For many, traveling for pleasure is all about unplugging from the modern world and taking things slow. Though truly disconnecting from work is a struggle in the era of Zoom and Slack, it’s certainly possible to ease up on the throttle of life. That’s especially true should you find yourself somewhere that the maximum land speed depends on how fast you can pedal a bicycle—or how feisty the nearest donkey is feeling.
It may seem strange, but those modes of transportation are a fact of life for those who live on some of the world’s most well-known carless islands. Far from uninhabited backwaters, the 11 examples here are rich with histories that go back centuries (even millennia), collectively offering a mix of art, architecture, and culture spanning from classical to contemporary. And as you’d expect on most islands worth visiting, most of these low-speed locales are blessed with an abundance of natural beauty.
So get your ferry tickets ready. It’s time for a closer look at a unique collection of islands that offer an opportunity to take your foot off the gas and unwind.
Photo: Getty Images/Patti Reddoch
Mackinac Island, Michigan
Found in the Straits of Mackinac separating Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas, Mackinac Island is like stepping into the past—and not just because horse-drawn carriages remain a relatively common mode of transport. In the nearly 250 years after the establishment of Fort Mackinac in 1780, the island has become a living time capsule of American architecture, showcasing styles ranging from Colonial to Victorian, both Gothic and Tudor revivals, not to mention the Arts and Crafts home which serves as the official summer residence reserved for Michigan’s governors. Though that’s more than enough to earn the entire island US National Historic Landmark status, Mackinac Island State Park, Arch Rock, and the convergence of Lakes Huron and Michigan add a layer of natural splendor.
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Heligoland, Germany
Fearing its past and its potential strategic value to Germany, the British Royal Navy quite literally tried to bomb this North Sea archipelago out of existence in 1947. Today, Heligoland attracts all manner of holiday visitors interested in its unusual formations of red sedimentary and Buntsandstein rocks (including the famed Lange Anna), abandoned military installations, and the beachy landscapes of Dune, its eastern isle. Though German traffic law explicitly forbids the public from using cars or even bicycles on Heligoland, the appeal of its flora, fauna, and simple yet unapologetically colorful wooden buildings more than make up for the inconvenience.
Photo: Getty Images/Patrick Altmann
Paquetá, Brazil
Less than 10 miles from the bustle of Rio de Janeiro, Paquetá offers a welcome reprieve from its traffic and noise, not to mention a different way to see tourist hot spots like Sugarloaf Mountain and Christ the Redeemer. Though the beaches of this island in Guanabara Bay may lack the cultural cache of Copacabana or Ipanema, the relative absence of crowds and commotion more than make up for it. Spend a Sunday biking the five miles of the island to hear the chimes of São Roque chapel (an island fixture since 1697) and ever-present samba music.
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Lamu Island, Kenya
As a major hub of regional trade since pre-Islamic times, this island just off the coast of Kenya is awash in history and culture. Case in point: It’s where an old town that UNESCO considers “the oldest and best preserved example of Swahili settlement in East Africa” comingles with Arabic architecture and elements of Indian and Chinese culture. Visitors can still explore Lamu’s coasts by climbing aboard a dhow, the same kind of traditional Indian Ocean sailing vessels that once carried coffee, spices, and ivory to and from throughout the region, though traveling by donkey is an alternative for landlubbers.
Photo: Getty Images/Vladislav Zolotov
Venice, Italy
Though technically an archipelago of 100-plus islands connected by hundreds of bridges, Venice nonetheless constitutes Europe’s largest car-free zone. That’s no real hindrance for art and architecture lovers, who can take in Renaissance-era landmarks like the Ponte Rialto, Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute, and the Doge’s palace by taking a vaporetti ride through the Grand Canal or traversing the floating city’s extensive network of pedestrian bridges. However, no trip to Venice is truly complete without an intimate gondola ride through some of its quieter waterways.
