Islands That Are Illegal to Visit: Forbidden and Restricted Places

Gruinard Island sits off the coast of the Scottish Highlands and became infamous after wartime anthrax weapons testing. The island was quarantined for decades and became known as “Anthrax Island.”

It was later decontaminated and declared safe in 1990, so it is more accurate to call Gruinard a formerly quarantined island rather than a currently illegal tourist destination. Still, visitors should respect ownership, local access, safety concerns, and the island’s dark history.

Useful link: Gruinard Island overview and VisitScotland Highlands guide.

North Sentinel Island is part of India’s Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. It is home to the Sentinelese, an Indigenous community that has chosen isolation from outsiders.

Outsiders should not attempt to visit, contact, photograph, land on, or approach the island. The restriction exists to protect the Sentinelese from disease, exploitation, and disturbance, and also to protect outsiders from serious harm.

Macquarie Island is a remote subantarctic island administered by Tasmania. It is a World Heritage area and a major wildlife habitat.

This island is not “illegal” in the simple clickbait sense. It is restricted, and visits require specific permission. Access is limited because the island has fragile ecosystems, significant wildlife values, harsh weather, and strict biosecurity needs.

Unlike the old version of this article, this rebuild does not describe Macquarie Island as full of crocodiles. The real reason it is restricted is conservation, biosecurity, remoteness, weather, and protected wildlife.

Ilha da Queimada Grande in Brazil is better known as Snake Island. It is associated with the golden lancehead, a venomous snake found naturally only there.

Public access is heavily restricted. The island is important for conservation and dangerous for ordinary visitors, so it should never be treated as a normal travel destination.

Important: do not try to arrange unofficial landings, close approaches, or “secret” boat trips. Protected wildlife islands are not adventure playgrounds.

The Izu Islands sit south of Tokyo. They are volcanic, and the island of Miyake-jima is especially known for sulphur dioxide gas risk after eruptions.

The Izu Islands are not all illegal to visit. A more accurate warning is that volcanic gas and eruption history can make certain areas dangerous, and travellers must follow local safety instructions, warning systems, and gas-mask guidance where required.

If you are planning real travel to the Izu Islands, check official local travel advice, weather, volcanic alerts, ferry and flight status, and health guidance before booking.

Islands that are illegal to visit are places where public access is banned or heavily restricted by law, permit systems, military control, conservation rules, tribal protection laws, biosecurity rules, or extreme safety risks.

Yes. North Sentinel Island is off-limits to outsiders to protect the Sentinelese people and to protect visitors from serious danger. Travellers should not attempt to approach or contact the island.

Public access to Ilha da Queimada Grande, widely known as Snake Island, is heavily restricted. It is associated with the golden lancehead viper, and access is limited to authorised scientific, conservation, or official purposes.

Macquarie Island is not a normal tourist island. It is a restricted World Heritage area, and visits require specific permission. The number of visits is limited to protect its natural and historic values.

Gruinard Island is best described as a formerly quarantined island rather than a currently illegal tourist destination. It was contaminated by wartime anthrax tests and later decontaminated, but visitors should still respect ownership, local access, and safety guidance.

The Izu Islands are not all illegal to visit. The safety issue is volcanic gas, especially on Miyake-jima, where visitors may need to follow local gas-mask and warning-system guidance. Always check current local advice before travelling.

Islands may be forbidden because of uncontacted communities, endangered wildlife, military use, disease or contamination history, volcanic activity, fragile ecosystems, dangerous animals, or biosecurity concerns.

No. Do not try to approach restricted islands from a boat unless it is clearly legal and authorised. Even close approaches can violate exclusion zones, endanger people, disturb communities, harm wildlife, or create legal trouble.