Escapism

Endless dunes, starry nights, and the silence of the desert. Camel treks and Berber camps offer a taste of raw space and simplicity.

Open steppe and dunes with nights spent in traditional gers under huge skies.

Los Roques, Venezuela — a 300-island national park of uninhabited coral cays and lagoons in the Caribbean, with sand as fine and water as clear as anywhere in the region.

Dahlak Archipelago, Eritrea — over 200 largely uninhabited coral islands scattered across the Red Sea off Massawa — pearl-diving history, shipwrecks, and empty white-sand beaches.

Khor Al Adaid, Qatar — a rare inland sea where towering desert dunes meet the Persian Gulf directly, with no coastline in between, a UNESCO-recognized natural phenomenon found in only a few places on Earth.

Rolling plains, cork oaks, and whitewashed villages. Alentejo is slow, hot, and spacious.

Endless golden savanna, big cats on the prowl, and the thunder of the wildebeest migration. The Maasai Mara is East Africa's classic safari — open plains, Maasai culture, and some of the best game viewing on Earth.

Jaco Island, East Timor — a small uninhabited island off the country's easternmost tip, considered sacred by locals and ringed by some of the clearest water in Southeast Asia.

Volcanic landscapes, glaciers, black sand beaches, and the northern lights. Iceland feels like another planet—raw, empty, and stunning.

The smoke that thunders: one of the world's greatest waterfalls. Victoria Falls is raw power—rainbow mists, wildlife, and the Zambezi in full flow.

A little-visited volcanic archipelago in the Indian Ocean — coral reefs, ylang-ylang plantations, and an active volcano you can hike into. Moroni's medina feels frozen in time.

Vava'u, Tonga — a scattered archipelago of over 50 islands around a sheltered natural harbor, the South Pacific's best-known sailing and yacht-charter base.

Misty glens, lochs, and castles in the middle of nowhere. The Highlands are moody, empty, and wildly beautiful. Rain and fog are part of the deal.

Overwater bungalows, turquoise lagoons, and nothing but sea and sky. The Maldives is honeymoon territory—luxury, solitude, and the ultimate switch-off.

A delta in the desert: waterways, wildlife, and one of Africa's greatest safari destinations. The Okavango is mokoro trips, big cats, and the sound of nothing but nature.

The greatest wildlife show on earth. The Serengeti is savanna, migration, and the raw drama of nature—safaris, big cats, and endless horizons.

The world's tallest dunes and a dead valley of ancient trees. Sossusvlei is desert at its most dramatic—dawn light, red sand, and endless sky.