When the world feels a little too close, there are places on Earth where time seems to slow, where natural landscapes offer beauty and solitude, unblemished by society’s footsteps. Places like Scotland’s highlands, where the mist-wrapped lochs blend into ethereal mountain landscapes, to the serene expanse of Vietnam’s Ninh Thuan, where a sublime sea laps at unspoiled sandy beaches. These destinations offer a rare form of escapism — they are the places where solitude reigns in a noisy world.
Whether it’s the luxurious calm of Amanoi’s private villas, perched above the stunning Vietnamese coast, elevated views of the Mekong from a Four Seasons tent, or the traditional Scottish charm of Toravaig House Hotel on Skye, these slow travel destinations invite disconnection from the modern world and reconnection to your self.
The Faroe Islands and Remote Villas at The View
Bíggjarvegur 12, 386 Bøur, Faroe Islands (Denmark)
Faroe’s appeal lies in its ability to instill a feeling of solitude with only the slightest look. Here, emerald cliffs and dramatic windswept walks meet the kind of serenity that you can only find in the middle of a vast, lonesome sea. The archipelago is located between Norway and Iceland, and good hotels are few, but Hotel Føroyar’s modern interiors provide a good base for exploring.
But another option is The View on Vagar Island, a collection of four little wooden holiday homes in a serene village called Bøur, with some of the Faroe’s most staggering views. The interiors are charming but understated, with simple but cozy furnishings, and include a kitchen and everything else you’d expect in a house rental. The endearing houses have real grass roofs and dense stone walls, and there’s also a church and a small car park in the village… enough for the 70 inhabitants.
The houses look over the iconic rocks of Tindhólmur and the striking Drangarnir sea arch, providing a cinematic vista like no other, superb for quiet contemplation and deep, undisturbed rumination. Walks here are excellent, with mountain ridges forging pathways through cold morning fogs for staggering Atlantic vistas occasionally punctuated by a puffin or a mountain hare but very few humans.
There is, however, a stunning nearby attraction worth the extra effort: the Múlafossur Waterfall, where a raw stream of water cascades dramatically over dramatic cliffs into the Atlantic. The views from the viewing platforms are fantastic, but photographers should endeavor to get a little closer to capture its sheer scale.
There are few attractions on the Faroe Islands — which is what makes them so stunning, other than the islands themselves, so it’s helpful to travel by car to better explore, but there are bus and ferry options, too. Furthermore, it’s possible to complete the entire trip by ferry from Hirtshals, Denmark, to Tórshavn in around 30 hours.
Locations and properties perfect for slow travel in 2025: Dávastova, Guttastova, Tobbastova, Eiriksstova.
Room prices at The View start at $350 per night.
By the way, if you are on the Faroe Islands, drop by to the local designer studio Gudrun&Gudrun.
Casale Panayiotis: A Rustic Luxury Retreat in the Heart of Cyprus
Another good spot, perfect for slow traveling, is the Cyprus Mountain Hotel in a small village. Here you live in a small traditional house with a fireplace. You have a spa, sauna, and view. Check out casalepanayiotis.com.
Nestled in the picturesque village of Kalopanayiotis in the Troodos Mountains, Casale Panayiotis offers an enchanting blend of Cypriot tradition and modern luxury. This boutique hotel is spread across beautifully restored traditional houses, each retaining its original character while offering luxurious comfort. The unique setup immerses guests in authentic village life, with cobblestone streets, charming courtyards, and stunning mountain views.
Activities & Experiences: Discover Kalopanayiotis with guided village tours, hiking trails, and cultural workshops, or simply enjoy serene moments amidst nature.
Award-Winning Spa: Relax and rejuvenate in a spa that draws on the area’s ancient reputation for healing waters, offering hydrotherapy pools, saunas, and indulgent treatments.
Authentic Dining: Savor locally sourced dishes inspired by Cypriot culinary traditions in the resort’s restaurants, where ingredients are sourced from nearby mountain communities.
The Golden Triangle and The Four Seasons, Thailand
499 MOO1, T. Vieng, Chiang Mai, Chiang Saen District, Chiang Rai 57150, Thailand
fourseasons.com/goldentriangle
Once synonymous with the Opium trade, the Golden Triangle is the region where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet and where the Ruak and Mekong Rivers converge, surrounded by mountains and all-natural vistas. The landscape is languid, almost illusionary, with its mist-clad hills, ancient temples, and idyllic river views. You’ll find golden stupas gleaming against verdant backdrops, river life unfolding unbridled and raw, and a world that feels slow and undisturbed — particularly in comparison to nearby Chiang Mai.
