Unmanned aerial vehicle take-off and landing systems are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a method of landing an unmanned aerial vehicle includes programming a landing location for the unmanned aerial vehicle utilizing a user input device. The unmanned aerial vehicle is launched. Communications between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the user input device are interrupted, and the unmanned aerial vehicle is landed at the landing location based on the programmed landing location and not based on any real-time communication between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the user input device.