How to Survive (and Actually Enjoy) Off-Grid Travel

Thinking of ditching the grid for a few days of wilderness and wonder? From forest cabins to desert van life, here’s how to do remote travel right — with the help of a few modern upgrades.

Let’s be honest: Most of us aren’t heading into the wild to prove we can rub two sticks together and make fire. We’re there for the views, the peace, and maybe to post a smug little sunrise story once we’ve brewed our campsite coffee.

But remote travel isn’t always as romantic as the drone shots make it look. Get too cocky, and “off the grid” becomes “off your rocker”: You’re hangry, lost and out of power as the sun is setting.

“Off-grid doesn’t mean punishment. You don’t have to summit Everest or poop into a hole in the rain to prove you’re badass.”

The good news? With a little planning, a few creature comforts, and the right gear (like a portable power station that keeps your phone, fridge and flashlight going strong), you can actually enjoy your unplugged adventure.

Let’s break it down — from what to pack to the biggest surprises no one tells you about going remote. Spoiler: You’ll want extra snacks, backup socks and just enough signal to cue up your hiking playlist.

1. Choose your wild wisely

Off-grid doesn’t mean punishment. You don’t have to summit Everest or poop into a hole in the rain to prove you’re badass. Remote travel can look like a stargazing dome in the desert, a lakeside yurt, or a national forest cabin with a wood-burning stove and exactly zero bars of service.

Start with a place that thrills and comforts you. Is there a stream to dip your feet in? A boulder to pose dramatically on? A backup gas station within 45 minutes? All valid considerations.

Pro tip: Check trail conditions, weather, and the closest place to get both tacos and gas. If either is over an hour away, you’re in real “better-have-a-power-source” territory.

2. Pack for your mood, not just the map

Sure, you’ve got hiking boots, granola and a bandana. But what about a fan for when your camper turns into a sweat lodge? Or a way to light up your tent with soft fairy lights instead of blinding headlamps? 

Modern adventurers don’t just pack for survival. They pack to set the mood — for cooking, journaling, reading, vibing. That might mean a camp stove for real meals, a portable pour-over coffeemaker, or a solar string of fairy lights that turns your tent into a woodland cocktail lounge. Bonus points if you’ve got a way to power a fan or charge your Kindle without draining your car battery.

3. Make your car your command center

In remote areas, your car isn’t just for transport; it’s your fortress, pantry and power hub. Whether you’re camping out of it or just relying on it to get back to town, treat it like mission control.

Stock it with snacks, water, emergency gear and something that doesn’t run off your car battery. That way, your GPS can stay juiced and your cooler can hum along without draining your vehicle’s life force.

4. Unplug intentionally

Going remote doesn’t mean disappearing. The goal isn’t to vanish like a 2013 Facebook friend. It’s to choose when and how to disconnect.

Want to film your hike? Great. Want to read an ebook in a hammock with your phone on airplane mode? Fab.

The trick is to prep before you lose signal: Download maps, cue your playlist, set that away message. And bring backup power so you’re not stuck watching your battery die at 12% while you argue over whether the trail split left or right.

5. Eat like you’re on a picnic, not a survival show

We all love a good challenge — but soggy oatmeal and a melted protein bar does not a wilderness feast make. 

Just because you’re off the grid doesn’t mean you need to live like a raccoon. A mini stove, a small cooler and a foldable pan can turn a clearing into a forest bistro. Pancakes hit different at 10,000 feet.

6. Embrace the elements — but also outsmart them

Nature is stunning. It’s also rude. It will throw wind at your tent, sunburn you while you nap, and laugh while your map disintegrates in the rain.

Smart adventurers embrace the elements, sure — but they also plan like they’ve been bitch-slapped by Mother Nature before. 

Bring layers, slather on sunblock, stay hydrated — and always have a backup battery when the wind kills your power line and you need to Google “how to build a windbreak with a tarp.”

7. Sleep smarter, not harder

There’s nothing quite like a night under the stars. Until your air mattress deflates, your lantern dies, and something snuffles around your tent at 3 a.m.

