond rock climbing, trekking, skiing and having a beach party on the glacier, there’s also the option to “adventure in place” — or simply hang out and reflect on the spectacular landscape. “There is a sense of awe and wonder that hits you when you arrive,” Ms. Sheldon said. “It takes a moment to reconcile, ‘Where am I?’”
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