Nature deserves the rave reviews it gets, but what's with all the bugs?
Comfort in the Wild, the brand-new coffee-table book from Frommer's, showcases more than 100 awe-inspiring natural destinations you can experience without sacrificing a decent mattress, an en suite bathroom, thoughtful design, or a fresh, well-made meal.
Author Jane Wooldridge, an award-winning travel journalist with the Miami Herald, finds those amenities in lush jungles, stark deserts, icy polar regions, and other remote reaches in this globe-spanning book.
Her insightful prose accompanies a multitude of vivid photos that will have you dreaming of safaris in the African savannah, cowboy culture on Montana ranches, Himalaya-hopping in Bhutan, and penguin-spotting in Antarctica. Featured accommodations range from traditional hotels and lodges to treehouses, glampsites, and otherworldly bubbles.
And this being a Frommer's book, the inspiration comes with practicalities to help you plan an adventure of your own. The wild comforts Wooldridge highlights don't all require luxury budgets, either. As she writes in the book's introduction, "Some cost about the same as a chain motel; others are priced for the well-walleted and special-occasion splurgers."
Of course, delving into Comfort in the Wild has plenty of rewards for the armchair traveler as well—and simply turning the pages won't involve any bugs, either. Depending on the state of your armchair.
To whet your wanderlust, scroll on for an exclusive look at a selection of the book's most stirring images.
Anavilhanas Jungle Lodge in Brazil: The Amazon, Minus Mosquitoes
Immerse yourself in the Amazon rainforest to see spider monkeys and rare, colorful birds, paddle through streams dyed black by tannins, or simply settle into the hammock in your blessedly air-conditioned cottage at this jungle lodge along the Rio Negro in Brazil.
Nomad Entamanu Ngorongoro Safari Camp in Tanzania: The Beautiful Edge
Thanks to its proximity to the access gate of Tanzania's wildlife-rich Ngorongoro Crater, this safari camp gives guests plenty of chances for laying eyes on zebras, gazelles, wildebeests, elephants, lions, and maybe even a black rhino. "All 10 cottages are crafted from wood and designed to blend with the surrounding grasses while providing views across the crater bowl," writes Wooldridge.
Secret Bay in Dominica: A Luxe Caribbean Hideaway
The exclusive Secret Bay resort encompasses 27 villas on 40 acres high above a trio of small beaches on the Caribbean island of Dominica. "Each villa has its own plunge pool and gourmet kitchen and comes with a dedicated attendant who will cook up your breakfast or dinner on request," explains Comfort in the Wild.
The Summit at Big Bend in Texas: A Cave Beneath the Stars
Snagging one of the two glass-fronted cave rooms at the Summit resort in dusty Terlingua, Texas, gives overnighters panoramic views of the stars across the Chihuahuan Desert near Big Bend National Park. "The arid land seems to stretch forever" under "some of America's darkest skies," Wooldridge marvels.
Firelight Camps in Upstate New York: Forest Glamping
"Firelight Camps feels like it was born from the forest itself, without a trace of corporate slick," Wooldridge claims of this glamping site in woodsy Ithaca, New York, where 19 tents are outfitted with plank floors, colorful rugs, and outdoor decks with rocking chairs. Waterfalls, cider houses, and wineries are all within hiking distance.
320 Guest Ranch in Montana: Playing Cowboy Under a Big Sky
Situated in the Gallatin Valley of Montana, 320 Guest Ranch lets you ride gentle horses through wildflower fields and go fly-fishing in the same stream filmed for A River Runs Through It. Gazing at the dazzling stars from your cabin porch in the evening, it's not hard to understand why they call this Big Sky Country.
Hell's Backbone Grill & Farm in Southern Utah: Fine Dining on a Rocky Spine
Set on a rocky ridge in Utah's Grand Staircase-Escalante region, Hell's Backbone might occupy a surprising location for a much-revered gourmet restaurant. But there's no disputing the skill of co-owners and chefs Blake Spalding and Jen Castle, known for transforming locally sourced meat and produce (such as the beets pictured above) grown on their own farm into delicacies including bison-and-beef meatloaf, vegetarian posole, and Castle's "Jenchilada."
Areias do Seixo in Coastal Portugal: Chic Boutique on the Beach
Though just an hour's drive from Lisbon, this "bunkerlike" boutique hotel supplies a "quiet refuge from city life," Wooldridge writes, with top-notch wellness and culinary offerings amid an interior design incorporating concrete, stone, and unfinished logs. But although the design is industrial chic, it manages to blend into the natural setting, with huge terraces affording views of pool, garden, and ocean.
National Geographic–Lindblad Expeditions Cruises in Antarctica: Voyage to the White Continent
The polar explorers of a century ago would be gobsmacked by today's Antarctic cruises, such as the National Geographic sailings operated by Lindblad Expeditions aboard ships with spas, gyms, fluffy duvets, and Schnapps-laced hot chocolate, according to Comfort in the Wild. Course, you've probably come for the penguins.
Finn Lough in Northern Ireland: Bubbles in the Forest
In a forest only about 30 minutes from seaside Donegal, each of the 15 bubble domes of Finn Lough encloses a four-poster bed and adjoining bath. "Inside the cocoon, you’re surrounded by oak, silver birch, hazel, ash, rowan, and alder adorned with the bearded lichen and moss that grow only in the purest air," Wooldridge writes. "As the day wanes, you may want to settle in for a soak—a glass of bubbly in hand, of course—and watch as a doe slips by."
Shinta Mani Wild in Cambodia: Jungle Luxury in the Cardamom Mountains
Shinta Mani Wild's luxe tents sit on 850 riverside acres at the southern edge of Cambodia's Cardamom National Park, one of Southeast Asia's largest unspoiled rainforests. Each tent unit has air-conditioning, a shower, a platform bed, a separate sitting area, and "joyful prints," according to Wooldridge. Eco-tours and wellness activities are arranged by an "adventure butler" on staff at the conservation-focused retreat.
Dunton River Camp and Dunton Hot Springs in the Colorado Rockies: Mountain Solitude
Stay in one of the eight tented suites at Dunton River Camp in southwestern Colorado and you'll have pretty much an entire former cattle ranch on 500 acres to yourself. The primary luxury onsite is the freedom from the crowds at other spots in the Colorado Rockies, letting you go fly-fishing, hiking, paddleboarding, and forest bathing in blissful solitude.
If you'd prefer a therapeutic soak instead, head just a few miles up the road to Dunton Hot Springs (pictured above), a former mining town that's now a resort with 14 log cabins and a restored 19th-century bathhouse for enjoying the eponymous warm waters.
Frommer's Comfort in the Wild: 100+ Idyllic Nature Destinations, No Roughing It Required
Award-winning travel writer Jane Wooldridge answers an age-old question in this book: How can one visit pristine, soul-stirring nature destinations without giving up any of the comforts that make a vacation a vacation? She’s picked over 100 eye-candy destinations—deep jungles, arctic icescapes, buco...
Get the bookFrommer's Comfort in the Wild: 100+ Idyllic Nature Destinations, No Roughing It Required
Award-winning travel writer Jane Wooldridge answers an age-old question in this book: How can one visit pristine, soul-stirring nature destinations without giving up any of the comforts that make a vacation a vacation? She’s picked over 100 eye-candy destinations—deep jungles, arctic icescapes, buco...
Frommer's Comfort in the Wild: 100+ Idyllic Nature Destinations, No Roughing It Required by Jane Wooldridge is available in our online store, at brick-and-mortar bookstores, and from online booksellers.