Here’s the fix: Prep your sleep zone like it’s the Ritz-Carlton of canvas. Pack a cozy sleeping bag, throw in some soft lantern lighting (pro tip: solar-powered lights save you the panic of dead batteries), and make peace with the fact that every twig snap will sound like a bear.

8. Make your trip your own kind of wild

Not every off-grid trip needs to look like a Patagonia ad. Some people want to summit peaks. Others want to write poetry in a hammock, sip local wine, or catch their dinner in a creek.

Build your experience around what you love. And make sure you’ve got the power — literal and metaphorical — to do it.

Whether you’re filming waterfalls with your drone or journaling by lantern light, build your own version of wild. Download your maps ahead of time. Pack a rechargeable fan if it’s going to be toasty — or a pocket hand warmer if you’re chasing frost-kissed views.

Get Lost — Just Not Completely

Remote travel isn’t about proving you can suffer. It’s about trading noise for birdsong, to-do lists for trail maps, and overhead fluorescents for moonlight. And honestly? It’s a lot more magical when you’re not fumbling in the dark with 2% battery.

With a little prep, a healthy respect for the unexpected, and a few modern lifesavers, you can leave chaos behind — without going full caveman.

So go off-grid-ish. Hike until your legs hurt. Eat grilled cheese in the forest. Read by lantern light. And when someone says, “I could never do that,” smile — because you know the secret: The wild’s a lot more fun when you’re ready for it. –Wally

Overnight in the Sahara Desert

No trip to Morocco is complete without a camel ride to a Berber camp at Erg Chigaga. 

The tents are spacious and have carpets lining the walls to keep the warmth in.

There are some adventures that offer a one-of-a-kind experience that simply can’t be passed over. For Wally and me, an overnight at a Berber camp in the middle of the Sahara Desert fell into this category.

Besides, the road trip from Marrakech takes you to some amazing stopovers, including Atlas Studios and Aït Benhaddou. 

“The camel was wide-eyed with fear or fury, rearing its head and making terrible Chewbacca-like warbles. 

“Nous avons peur!” Wally exclaimed, which translates to “We are scared!””

Look how happy being in the beautiful and vast Sahara made Duke, Wally and Vanessa!

On the Road Again

After spending the night in Ouarzazate, Wally, Vanessa and I set out with our driver, Barak, to Erg Chigaga. Prior to our trip, we had debated at length whether to set off for the desert from Erg Chebbi or Erg Chigaga, and settled upon the latter — perhaps just because it sounded a bit like Chicago.

The landscape beyond Ouarzazate is covered with scrub and jagged rocks. Hillsides are mostly barren, covered with loose-looking boulders and thorny bushes. The rock color shifts from mountain to mountain — red ochre at first, then a sulfurous basalt green and finally a deep coal black. The large angular red rocks of the Anti-Atlas range jut out in a staccato formation like massive fallen Jenga blocks littering the mountainsides.

Unfortunately, even remote places like the Sahara aren’t immune to pollution. Disposable plastic bags of blue, faded rose, green, pale lavender and yellow littered the landscape like deflated balloons.

The Sahara isn’t an immediate vast expanse of sand — the first hour or so of our camel ride was over semi-rocky terrain with green outcroppings here and there.

Draa Valley: It’s a Date

We passed through Zagora, the last major town, 60 miles outside of the small rural outpost of M’hamid El Ghizlane, our departure point for our desert adventure. 

Zagora is located in the fertile Draa River Valley and was originally known as Tazagourt, the singular of the plural Tizigirt, Berber for Twin Peaks, referring to the mountains that flank the village. A sea of lush green date palms lined the road, seeming to stretch endlessly. Since they happened to be in season, they were heavy with ripening fruit. Dates are a big agricultural business in Zagora and are sold roadside, in local shops and in the markets of Marrakech. I regret that we didn’t stop and try some.

We purchased bottles of water at a small shop while a little boy with a Spider-Man backpack watched us curiously from an alley across the street.

