Ponta Anchaca

Guinea-Bissau's great natural treasure is the Bijagós, a UNESCO-recognised archipelago of some eighty islands where hippos swim in salt water and the tides redraw the map twice a day. Ponta Anchaca, on Rubane island, is the most comfortable way into this world: a French-run lodge of thatched bungalows set between palms and a long private beach, reached by boat from Bissau.

Rooms are simple by international five-star standards but generously sized, screened and sea-facing, with hot water and genuine care in the details — this is expedition territory, and the lodge's polish stands out precisely because everything around it is wild. Days are organised around the water: fishing is world-class, and excursions run to neighbouring islands, saltwater hippo lagoons and Bijagós villages.

The kitchen leans French-Atlantic — the day's catch, langoustines, good wine — and evenings end with the archipelago's total darkness and heavy stars. For the traveller collecting the world's genuinely remote corners, this is the country's flagship stay.