The Four Seasons at the Golden Triangle has some of the most beautiful tents on this side of Thailand, all of which overlook jungles and rivers, elephants and mountains, the Mokong and the Ruak. Offered as a camp rather than a resort, it boasts families of rescued elephants that guests can meet, as well as a plethora of walking trails leading into the mountains and surrounding jungles.
The onsite garden provides many of the ingredients to create the Thai, Laotian, and Burmese cooking in the Nong Yao restaurants, but there are some additional foodie experiences, such as the Kanthok Dinner, which celebrates the ancient culinary traditions of the Lanna Kingdom, as well al fresco dinners inside the elephant camp. Other experiences are broad and take advantage of the local ecosystems: fishing with locals, tours of Chiang Rai, and hikes to traditional villages.
The Mekong Tent is one of our favorites, with evocative wooden furniture that recalls the golden age of travel and exploration, each piece imbued with an air of mystery and locality, as well as an elevated deck with views of the Ruak River and the jungle reaching deep into Myanmar. Alternatively, the Golden Triangle Tent boasts a round wooden bath on the outdoor terrace and views of the convergence of three of Southeast Asia’s most storied countries.
Room prices at the Four Seasons Golden Triangle start at $2,500 per night + an additional mandatory 10% service charge.
Ninh Thuan and The Amanoi, Vietnam
Vinh Hy village Vinh, Hai commune, Ninh Hải, Ninh Thuận, Vietnam
Head south of the tourist Mecca of Nha Trang and along the pretty coast of Cam Ranh, and you’ll eventually find the Amanoi elegantly posed against the backdrop of Nui Chua National Park — a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The entrance to the resort is via a small road that curls around the resort, connecting the villas, two pools, two restaurants, a spa, and a collection of gorgeous sandy and rocky beaches. Each villa has an impressive amount of space, with decks leading to generous private pools with views of the lush interiors and Vinh Hy Bay — where the local fishing boats hunt for squid at night.
The interiors are traditional Vietnamese with raised beds and large open-plan bathrooms (some with doors directly to your private pool), and they have a butler service and an on-call golf buggy to ferry you around the resort whenever you need. The sea view rooms arguably have the best view, with a pool on the private terrace, a perfect place to watch local life unfold in Vinh Hy Bay.
Breakfasts are served in the main restaurant, which has a stunning al fresco platform overlooking the national park and the sea, and dinners are traditional Vietnamese. For something a little more special, private dinners can be arranged on the Beach Club’s sandy beach, candlelit with a private chef, and lunches of Vietnamese staples like summer rolls and Banh Mi can be arranged on a hidden rocky beach that you’ll have to yourself and is accessible only via a hard-to-reach woodland path.
The Amanoi spa is a thing of beauty, set near a private lake dotted with lotus leaves. Yoga sessions on a pavilion in the center of the lake are offered daily, while the various spa treatments include things like hot stone therapies, body treatments, and massages utilizing a mixture of local, Tibetan, and Indian techniques, fine-tuned to each guest. But even better, if you’re looking for wellness options, are the two wellness villas and the Hydrotherapy Suites offering a tightly curated holistic experience tucked away from the rest of the resort.
Room prices at the Amanoi start at $1,500 per night.
Kandy and Santani, Sri Lanka
Arantenna Estate, Werapitiya 20908, Sri Lanka
santani.com/santaniwellness-kandy
Perhaps one of the most intriguing reasons to stay at the Santani is the architecture. The concept here attempts to blend wellness with nature, with an architectural style that aims to tread as lightly as they can on the stunning Dumbara environments. In practice, this means the designs tend to blur into the landscape, with long floor-to-ceiling windows angled to take advantage of the high-up breezes while allowing glimpses of the stunning outdoor world to leak into every room and indoor space.
The resort was once a tea plantation and is spread across 116 acres of lush forest and elevated 2800 meters above sea level, allowing for clean mountainous air and a stunning sensation of space, calm, and rejuvenation.
You’ll find Santani in an area that is all mountains and trees, but you’ll hear the singing from a nearby Buddhist temple supporting the call of cicadas, monkeys, and endemic birds on quiet mornings, and while the chalets are slightly basic, they are set on stilts and almost entirely enveloped by the surrounding nature, their clean modern lines providing a stunning contrast.