Upon arrival in M’hamid, we were a bit shocked when we pulled into a dusty parking lot that was literally across the street from the desert. The three of us decided to use the restroom before heading out. It was the foulest bathroom I’ve ever been in, and the stench haunts me to this day. 

Camels aren’t the most pleasant creature to ride upon.

Zou Zou le Fou Fou: The Camel From Hell

Something wasn’t right. As we were queuing up to be paired with the camels we would be riding out to the encampment in the middle of the Sahara, one was noticeably smaller than the others. Crouching on all fours, the camel’s front right leg was folded up and bound with what looked like an Ace bandage. The animal was wide-eyed with fear or fury, rearing its head and making terrible Chewbacca-like warbles. 

Barak presented the camels with a flourish. We all took a step backward simultaneously, staring at him, wide-eyed. Wally, who can speak French, asked if there was another camel we could ride instead of the bucking bronco. Barak asked the handlers, then shook his head no.

“Nous avons peur!” Wally exclaimed, which translates to “We are scared!”

Barak could see the terror in our eyes but tried to assure us that Zou Zou, for that was the camel’s name, would be perfectly safe. He explained that she was young and her leg was tied up like that because that’s how they train camels to kneel for passengers to climb on top of them.

Wally muttered that the camel’s name should instead be Fou Fou, a play upon the French word for “crazy.” 

After we all stood there, staring in horror at the thrashing, spitting Zou Zou, Vanessa bravely volunteered to ride her. We thanked her profusely, and she shrugged and said she figured she was the lightest.

Camels spit and eat shit, and riding them is a bit like being on a slow-mo mechanical bull.

Wally rode Mujeres, an ironically named male camel (it’s the word for “women” in Spanish). Mujeres enjoyed stopping to eat Zou Zou’s dung nuggets en route to the camp, which was funny, disgusting and annoying all at once. My camel’s name was Mimoun. He was mostly well behaved, aside from periodically making a series of unpleasant gurgles.

All aboard the camel train! We caravan out to the middle of the Sahara.

Camel Ride 

The camels were tethered together and led by a guide on foot. We had an hour-and-a-half camel ride out to our encampment. There’s a saddle of sorts, covered with a doormat-sized rug and a pair of handles not unlike those found on a bicycle. 

Guidebooks tend to gloss over the fact that a camel’s awkward gait makes for a bumpy ride. It’s basically like riding a mechanical bull.

Our guide whipped out his cell phone and chatted away, which took us out of the moment. “Who knew they’d get better reception in the middle of the desert than in some parts of Chicago?” Wally quipped.

Vanessa takes a selfie while camelback.

Guidebooks also neglect to mention that the desert isn’t all drifting dunes. We expected the desert to start with a dramatic line of sand like you’d see in a cartoon. But the first leg of our journey into the Sahara was rocky and punctuated by gnarled outcrops of mastic and cypress trees. 

It wasn’t until we got closer to camp that the foliage disappeared, the sand turned an intense orange, and the ergs, or sand dunes, emerged. 

Duke explores our Berber encampment.

Berber Camp

The camp consisted of several tents whose interiors were covered with blankets. Upon arrival, we were served what locals love to call “Berber whiskey” but is disappointedly mint tea, a sign of hospitality. It was all a bit surreal being surrounded by nothing but dunes and knowing that we were halfway to the border of Algeria, which was undergoing some political unrest at the time. 

Wally got up early to climb a dune for a moment of zen.

There was a tent for eating and separate tents for sleeping. Our desert companions included a large group of Dutch travelers. They tittered as they asked our guides if they had a magic carpet, could charm snakes or summon genies. (Wally and I, by contrast, know that jinn are no laughing matter. In fact, we blamed them for our camera having malfunctioned, causing us to lose most of our photos of the trip. Once again, shoutout to Vanessa for sharing some of her photos with us.)

Vanessa and Wally hanging out at camp. There’s not a lot to do except admire the view — and experience traditional Berber music around a bonfire at night.

