If you have checked out our blog before, you may know that Passport Symphony focuses on novelty destinations and its content is geared toward Travelrs who love to explore new things. However, some islands on our planet are giving a new meaning to the word “lost”. We start this list of the Most Isolated Islands in the world with Tromelin, a beautiful tropical island located about 600 km north of Mauritius and 2,500 km from the African continent. Officially, the island is part of the French Antarctic and Antarctic Lands, but Mauritius also claims it.
Most Isolated Island, Norway
Bjornoya, also known as Bear Island, is the southernmost island of the remote Svalbard archipelago. This island is located between mainland Europe and most of the other islands that make up the Svalbard archipelago (about 400 km from these two lands). The island is famous for its sacred nature, which is why it was declared a nature reserve in 2002.
Most Isolated Christmas Island, Australia
According to broadcaster and legendary biologist, David Attenborough, Christmas Island is one of the best nature experiences in the world. Every year, at the beginning of the rainy season, in the last quarter of the moon, the island hosts the annual migration of red crabs.
Novaya Zemlya, Russia
If you look at the map, Novaya Zemlya is not far from mainland Russia. In a geographically distant sense, the island is only 400 km from the nearest coastal city of the Russian mainland. However, the island’s harsh and hospitable climate and the fact that the mainland coastal towns near the island themselves are quite remote.
North Sentinel Island, India
North Sentinel Island is one of the 572 islands that make up the Andaman chain in the Bay of Bengal. Technically, the island is part of India but is inhabited by tribes of sentinels who want nothing to do with the modern world and are still very hostile to outside visitors. The island is located about 450 km off the coast of Myanmar and about 1,300 km from Chennai, the city closest to the Indian mainland.
Severnaya Zemlya, Russia
Severnaya Zemlya is another Russian archipelago in the Russian Arctic Uplands, located near the Taymyr Peninsula in Siberia, between the Laptev Sea to the east and the Kara Sea to the west. The island is famous for being home to the largest glacier in Russia, the 724-meter Academy of Science glacier.
Most Isolated Islands Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway
Speaking of the most isolated islands in the world, Spitsbergen is the largest and only inhabited island in the Svalbard archipelago. The island is located in the Arctic Circle, 950 km from Norway and 830 km from Greenland.
Macquarie Island, Australia
Located about 1,000 km from New Zealand and 2,000 km from Australia, Macquarie Island is one of the most isolated islands in the world. The island is home to about 40 people and more than 3 million seabirds, including nearly a million penguins.
Kiribati
Kiribati is an island nation in Oceania located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, about 4,000 km from Australia and 4,500 km from North America.
Easter Island, Chile
Located about 3,500 km off the coast of Chile, Easter Island is a small triangular volcanic island in the South Pacific Ocean famous for its giant stone statues that we all have seen through pictures but know. Despite being one of the most isolated islands in the world, Easter Island (or Hanga Roa) clearly has an ancient indigenous population, who have left remarkable traces of civilization.
Bouvet Island, Norway
Technically, Bouvet Island is a territory of Norway but the closest landmasses are Antarctica (about 1,600 km away) and South Africa (about 3,000 km away). The entire island is a nature reserve, meaning the Norwegian government severely limits the number of visitors each year with special permits issued only to research vessels.
Gambier Most Isolated Islands, French Polynesia
The Gambier Islands (not to be confused with Gamber Island in Canada) are a small volcanic archipelago in the Pacific Ocean, about 6,000 km from Chile and about 5,000 km from New Zealand.
Tristan da Cunha, British Overseas Territory
Tristan da Cunha is the southernmost point of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The island is about 3,000 km from South Africa and 4,000 km from the nearest coast of South America.
Most Isolated Islands Amsterdam Island, French Antarctic and Antarctic Lands
Located between Madagascar, Australia, and Antarctica, Amsterdam Island is part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands in the southern Indian Ocean. The island is inhabited by only 25 people, who are members of biological, meteorological, and geomagnetic research groups. Kerguelen Islands, French Antarctic, and Antarctic Lands
No list of the world’s most isolated islands would be complete without the most remote island of the French Arctic and Southern Lands. The Kerguelen Islands are a group of windswept islands in the Indian Ocean, with extensive scrub plains, glaciers, and rocky outcrops.
Finally, we end our list of the most isolated islands in the world with Pitcairn Island, a small volcanic island in the South Pacific Ocean. The closest land to Pitcairn Island is the Chilean coast, about 5,500 km away, and the New Zealand coast (a similar distance). The island sits at the heart of one of the world’s largest marine protected areas – 830,000 square kilometers (slightly larger than Texas) of the open ocean and is home to 47 people, making it a major resource area. The least populated country in the world.
