Off the beaten track

The World’s Least-Visited Countries & Territories

Remote Pacific atolls reached only by cargo ship, sub-Antarctic islands on expedition itineraries, tiny Caribbean islands without a cruise port, and African and Central Asian countries that ask for a little more planning. These are the 90 places travellers look up least across our 983 guides — and often the most rewarding to reach.

Every card shows how you actually get there and the best time to go, and links to the full guide with costs, itineraries and practical tips.

Pacific & Indian Ocean 19

American Samoa American Samoa The last traditional Samoan kingdom in the US Pacific Getting therePago Pago PPG Best timeMay – Oct Christmas Island Christmas Island Where 50 million red crabs march to the sea Getting thereChristmas Island XCH Best timeMay – Dec Clipperton Island Clipperton Island The loneliest atoll in the Pacific — a French possession no one lives on Getting thereNone — expedition ship access only Best timeNov – Apr (calmer seas) Comoros Comoros Ylang-ylang islands, active volcano & the living-fossil coelacanth Getting thereMoroni HAH Best timeMay – Oct Cook Islands Cook Islands No traffic lights, no cruise ships — Polynesia’s most pristine lagoon Getting thereRarotonga RAR Best timeApr – Nov French Polynesia French Polynesia Bora Bora, drift-diving sharks & the soul of the South Pacific Getting therePapeete PPT (Faa’a) Best timeMay – Oct Guam Guam America's Pacific island — where history and reef meet Getting thereGuam GUM (A.B. Won Pat) Best timeJan – Jun Kiribati Kiribati Four hemispheres, WWII battlefields & the world’s first sunrise Getting thereTarawa TRW Best timeMar – Oct Marshall Islands Marshall Islands Bikini Atoll nuclear wrecks, stick-chart navigators & rising seas Getting thereMajuro MAJ Best timeDec – Apr Mayotte Mayotte France's Indian Ocean secret — the world's largest lagoon Getting thereDzaoudzi DZA Best timeMay – Nov Micronesia Micronesia Chuuk Lagoon wrecks, Yap manta rays & the Venice of the Pacific Getting therePohnpei PNI; Chuuk TKK; Yap YAP Best timeDec – Apr Nauru Nauru World’s smallest republic — phosphate moonscape, WWII relics & pristine reef Getting thereNauru INU Best timeMar – Oct Niue Niue Rock of Polynesia — swim with humpbacks in the world’s clearest water Getting thereNiue IUE (Hanan) Best timeMay – Oct Norfolk Island Norfolk Island Where the Bounty mutineers' descendants still live Getting thereNorfolk Island NLK Best timeSep – May Pitcairn Islands Pitcairn Islands The most remote inhabited island on earth — home of the Bounty mutineers Getting thereNone — ship from Mangareva, French Polynesia Best timeOct – Apr Réunion Réunion Active volcano, three calderas & France’s spiciest Creole curry Getting thereRoland Garros RUN (Saint-Denis) Best timeApr – Nov Tokelau Tokelau The most remote and tranquil atolls in the Pacific Getting thereNone — boat from Apia, Samoa (~26h) Best timeMay – Oct Tuvalu Tuvalu The sinking Pacific nation — pristine atolls on the front line of climate change Getting thereFunafuti FUN Best timeMar – Oct Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna France's forgotten Pacific kingdom — three volcanic islands, three kings Getting thereHihifo WLS (Wallis) Best timeMay – Oct

Caribbean 20

Anguilla Anguilla The Caribbean's most glamorous undiscovered secret Getting thereClayton J. Lloyd AXA Best timeDec – Apr Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda 365 beaches, Georgian dockyard & frigate bird sanctuary Getting thereV.C. Bird ANU Best timeDec – Apr Aruba Aruba Sun-guaranteed Dutch Caribbean — Eagle Beach, trade winds & natural pool Getting thereOranjestad AUA (Queen Beatrix) Best timeYear-round Bonaire Bonaire Caribbean’s finest shore diving & 10,000 flamingos Getting thereFlamingo BON Best timeYear-round British Virgin Islands British Virgin Islands Sailing waters, The Baths and the Painkiller's birthplace Getting thereBeef Island EIS (Terrance B. Lettsome) Best timeDec – May Cayman Islands Cayman Islands Stingray City, Bloody Bay Wall & Seven Mile Beach Getting thereOwen Roberts GCM (Grand Cayman) Best timeDec – Apr Curaçao Curaçao Painted Dutch colonial harbour, blue liqueur & Caribbean wall diving Getting thereCuraçao CUR (Hato) Best timeYear-round Dominica Dominica Nature Isle — boiling lake, champagne reef & volcanic wilderness Getting thereDouglas–Charles DOM Best timeFeb – Jun Grenada Grenada Spice Isle of nutmeg, coral sculpture park & Grand Anse beach Getting thereMaurice Bishop GND Best timeDec – May Guadeloupe Guadeloupe Butterfly island — active volcano, Cousteau diving & rhum agricole Getting therePointe-à-Pitre PTP Best timeDec – May Martinique Martinique Mount Pelée, rhum agricole and Creole France Getting thereFort-de-France FDF (Aimé Césaire) Best timeDec – May Montserrat Montserrat The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean and its smouldering volcano Getting thereJohn A. Osborne MNI Best timeDec – Apr Saba Saba The unspoiled queen of the Caribbean 's dive sites Getting thereJuancho E. Yrausquin SAB Best timeDec – Apr Saint Barthélemy Saint Barthélemy France's most glamorous Caribbean jewel Getting thereSt Barth SBH Best timeDec – Apr Saint Eustatius Saint Eustatius The Golden Rock — where America's independence began Getting thereF.D. Roosevelt EUX Best timeDec – Apr Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis Brimstone Hill fortress, the last Caribbean railway & Alexander Hamilton’s birthplace Getting thereBasseterre SKB Best timeDec – Apr Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Tobago Cays turtles, sailing and La Soufrière volcano Getting thereArgyle SVD Best timeDec – May Sint Maarten Sint Maarten Two nations, one island — jet wash beach, French dining & Caribbean duality Getting therePrincess Juliana SXM Best timeDec – Apr Turks and Caicos Turks and Caicos World’s #1 beach, humpback whales & Caribbean wall diving Getting thereProvidenciales PLS Best timeDec – Apr US Virgin Islands US Virgin Islands Trunk Bay, two-thirds national park & Cruzan rum since 1760 Getting thereSt. Thomas STT; St. Croix STX Best timeDec – Apr

