Palmerston Island

Palmerston Island is located 2,000 miles northwest of New Zealand. The scenic white sand destination is home to 62 people, 59 of whom are direct descendants of a man named William Marsters, who settled the place. There are no shops or markets on Palmerston because the community does not use money except to purchase supplies from the outside world. Palmerston is typically visited by a supply ship twice a year, but it is not uncommon for residents to go up to 18 months without a shipment.

As long as you can hack the 8-day boat voyage from Tahiti, residents are very welcoming of visitors and invite them to stay in their personal homes. You won’t be roughing it completely – there are two telephones on the island, as well as 6 hours per day of electricity and 4 hours of internet access.