11 Remote Destinations That Make You Feel Like the Last Person on Earth
In a world that feels increasingly interconnected, the rarest travel experiences are those that allow you to truly disconnect. While major tourist attractions overflow with crowds, hidden corners of the world remain untouched, waiting for those who seek solitude, silence, and raw beauty. These destinations don’t just offer remote landscapes—they transport you to places where time slows down, where the world feels vast and empty, and where you might not see another soul for miles. Whether it’s a forgotten island, an isolated desert, or a lost mountain village, these 11 destinations will make you feel like the last person on Earth—and they’re stunningly photogenic, too.
1. Deception Island, Antarctica – The Ghostly Volcano in the Ice
A volcanic island surrounded by the frozen wilderness of Antarctica, Deception Island is one of the most surreal and isolated places on Earth. This horseshoe-shaped landmass is actually the flooded caldera of an active volcano, creating an eerie mix of steaming black sand beaches and towering glaciers. Once home to a whaling station, the island is now abandoned except for the occasional research team, leaving behind decaying wooden buildings, rusting machinery, and ghostly whale bones. The stark contrast of boiling volcanic waters against icy Antarctic peaks creates a hauntingly beautiful landscape. Kayaking through the caldera, you’ll feel like an explorer on a distant planet—completely alone, surrounded by steam, ice, and silence.
2. Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland – The Most Isolated Village in the Arctic
Perched on the remote east coast of Greenland, Ittoqqortoormiit is one of the most isolated settlements on Earth. Only accessible by a once-a-week flight and then a helicopter ride or long boat trip, this Arctic village is surrounded by glaciers, polar bears, and the icy waters of Scoresby Sound—the largest fjord system in the world. With fewer than 500 residents, this tiny Inuit community exists in almost complete isolation, experiencing months of total darkness in winter and endless daylight in summer. The silence is unearthly, broken only by the howling of sled dogs or the occasional crash of an iceberg breaking apart. If you ever wanted to know what true solitude feels like, this is it.
3. Pitcairn Island, Pacific Ocean – The World’s Most Isolated Inhabited Island
Home to just fewer than 50 people, Pitcairn Island is one of the most remote inhabited places in the world, lying over 3,000 miles from the nearest major landmass. This tiny volcanic island in the South Pacific is only accessible by a 32-hour boat journey from Tahiti, making it feel utterly cut off from civilization. Settled by the infamous mutineers of the HMS Bounty in 1790, Pitcairn remains untouched by mass tourism, with lush green cliffs, hidden caves, and crystal-clear lagoons. With no airport, no hotels, and no crowds, visitors experience a level of peace and quiet that feels almost prehistoric. If you’ve ever dreamed of being shipwrecked on a deserted island, this is as close as it gets.
4. The Skeleton Coast, Namibia – The Drowned Desert
Where the rolling dunes of the Namib Desert meet the wild Atlantic, the Skeleton Coast is one of the most hauntingly beautiful and desolate places on Earth. Named for the countless shipwrecks and whale bones that litter its shores, this barren coastline feels otherworldly—a place of endless sand, swirling mist, and total emptiness. The only inhabitants? Lions, hyenas, desert elephants, and thousands of seals. Visiting the Skeleton Coast requires a small bush plane or a rugged 4x4 journey into the unknown, where you’ll encounter abandoned diamond mines, ghost towns, and shipwrecks frozen in time. If solitude and cinematic landscapes are what you crave, there’s nowhere else like it.
5. Tristan da Cunha, South Atlantic – The Most Remote Human Settlement on Earth
If you want to go somewhere truly off the map, Tristan da Cunha is the most isolated inhabited island on Earth, located over 1,500 miles from the nearest human settlement in the South Atlantic. The only way to get there? A six-day boat trip from South Africa. This volcanic island is home to just 250 hardy residents, who live in the island’s single village, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas. With towering cliffs, wild grasslands, and no modern distractions, life here remains untouched by the outside world. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to live completely removed from civilization, this is your answer.
