Ice, rock
and cloud forest.

We chose these six for what lies outside the window. None of them is a city hotel; each is a way into a particular piece of land, and most of what you will remember happens outdoors.

Up north, Fogo Island Inn stands on stilts on a rocky shore off Newfoundland and puts its profits back into the island. Amangiri hides in a sandstone valley near the Utah–Arizona line. Post Ranch Inn spreads its tree houses and turf-roofed rooms along a ridge high above Big Sur, and admits adults only.

Further south the mood changes. Explora sits on the shore of Lake Pehoé, looking across at the Paine massif. Belmond Hotel das Cataratas is the one hotel inside the Brazilian side of Iguaçu National Park, a short walk from the falls. Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo is a cluster of stone cottages in cloud-forest gardens at the foot of the Inca citadel.

Do not try to see them all at once. Treat the northern three and the southern three as separate journeys, and remember that July in Utah is midwinter in Patagonia.

Best for: walkers, people who travel with a camera, readers who care about how a building meets its landscape, and anyone happy to trade nightlife for a very large sky.

Newfoundland

• May to early July: icebergs calved off Greenland ride the Labrador Current past the island. Some years bring hundreds, others very few.
• July and August: humpbacks and minke whales feed close to shore and the coastal paths dry out. This is the busiest stretch, so book early.
• September and October: wild berries ripen on the barrens and storms roll in off the ocean.
• Winter: sea ice, snowshoes and very few other guests. Ferries still run, but weather decides the timetable.

Utah and Big Sur

• Utah, spring and fall: the sweet spot, with mild afternoons for hiking and cold, clear nights for stars.
• Utah, summer: afternoon heat regularly tops 35°C, and the late-summer monsoon can send flash floods through slot canyons without warning.
• Big Sur: September and October are usually the sunniest months; early summer often brings morning fog that burns off by lunch. Winter storms can close stretches of Highway 1.

South America

• Torres del Paine: the austral summer, November to March, gives long days and open trails. Wind is a constant companion, strongest in midsummer.
• Iguaçu: worth a visit in any month. After heavy rain the water turns brown and thunders; in a dry spell some curtains thin out. Midsummer (December to February) is hot and humid.
• Machu Picchu: May to September is the dry season, with the best odds of a clear view at dawn. January and February are the wettest, and the Inca Trail closes in February for upkeep.

From Madrid: the southern hotels are easier than they look. There are nonstop flights from Madrid to Lima, Santiago, São Paulo and Buenos Aires, typically twelve to fourteen hours, and from those cities a domestic hop does the rest. For the north, Madrid has direct service to several US and Canadian gateways, including Toronto and New York; the West Coast and Utah usually need one connection.

Fogo Island: fly into Gander, drive about an hour to Farewell and take the car ferry, roughly 45 minutes. Weather can cancel sailings, so do not plan a tight connection on the way out.

Utah and California: you will want a car. Amangiri is about 25 minutes from the small airport at Page; Las Vegas and Phoenix are the bigger gateways. For Post Ranch Inn, Monterey is the nearest airport. Check Caltrans before driving Highway 1, as landslides close sections from time to time.

Patagonia, Iguaçu and Machu Picchu: Explora collects guests from Punta Arenas or Puerto Natales. Das Cataratas is a 15-minute drive from Foz do Iguaçu airport. For Machu Picchu, fly to Cusco, then take the train down the valley to Aguas Calientes; the hotel is next to the station.

1. 1

   Sacred Valley · 2 nights

   Fly Madrid to Lima, then on to Cusco and drive down to the valley

   Sleep lower than Cusco for the first nights to ease into the altitude. Pisac market, the salt pans of Maras and the circular terraces of Moray.

2. 2

   Machu Picchu · 3 nights at Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo

   Train from Ollantaytambo · about 1h 30m

   One early visit to the citadel, a second ticket for Huayna Picchu or the Sun Gate, and a morning with a birding guide in the hotel grounds.

3. 3

   Torres del Paine · 4 nights at Explora Patagonia

   Fly Cusco to Santiago via Lima, then south to Punta Arenas

   Full-day hikes toward the base of the towers, a boat to Grey Glacier and long evenings by the window when the wind is up.

4. 4

   Iguaçu · 3 nights at Belmond Hotel das Cataratas

   Fly to São Paulo, then on to Foz do Iguaçu

   The Brazilian walkways at opening time and again after the day visitors leave; a day across the border at the Devil's Throat.

5. 5

   Home

   Fly Foz do Iguaçu to São Paulo, then nonstop to Madrid

   A quiet last morning on the trails before the flight.

Prefer the north? Gander, Fogo Island, then on to Las Vegas for Zion and Amangiri makes an equally good fortnight; add Big Sur only if you have three more nights.

• Tips in the US and Canada: plan on about 18 to 20% at restaurants in the US and 15 to 18% in Canada. Prices are shown before tax, which is added at the till.
• Tips further south: in Chile and Peru, around 10% is normal at restaurants; in Chile the bill often asks if you want to add it. In Brazil a 10% service charge is usually printed on the bill already.
• Navajo land: Antelope Canyon and Monument Valley are on the Navajo Nation, and you enter the slot canyons only with a Navajo-licensed guide. Ask before you photograph anyone.
• Machu Picchu rules: entry is by timed ticket and set circuit, visitors go in with a licensed guide, and drones, walking poles without rubber tips and large bags are restricted.
• Language: Brazilians speak Portuguese, not Spanish. Spanish speakers will be understood with patience, but a 'bom dia' and 'obrigado/obrigada' go a long way.
• Newfoundland: conversations start easily and run long. If someone offers to 'screech you in' with rum and a cod, it is all in fun and you can say no.
• On the trail: pack out what you pack in, keep to marked paths in fragile desert crust and Patagonian steppe, and never light a fire in Torres del Paine, where wildfires have done lasting damage.