Africa 23

Angola Angola Giant sable antelope, Tundavala escarpment & Africa’s emerging frontier Getting thereLuanda LAD Best timeMay – Oct Burkina Faso Burkina Faso Painted Kassena houses, Sindou Peaks & Africa’s greatest film festival Getting thereOuagadougou OUA Best timeNov – Feb Burundi Burundi Africa's hidden lakeside heart Getting thereBujumbura BJM Best timeJun – Sep Central African Republic Central African Republic Ancient forests, forest elephants and Dzanga-Sangha Getting thereBangui BGF Best timeNov – Mar Chad Chad Saharan landscapes and the last of Lake Chad Getting thereN’Djamena NDJ Best timeNov – Feb Djibouti Djibouti Salt lake lowest in Africa, whale sharks & alien volcanic moonscape Getting thereDjibouti JIB Best timeOct – Apr DR Congo DR Congo The Congo River, bonobos & the Congo Basin wilderness Getting thereKinshasa FIH; Lubumbashi FBM Best timeJun – Sep Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea Africa’s only Spanish-speaking nation — drill monkeys, leatherback turtles & gorillas Getting thereMalabo SSG Best timeDec – Feb Gambia Gambia The Smiling Coast of West Africa Getting thereBanjul BJL Best timeNov – Feb Guinea Guinea Fouta Djallon highlands, chimpanzee tool-use & West African jazz Getting thereConakry CKY Best timeNov – Apr Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau Atlantic archipelago and untouched island wilderness Getting thereBissau OXB Best timeNov – Apr Liberia Liberia Africa’s oldest republic, West Africa surf & pygmy hippos Getting thereMonrovia ROB (Roberts Intl) Best timeNov – Apr Libya Libya Rome’s greatest ruins outside Europe, Saharan rock art & emerald oasis lakes Getting thereTripoli MJI (Mitiga); Benghazi BEN Best timeOct – Mar Mali Mali Timbuktu, Dogon cliff villages & the Great Mosque of Djenné Getting thereBamako BKO Best timeNov – Feb Mauritania Mauritania Saharan desert cities, iron ore train & two million migratory birds Getting thereNouakchott NKC Best timeNov – Mar Niger Niger Air Mountains, Tenere emptiness & Wodaabe beauty pageant Getting thereNiamey NIM Best timeNov – Feb Republic of Congo Republic of Congo Western lowland gorillas, sapeur fashion & Congo River rumba Getting thereBrazzaville BZV; Pointe-Noire PNR Best timeJun – Sep Sierra Leone Sierra Leone West Africa’s finest beaches, freed-slave history & jungle chimpanzees Getting thereFreetown FNA (Lungi) Best timeNov – Apr Somalia Somalia Ancient port cities and untouched Horn of Africa coast Getting thereMogadishu MGQ Best timeDec – Mar Somaliland Somaliland Laas Geel rock art, camel markets & Africa’s most surprising unrecognised republic Getting thereHargeisa HGA Best timeOct – Apr South Sudan South Sudan World’s youngest nation — Africa’s greatest unknown wildlife migration Getting thereJuba JUB Best timeNov – Mar Sudan Sudan More pyramids than Egypt — Nubian kingdoms lost in desert solitude Getting thereKhartoum KRT Best timeNov – Feb São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe World’s finest chocolate, volcanic peaks & Africa’s most pristine island Getting thereSão Tomé TMS Best timeJun – Sep

