The Art of Doing Nothing: Hurkle-Durkle Holidays Take Over 2026

Doing nothing has officially become a travel trend. Under the name hurkle-durkling (also seen as hurkle durkle), a Scottish term popularised internationally via TikTok, travellers are increasingly choosing intentional slowness, rest and mental reset while away. We selected a few addresses where doing nothing isn’t an afterthought, but the beginning of the journey.

A Hilton study based on guest behaviour insights suggests that around 1 in 5 hotel guests sometimes spend an entire day in their room during their trip, reading, sleeping, scrolling, or simply doing blissfully little. For these travellers, the hotel room shifts from a practical place to sleep into a fully-fledged destination.
According to Euronews, hurkle-durkling fits a wider winter and wellbeing mindset, where people opt for fewer stimuli, fewer movements, and more personal space. The growing focus on in-room comfort, privacy and “hotel-at-home” style indulgence helps explain why this way of travelling resonates right now.

Skippers Cottage in Glenelg: Hurkle-durkle in its purest form

If hurkle-durkling belongs anywhere, it’s here. In Glenelg, deep in the Scottish Highlands, Skippers Cottage is a secluded retreat where silence, nature and slowness take centre stage. With views over lochs and mountains framed by large windows, the landscape becomes part of the room. There’s no agenda, no noise, and no need to leave. Just the quiet luxury of turning over, opening a book, and realising you don’t have to be anywhere else.

Emboo Camp: Safari from your bed

In the Masai Mara, Emboo Camp offers a next-generation safari experience where wildlife moments can unfold right outside your tent. The tents are spread across open land without fencing, bounded only by a river, allowing animals to roam freely. That openness creates the kind of sightings you can enjoy without rushing: hippos in the morning, zebras in early light, often visible from bed. Here, staying under the covers isn’t skipping the experience; it is the experience.

Verdala Wellness Hotel: Wellness, without leaving your room

On Malta, Verdala Wellness Hotel is built around restoration, and the rooms are designed to deliver that feeling even if you never step outside. Spacious bathrooms, high-quality materials, soft textures and panoramic views turn each room into a private wellness cocoon. Relaxation here is less about ticking off facilities and more about atmosphere, space and silence. It’s the kind of setting that makes slowing down feel effortless.

Op Oost: Relaxation in the heart of nature

On Texel, Op Oost sits on the island’s far eastern edge, where quiet landscapes replace schedules. From your suite you look onto an edible garden and surrounding meadows where sheep graze, and in spring lambs appear across the fields. No traffic, no crowds, just the steady rhythm of the island. Everything invites you to stay in bed longer, read more, and let the outdoors be something you admire rather than chase.

Sublime Comporta: Hurkle-durkle in silence and simplicity

In Comporta, in Portugal’s Alentejo, Sublime Comporta embodies hurkle-durkling at its most serene. Set across a wide estate between pine trees and rice fields, its rooms, suites and private villas are designed for deep rest, natural materials, soft colours, generous bathrooms and ample privacy. It’s perfectly plausible to spend an entire day in your room or villa here. Not because there’s nothing to do, but because the space itself feels like the point of travelling.

Chocolate Village by the River: Your own Willy Wonka room

Near Maribor in Slovenia, Chocolate Village by the River makes staying in feel playful and immersive. From chocolate-themed amenities to breakfast boxes delivered to your door, the concept is designed to be fully experienced from the comfort of your own cabin. It’s a little surreal in the best way, yet still calm, design-forward, and framed by river views. You don’t need to leave your lodge to “get it”; you simply settle in.

Martinhal Hotels & Resorts: The hurkle-durkle dream for parents

If anyone craves hurkle-durkling, it’s parents, and Martinhal makes it realistic. Across Martinhal Sagres, Quinta do Lago Algarve, Oriente and Martinhal Chiado Lisbon, services like baby concierges, nannies, crèches and kids’ clubs create real space for rest. That means a slow morning in bed, a long shower, and a cappuccino you actually finish, while the children are happily looked after. It’s the rare kind of holiday where “doing nothing” is finally possible.

Rivages du Monde: Romantic doing-nothing on the Mekong

With its ship Mekong Romance, Rivages du Monde brings hurkle-durkling onto the water. Refined suites with outdoor space and a slow pace let you watch daily life along the Mekong drift by from bed as Cambodia and Vietnam pass in cinematic quiet. Travel becomes atmosphere rather than activity. It’s romance by way of stillness.

Haller Suites & Restaurant: A hotel born from calm

Above Brixen in South Tyrol’s vineyards, Haller Suites & Restaurant is built around one central idea: the view as the main activity. With only 18 suites, large windows, warm materials and an intimate scale, the setting naturally slows you down. Staying in bed feels less like a choice and more like the obvious next step. The hotel’s design quietly encourages a softer pace.

One&Only Portonovi: High-end hurkle-durkle on the Adriatic

On Montenegro’s Bay of Kotor, One&Only Portonovi is an unapologetically high-end take on the trend. Spacious sea-view suites with private terraces are designed as end-destinations, with even the bath positioned to face the bay. Breakfast on the terrace, long baths and room service can easily define an entire day. This is luxury that doesn’t demand movement, just time.

Damona Lodges: Sleeping to nature’s rhythm

In the heart of the Vendée, Damona Lodges hide among trees and silence, inviting guests to live at the pace of the outdoors. Expect lodges with bohemian or rustic character, private spa moments under the stars, and terraces where the day naturally slows. You’re close to wide beaches, yet far from the feeling of crowds. A place where simplicity feels remarkably good, and where rest becomes the most rewarding itinerary.