In The Know: Barefoot Luxury Travel in 2026

As we wade into the latter half of the year and look toward the trends of 2027, we’re observing the latest incarnation of sole-to-earth travel moving beyond simply the beach. Across the most interesting new hotels and lusted-after retreats, the luxury proposition for raw, liberated vacationing is spreading into forests, volcanic valleys, working orchards, deserts and even the Arctic wilderness. Wellness is seeping out of treatment rooms – away from biomarker testing and science-obsessed optimization – and returning to the elemental tenets of fire, water, earth and cold air. Hotels are deliberately reducing how many people they accommodate and guests are increasingly being invited to put their devices away and learn to listen to the colors of the wind again.

With this in mind, we’ve explored a number of the most alluring threads within this new phase of mindful wanderlust.

While beaches will forever be a staple of barefoot luxury, the appetite for peeling back the layers and getting reacquainted with nature is now taking up residence in orchards, forests, mountain valleys and floricultural lands, with the varied nature of the landscape very much the draw.

In Northern Ireland, Galgorm – a luxury estate in County Antrim near Ballymena – is a phenomenal interpretation of this. Set within 450 acres of parkland, with the River Maine running through it, its extensive Thermal Spa Village flows out into the landscape, with riverside hot tubs, woodland bathing and peaceful experiences built around and into the fresh air. The trees, but also the weather, are more than half the point.

At the dramatically different end of the spectrum is Mantis Hiddn in Addo, a new off-grid lodge in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, set across 800 hectares of largely unpopulated mountain wilderness beside Addo Elephant National Park. Its isolation is truly the main amenity: low-impact accommodation, walking, wildlife and wellness embedded within the landscape. Earthing at its very finest.

Next, there is the travel trend designed around simply being unreachable. Eyes might twitch at the suggestion of another ‘digital detox’ for 2027, but after we’ve spent the last few years making vacations increasingly productive, with overblown itineraries scheduling even our supposed wellness moments between the work calls we promised not to have, we’re swinging back toward going, effectively, AWOL. And travel hosts are leaning into the idea, without the anxiety of literally confiscating your devices.

England’s Hadspen Valley, sequestered within Somerset’s rolling orchards, offers a particularly lovely excuse to sheath your screens. Down a country lane, among literally hundreds of apple trees, Chloë and Ed Sandeman have placed just two beautifully designed cabins within their working cider farm. There are king-sized beds, linen sheets and alfresco baths, but the pleasures are deliberately simple: cooking over an open fire, wandering agenda-free through the valley, where you are incredibly unlikely to happen upon another soul, or watching cattle on the ridge. Bring a book, light a few logs, lose an afternoon and definitely put your phone on ‘Do Not Disturb.’

Vision Lodge in East Greenland is a slightly more extreme option that also uses geography as its greatest asset for a reset. Close to the tiny settlement of Tiilerilaaq, the lodge accommodates only six guests at a time, offering an awe-inspiring guided experience of the surrounding fjords, glaciers and drifting icebergs.

And if the beach is still what your heart desires, the incredible Nihi Sumba, set on the western coast of the Indonesian island, puts both psychological and very literal distance between you and anyone who could possibly be triggering notifications. The currency here is views of the Indian Ocean, waterfalls, horseback riding, wandering through the lush landscape or doing very little at all.

The spa’s great outdoors era has arrived. We’ve spent years upping the ante in terms of tech and wellness – diving into longevity diagnostics, IV drips, cryotherapy chambers and data dashboards – but a new wave is moving vigorously back in the other direction. Heat. Cold. Water. Nature. Darkness. Stars. Think: glacier-fed plunges, geothermal pools, salt chambers and natural springs.

Octant Furnas in the Azores makes an excellent case for this. Its October Furnas Reset is structured around the five elements, with thermal waters, forest immersion, breathwork, sound healing and a fire ritual beside Furnas Lake. Even lunch follows the theme: the region’s traditional cozido is cooked underground using geothermal heat.

At The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Wadi Desert, its new Starlight Meditation Journey combines private meditation with guided stargazing and historic Bedouin storytelling beneath the desert sky. Guests can also cross dunes on foot, take sunrise yoga, watch wildlife or ride on horseback. But don’t be afraid, luxury chasers: you can return from contemplating infinity beneath the stars to an enormous villa and private pool. This is, after all, possibly one of the most luxurious retreats on the globe.

Where once grandeur and scale were the epitome of upscale travel, now, in the barefoot universe, the reverse is true. Villa Eden in Merano contains just 25 suites. They’ve deliberately limited the number of rooms in order to preserve guests’ privacy and tranquility – and to provide seriously attentive, personalized service. The Revery on the Greek island of Crete similarly has 24 keys, spread across an 11-acre private cove. Its handful of cliffside suites are deliberately dispersed to create the sensation of having far more of the landscape to yourself than should reasonably be possible.

While some resorts ensure their attendants are a constant presence, with butlers at your beck and call and a chaperone between every venue, in 2026, true barefoot luxury is ‘ghost service’: the anticipatory, decadent fulfillment of your needs and whims, delivered before you even know you want for anything. Following your advance preferences, your fire is lit at a certain time of day, your dinner appears when you want it to, somebody has remembered what you drink and a romantic table is waiting for you on the beach.

It works particularly well at tiny properties, private villas and remote camps, where guests do not want to feel too managed. At Hadspen in Somerset, breakfast appears on your doorstep before you’ve stirred, while at the Waldorf Astoria Seychelles Platte Island, the private island’s highly trained hosts unobtrusively take care of details before anyone needs to ask. A transfer from the jet is waiting, while a gorgeously prepared setup of blankets, throws, recliner cushions and side tables invites you to enjoy a peaceful, romantic sunset on the beach for two – with not another soul in sight.

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