The spa is, of course, a focus and offers Ayurvedic and Western options for massages, both of which are elevated by the intensely beautiful jungle views. Fully managed programs for weight loss, stress management, anti-aging, and sleep are available, too. Other leisure options include wildlife photography tours and safaris in the Knuckles Mountain Range where it’s common to see black eagles, sambar, and various endemic reptiles.
Room prices at the Santani start at $500 per night.
Skye and the Toravaig House Hotel, Scotland
Manse Of Sleat, Isle of Skye IV44 8RE
sonascollection.com/our-hotels/toravaig
All of Skye is serene, but Portree, the island’s colorful capital, can get busy, so rather than staying here, we suggest a jaunt south to Teangue for a night or two in the Toravaig House Hotel. The hotel is charming, with nicely fitted modern interiors, fires burning in the winter, and exceptional service, and the rooms are cozy with engrossing views of the locale. Food is traditionally Scottish and served all day in the various nooks of the hotel, and there’s a fantastic restaurant at nearby Duisdale, which you’ll need as Portree is almost an hour away.
But the real draw is the scenery in Teangue. Here, mountains appear to layer over one another and fade progressively into the distance as light breaks through the cloud, scattering over the perfect Loch Hourn waters.
Evocative castle ruins scattered across the coast create dramatic elements for photographers while walking trails take you to lakeside wild swimming spots with dramatic Highlands views, creating a kaleidoscope of beauty in every direction. Scottish whisky lovers will be pleased to know that Toravaig House’s only real neighbor is the Torabhaig Distillery, and they offer tastings and visits on most days — ideal for a pick me up after a brisk walk along the coast.
If you’re traveling to Skye independently, then the best route, rather than the well-trodden Skye bridge via Kyle of Lochalsh, is to take the ferry from Mallaig on the mainland (which you can reach via the iconic West Highland Line train) to Armadale on Skye. From there, the hotel is only a ten-minute taxi ride, and while the hike is accompanied by a road, it is stunning in places with views out over the lochs.
Room prices at the Toravaig House Hotel start at $190 per night.
Lake Annecy and Le Palace De Menthon, France
665 Rte des Bains, 74290 Menthon-Saint-Bernard, France
Beautiful little Annecy and its highly publicized Venice of the Alps charm is anything but quiet, but circumnavigate the lake to the little village of Menthon-Saint-Bernard, and you’ll soon find Le Palace De Menthon. This Belle Époque beauty oozes old-world sophistication and looks out over the shores of Lake Annecy with additional views of the Alps and Menthon-Saint-Bernard’s castle.
The location makes it ideal for mountain walkers and cyclists (the opposite side of the lake has a car-free cycle lane), but the hotel’s private lakeside beach and fabulous amenities make it a perfect place to escape the crowds of nearby Annecy. On site, you’ll find a restaurant with an art-deco-framed view of the lake serving classic French dishes bolstered by local Savoie ingredients, a surprisingly good cocktail bar, and a spa with a small but servicable menu of massages and other treatments.
As for rooms, the recent renovation (and subsequent fifth-star) has given the hotel a new updated look, but the best option for those seeking a moment of true solitary lakeside living is the idyllic Lilli’s House, which is perched on a private curve of lakeside, backed by a steep mountain drop lush with trees.
Room prices at the Le Palace De Menthon start at $200 per night.
This article is all about luxury travel destinations, remote luxury getaways, solitude travel spots, nature-focused luxury retreats, off-the-beaten-path escapes, peaceful travel destinations, hidden gem resorts, sustainable luxury travel, wellness travel retreats, luxury accommodations in nature, escapism travel ideas, remote boutique hotels, secluded luxury resorts.
TOP Slow Travel Destinations 2025
- Le Palace De Menthon, France – Lakeside Belle Époque hotel near Annecy.
- The View, Faroe Islands – The best for slow traveling. Grass-roofed villas with breathtaking sea views.
- Casale Panayiotis, Cyprus – Traditional mountain village retreat with a spa.
- Four Seasons Golden Triangle, Thailand – Luxury tents surrounded by jungle and elephants.
- Amanoi, Vietnam – Private pool villas in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
- Santani, Sri Lanka – Minimalist chalets with Ayurvedic spa treatments.
- Toravaig House Hotel, Scotland – Cozy boutique hotel with stunning loch views.
If we missed your favorite remote retreat for a luxury slow travel and escape idea, write to hello@localsinsider.com.