We arrived at camp just as the sun was setting. The sky changed from pink to amber to a deep blue before darkening to an intense black as soon as the sun dipped beneath the horizon. I let my mind wander and hummed a few bars of “Tea in the Sahara,” a song by the British band the Police, inspired by Paul Bowles’ bleak novel The Sheltering Sky. 

Vanessa in our tent

Duke and Wally lounge in the tent, glad they didn’t have to share it with any of the boisterous Dutch travelers.

The stars were absolutely incredible and the three of us laid down on the sand outside of our tent to look up at the night sky, feeling utterly small and at peace. After a while, we joined the group and sat around a bonfire, listening to our hosts intensely play drums and sing ritual Berber music. 

The sand in the Sahara blazes a bright orange.

You’ve probably heard that while deserts can be scorching hot during the day, they get to be surprisingly cold at night. We awoke the next morning and put on our sweaters and scarves. Much to Wally’s relief, no scorpions had crawled into his boots.

Wally and Duke were glad they took a couple of days to travel to the Sahara.

The beauty of the sunrise was amazing — it’s not every day that you begin by leaving a tent to climb a sand dune in the Sahara Desert. The sunlight made the ochre grains of sand glow, and we sat there for a bit in a meditative state. It almost seemed disrespectful to break the silence with our voices.

As we rode our camels back to Erg Chigaga, we began to feel the effects of the previous day’s trek. As mentioned, camels are not comfortable rides. With their arched backs and their lurching around, shifting me almost comically sideways, I found myself tightly gripping with my legs. After our ride, all three of us had a piercing pain right in the taint, which Wally coined “camel crotch.”

Obligatory cameltoe pic

We would have liked to spend more time in the desert, but we had to get on the road for the long journey back to Marrakech. The trip was about eight hours, returning through the treacherous turns of the Atlas Mountains. As we neared Marrakech, I noticed storm clouds on the horizon. –Duke

 

6 of the Best Glamping Spots in the U.S.

Glamping destinations with luxury amenities in gorgeous natural settings, including Safari West and Ventana Big Sur.

Glam + camping = glamping! Who says you need to rough it while you’re enjoying the Great Outdoors?

Ah, nature. Whether it’s the chirping of birds, the meandering of a crystal-clear stream or sleeping under the stars, there’s a reason it's called the Great Outdoors. But for those of you who wish to experience Mother Nature but not forgo luxury, why not go for a glamping spree? Enjoy the delights of camping — without an uncomfortable night’s sleep or communal bathrooms.

Here are my favorite glamping destinations in the U.S.:

Giddyup! The Resort at Paws Up is set on a working dude ranch.

1. The Resort at Paws Up, Greenough, Montana 

Located outside Missoula in central Montana, this authentic working dude ranch and resort occupies an astounding 37,000-acres of unspoiled wilderness. Ride a chuck wagon, fly-fish on the Blackfoot River or watch the breathtaking sunsets after a spa treatment. 

The property boasts luxurious accommodations and amenities including six campsites with safari-style tents featuring fine linens, electricity, private en-suite bathrooms with rain showers and jet tubs. There’s even an onsite butler who caters to your every whim.  

Rustic chic interiors include en-suite bathrooms. Oh, and if you need something, just ring for the butler.

Features

• Adventure activities like cattle wrangling, horse riding, kayaking, mountain biking and fishing in the Blackfoot River are popular here. 

• Or just relax in the spa tents, surrounded by the sounds of birds, cool breezes and good vibes.

They don’t call Safari West “the Sonoma Serengeti” for nothing.

2. Safari West, Santa Rosa, California

This 400-acre private wildlife preserve supports the conservation of 1,000 exotic animals and birds. Creatures that span the entire African continent are the draw at this top-notch safari resort, dubbed “the Sonoma Serengeti.” The luxury tents, imported from Botswana, include a private viewing deck, an en-suite bathroom, vintage furniture, king-sized beds, hardwood floors and other “essential” amenities.

Take a safari right in California and stay in African tents that have bathrooms and viewing decks.