Atlantic & Polar 11

Azores Azores Twin crater lakes, sperm whales & geothermally cooked stew in the mid-Atlantic Getting therePonta Delgada PDL; Lajes TER; Horta HOR Best timeMay – Oct Bermuda Bermuda Pink sand beaches and the Atlantic's best golf Getting thereL.F. Wade BDA Best timeMay – Oct Canary Islands Canary Islands Teide volcano, lava fields, eternal spring & the world’s oldest telescope Getting thereTenerife South TFS; Gran Canaria LPA; Lanzarote ACE Best timeYear-round Falkland Islands Falkland Islands Five penguin species, orca beach hunts & albatross colonies at world’s end Getting thereMount Pleasant MPN Best timeNov – Mar Faroe Islands Faroe Islands Sea stacks, turf-roofed villages & 10 million puffins in the wild North Atlantic Getting thereVágar FAE Best timeMay – Aug Greenland Greenland Cathedral icebergs, dog sledding & the world’s largest ice sheet Getting thereNuuk GOH; Kangerlussuaq SFJ; Ilulissat JAV Best timeJun – Aug / Jan – Mar Madeira Madeira Levada walks through laurel forest, espada & Madeira wine cellars Getting thereFunchal FNC; Porto Santo PXO Best timeApr – Oct Saint Helena Saint Helena Napoleon’s exile, world’s oldest tortoise & sustainable South Atlantic tuna Getting thereSaint Helena HLE (via Johannesburg) Best timeOct – Apr Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon France’s last North American territory — croissants, cod & Al Capone’s rum Getting thereSaint-Pierre FSP Best timeJun – Sep South Georgia South Georgia The wildlife capital of the Southern Ocean Getting thereNone — expedition ship from Stanley / Ushuaia Best timeNov – Mar (Antarctic summer) Svalbard Svalbard Polar bears, midnight sun & Soviet ghost town at 78° North Getting thereLongyearbyen LYR Best timeMay – Aug / Jan – Mar

Europe 5

Gibraltar Gibraltar The Rock at the gateway to the Mediterranean — macaques, WWII tunnels & dolphin pods Getting thereGibraltar GIB Best timeApr – Oct Guernsey Guernsey Victor Hugo's island of smugglers and wild cliffs Getting thereGuernsey GCI Best timeMay – Sep Isle of Man Isle of Man TT motorcycle races, world’s oldest parliament & Laxey Wheel Getting thereIsle of Man IOM (Ronaldsway) Best timeMay – Sep Jersey Jersey The Channel Islands' sun-soaked crown jewel Getting thereJersey JER Best timeMay – Sep Vatican City Vatican City The world's smallest country and spiritual heart of Catholicism Getting thereNone — nearest Rome FCO / CIA Best timeApr – Jun / Sep – Oct

The Americas 4

El Salvador El Salvador Pupusas, Pacific surf & volcanic crater lakes Getting thereSan Salvador SAL Best timeNov – Apr French Guiana French Guiana Amazon rainforest, rocket launches & Devil’s Island penal colony Getting thereCayenne CAY Best timeAug – Nov Guyana Guyana Kaieteur Falls, giant river otters & pristine Amazon frontier Getting thereGeorgetown GEO (Cheddi Jagan) Best timeSep – Nov / Feb – Apr Venezuela Venezuela Angel Falls, lost-world tepuis & Caribbean atolls Getting thereCaracas CCS Best timeDec – Apr

Asia & the Middle East 8

Afghanistan Afghanistan Band-e-Amir lakes, Bamiyan niches & the Wakhan Corridor — Central Asia’s crossroads Getting thereKabul KBL Best timeApr – Jun / Sep – Oct Iraq Iraq Cradle of civilisation — Babylon, Ur, Erbil & the Mesopotamian marshes Getting thereBaghdad BGW; Erbil EBL; Basra BSR Best timeOct – Apr Macau Macau Portuguese fado meets Chinese fireworks over the world’s biggest casino Getting thereMacau MFM; or Hong Kong HKG via ferry Best timeOct – Apr North Korea North Korea The most closed society on earth — Mass Games, Juche Tower & the DMZ Getting therePyongyang FNJ Best timeApr – Jun / Sep – Oct Palestine Palestine Bethlehem, Jericho & Nabulsi knafeh — the world’s most storied land Getting thereNone — via Tel Aviv TLV or Amman AMM Best timeMar – May / Sep – Nov Syria Syria Damascus, Palmyra, Krak des Chevaliers — the cradle of civilisation awakening Getting thereDamascus DAM; Aleppo ALP Best timeMar – May / Sep – Nov Turkmenistan Turkmenistan Door to Hell crater, white marble capital & Silk Road Merv Getting thereAshgabat ASB Best timeMar – May / Sep – Oct Yemen Yemen Dragon Blood Trees of Socotra, Sana’a tower houses & Yemeni honey Getting thereAden ADE; Sana’a SAH (limited service) Best timeOct – Mar

How this list works

Places are ranked by traveller interest across traveling-to.com — how often our guides to them are looked up — rather than official arrival statistics, which many small territories don’t publish. It includes countries and self-governing or overseas territories with their own guide on this site. Before booking any of them, check entry requirements and your government’s current travel advice: rules for remote places change often and permits can take months.