6. The Hidden Fjords of Scoresby Sund, Greenland
If you’ve ever dreamed of kayaking through a landscape that feels untouched for millennia, Scoresby Sund in Greenland is the place to go. As the largest fjord system in the world, it’s a staggering expanse of glacial-carved waterways, towering icebergs, and snow-dusted cliffs, yet remains one of the most isolated and least-visited places on Earth. The silence here is absolute, broken only by the distant cracking of ice or the occasional sighting of a polar bear drifting on an ice floe. To reach it, adventurers must sail from Iceland through the frigid Arctic waters—an odyssey in itself. With icebergs as tall as skyscrapers reflecting the golden glow of the Arctic sun, Scoresby Sund offers a sense of scale and solitude that few places can match.
7. Wrangel Island, Russia – The Last Refuge of the Woolly Mammoths
A forbidden Arctic island frozen in time, Wrangel Island lies in the Siberian Sea and is so remote that it was the last place on Earth where woolly mammoths lived before going extinct. Today, it remains a stark, isolated wilderness, home to the highest density of polar bears on the planet. No permanent human settlements exist, and access is only granted to researchers or rare expedition cruises. The landscape is fierce, silent, and completely untouched, making it one of the last truly wild places on Earth.
8. Makgadikgadi Pans, Botswana – A Mirror of the Sky
The Makgadikgadi Pans in Botswana are so vast and empty that they create a mirrored illusion of the sky, making it feel like you’re floating between worlds. These massive salt flats, once an ancient lakebed, stretch for miles in all directions, creating one of the most surreal and isolating landscapes on Earth. At night, the silence is absolute, and the unpolluted skies explode with stars, making this one of the best stargazing destinations in the world. No crowds, no sounds, no modern distractions—just you and the endless horizon.
9. The Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia – The Land of Fire and Ice
A land of smoking volcanoes, untouched forests, and steaming geysers, Kamchatka is one of the last true frontiers. This vast, wild peninsula in Russia’s Far East is so remote that there are no roads connecting it to the rest of Russia—access is only possible by plane or helicopter. With grizzly bears, boiling mud pools, and untouched valleys, Kamchatka feels like a prehistoric world. If you want to hike among erupting volcanoes with no one else in sight, this is your place.
10. The Deep Canyons of Aysén, Chile
Hidden in the wilds of Patagonia’s least-visited region, Aysén is a world of deep canyons, ice-blue rivers, and towering peaks, yet it remains one of South America’s best-kept secrets. With no big cities, few roads, and endless wilderness, this is a place where silence reigns. The spectacular Marble Caves, carved by thousands of years of water erosion, are so remote that they can only be reached by kayak across a turquoise lake.
11. The Uninhabited Wharariki Beach, New Zealand
A beach with no roads, no towns, and no people—just rolling sand dunes, dramatic sea caves, and archways carved by time. Wharariki Beach, at the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island, feels like the edge of the world. Reaching it requires a long trek through grassy hills, but once you arrive, it’s just you, the waves, and the endless horizon.
The Beauty of Being Alone in the World
In a world that constantly demands connection, finding true solitude has become a rare luxury. These 15 remote destinations offer more than just physical seclusion—they provide a profound sense of peace, a reset from the modern world, and an opportunity to reconnect with nature and oneself. Whether it’s standing among the towering icebergs of Scoresby Sund, trekking through the lost valleys of Mustang, or floating in the surreal lagoons of Lençóis Maranhenses, each of these places offers the feeling of being the last person on Earth—a feeling that is both humbling and exhilarating. The silence, the vastness, and the untouched beauty of these locations remind us of the power of nature and the insignificance of our daily worries. If you’re seeking a place where time slows down, where the world feels untouched, and where solitude becomes a gift rather than a burden, these destinations are waiting to be explored.