Features

• Who says you need to go to Africa to go on a safari? At Safari West you can spot giraffes, rhinos, cheetahs, lemurs, zebras, a gorgeous big cat called a caracal and dozens of other species.

• Enjoy regional delicacies at the Savannah Café and fill your tummy with delicious food.

Pair a trip to the famous national park with a glamping trip to Collective Yellowstone.

3. Collective Yellowstone, Big Sky, Montana

Located about an hour west of the park’s boundaries beneath Lone Peak, this stunning retreat connects guests with their natural surroundings while providing them with luxurious comforts. Each teepee-like tent is outfitted with a king-size bed, electricity, a wood-burning stove, a full bathroom and a chandelier. You won’t have to think about a thing at this glamping hotspot famous for its sunsets and forest safari, as their dedicated concierges will attend to your every need. Oh, and there’s a nightly communal campfire with s’mores. 

Keep warm inside the teepee-like tents, which feature wood-burning stoves.

Features

• The glamping sites featuring a private deck fill up fast — be sure to book in advance.

• World-class chefs offer dishes at any time of day to be consumed with gorgeous views. 

Amazing redwoods surround the Ventana glamping resort.

4. Ventana, Big Sur, California

Walk among the massive redwoods or stare out at the ocean along the rugged Pacific coastline. This resort, part of the Alila family, occupies 160 acres, and its 15 luxury glamping tents include modern amenities like USB ports (so you can charge those phones!), hot and cold running water as well as nightly turndown service with hot cocoa and hot-water bottles to warm your sheets.

Take a dip in the pool when you’re not hanging out in your luxury tent or exploring the environs.

 Features 

• The campground is situated along a redwood canyon. Each glamping spot includes a deck with two firepits: one wood-burning, one propane.

• Try your hand at falconry, getting up close and personal with these birds that can dive at speeds over 240 mph. 

Ever wanted to play a real-live version of Oregon Trail — minus the dysentery? Rustle up some fun at Conestoga Ranch.

5. Conestoga Ranch, Garden City, Utah

If you like to glamp by a large body of water, consider this top-notch spot situated on the shores of the turquoise blue waters of Bear Lake. The 18-acre-long ranch calls to mind the Old West. Guests can choose from authentically styled Conestoga Wagons, or cozy traditional family tents each outfitted with soft beds and fresh linens. The Grand Family Tents feature en-suite bathrooms. 

Circle up the wagons! This glamping resort offers a one-of-kind experience.

 Features

• There’s something for everyone. Want a romantic getaway? Try the Royal or Grand Tents, which include bathrooms. Family and friends can stay in the same vicinity as part of the Circle the Wagons package.

• Spend your days exploring the area on complimentary cruiser bikes or playing volleyball, lawn games, ping-pong or air hockey. You can even get a s’mores kit delivered to your wagon.

If you’ve always wanted to stay in a treehouse, there’s an amazing one at Moose Meadow Lodge.

6. Moose Meadow Lodge & Treehouse, Waterbury, Vermont

For a different take on glamping, satisfy your childhood dream of staying in a treehouse. And what a treehouse this is! It’s two stories of rustic chic, with a spiral staircase that wraps around a giant maple. Situated amidst more than 80 acres of lush mountains, this is a great spot to enjoy the tranquility of nature. 

The rustic chic interior of the treehouse, which wraps it way around a maple.

Features

• Of course your stay doesn’t have to be peaceful all the time. Catch an adrenaline rush with local outdoor activities, including skiing, biking and fishing. The less-sportif can spend a day antiquing.

• Enjoy the view from the Sky Loft, a mountaintop enclosed gazebo, or go for a winter wonderland adventure with complimentary snowshoes and sleds.

Camp in style as in this setup at Paws Up resort in Montana.

Happy Glampers 

This is the year to do your luxury travel a bit closer to home. For Americans in quarantine, the good news is that there are plenty of picturesque and fulfilling glamping experiences from the West Coast to the East Coast. Get the isolation of the outdoors without sacrificing any of the comforts of home. –Rebecca Siggers