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Lopud, Croatia
Leave the Venetian Lagoon behind and cross the Adriatic to take in Lopud, the gem of Croatia’s Elaphiti Islands. Under an hour’s ferry ride from Dubrovnik’s medieval fortifications, this car-free island boasts multiple 15th-century churches that may yet make an appearance in one Game of Thrones spinoff. For fans of fantastical landmarks rooted in the present, Lopud is the permanent home of the Your Black Horizon Art Pavilion, Olafur Eliasson’s art and architecture-fusing installation which made its debut at Venice Biennale 2005.
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Hydra Island, Greece
Defined in equal measure by pebbly beaches for sunbathing and steep, narrow cobblestone hills that make donkeys more valuable than anything with wheels, Hydra offers a quintessentially Greek experience that’s a doable day trip from Athens. Compared to the Acropolis, however, most of the landmarks on this Saronic Island are of a slightly more recent vintage: think 10th-century Greek Orthodox monasteries and mansions displaying collections of locally sourced 18th-century furniture. If you’re looking for something even more contemporary (or you’ve been dying to see a Jeff Koons sculpture in a converted slaughterhouse), visitors in the high summer season can peruse the collection of Greek collector Dakis Joannou at the Deste Foundation.
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Caye Caulker, Belize
Fitting for a small Caribbean island where “go slow” functions as the de facto motto, Caye Caulker is devoid of pretty much anything faster than a golf cart. But when walking from the windward side of the island to a stunning leeward sunset only takes minutes, you won’t be complaining. Appropriate for a place that was largely uninhabited until the 19th century, the five miles of limestone coral that make up Caye Caulker are full of mangrove forests and exotic birds, both of which provide plenty of reasons to slow down and get in touch with the natural world. And for those who long to explore scuba dive spots like the Belize Barrier Reef and the Great Blue Hole, Caye Caulker is a perfect base of operations.
Photo: Getty Images
Marstrand, Sweden
Home to the imposing Carlsten Fortress as well as Sweden’s oldest synagogue, this small island to the northwest of Gothenburg played an outsized role in 16th- and 17th-century Scandinavian history. These days, it’s known as a place to spot famous Swedes and sleek sailboats, especially when Match Cup Sweden, one of the longest-running stops on the World Match Racing Tour, passes through in early July. Despite that cosmopolitan aura, Marstrand’s cobblestone, car-free streets and quaint homes still offer plenty of opportunities to step into Sweden’s past.
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Lamma Island, Hong Kong
If you need a break from the density and dazzling lights of Kowloon or the towering skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island but don’t want to fully leave civilization behind, Lamma Island is just a quick ferry ride away. Though a chart-reading error saddled the island with a name that translates to “mud” (lama) in Portuguese, the presence of placid, sandy beaches like Lo So Shing certainly defy that notion. Waterfront restaurants offer views of the more aptly named area Picnic Bay. Another perfect way to pass the time is through the network of hiking trails that lead to Lamma’s abundance of scenic overlooks, which are well worth exploring for those who want to see Hong Kong from a fresh perspective.
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Koh Phi Phi, Thailand
Situated between Phuket and the Straits of Malacca, the Phi Phi Islands are one of the most majestic beachside locales in Thailand, if not all of Southeast Asia. Though tuk-tuks and taxis are a no-go, all you need is a spot on a longtail boat to cruise around the limestone cliffs surrounding Koh Phi Phi Le’s Maya Bay, the highly Instagrammable backdrop setting of 2000’s Leonardo Dicarpio movie, The Beach. And, though a sizable tsunami destroyed the vast majority of buildings on the archipelago just four years later, its collection of recently established resorts means there are plenty of places to stay in this slice of paradise.
Photo: Getty Images/Patti Reddoch
Photo: Getty Images/Patti Reddoch
Photo: Getty Images/Patti Reddoch
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Photo: Getty Images/Patrick Altmann
Photo: Getty Images/Patrick Altmann
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Photo: Getty Images/Vladislav Zolotov
Photo: Getty Images/Vladislav Zolotov
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