Top 10 Dream Wellness Vacations

You take care of yourself. You exercise, eat right, and remember to take your supplements. So when you finally get to take that well-deserved vacation, why throw all that healthy living and discipline out the window? Vacation is a time to cut loose, to truly relax, and to just enjoy yourself. But sometimes, when you return from vacation, you may feel like you need another vacation just to regain your footing and get back into the swing of things. 

 

A wellness vacation could be just the compromise you need to enjoy some quality downtime without throwing away your healthy lifestyle. And if you’ve yet to embrace some of the right habits (but know you should), a wellness vacation can be a catalyst to transform your lifestyle.

 

Global Wellness Institute defines wellness tourism as “travel associated with the pursuit of maintaining or enhancing one’s personal wellbeing.”[i] Wellness tourism is a growing $439-billion market and makes up more than 14 percent of all global tourism revenues. The focus of a wellness vacation can vary from digital detox (unplugging for awhile) to healthy eating and exercise.

 

To explore what is available out there (and provide some great visual eye candy for your Pinterest vision board), we’ve compiled our top 10 wellness vacations. Which of them inspire you? Are there any we missed?

 

1. Canyon Point, Southern Utah

 

Amangiri (meaning peaceful mountain) is remotely located on 600 acres in dramatic Southern Utah. Featuring a floatation room, yoga pavilion, fitness center, and stunning water pavilion integrated into the surrounding desert and rock formation, Amangiri is private and serene, offering a true opportunity to get away from it all. Perhaps that is why Amangiri is rumored to be a favorite retreat for celebrities like Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman, and Leonardo DiCaprio.


2. Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary, Koh Samui, Thailand

 

Luxury Detox Resort & Holistic Spa offers a number of programs to help you manage stress and burnout and obtain emotional balance, as well as the more classic yoga, detox, and weight programs. Near a secluded beach, the villas and grounds encircle a centuries-old cave, formerly used by Buddhist monks for meditation and spiritual retreat. Resort representatives claim the configuration “adds an aura of spiritual and sacred energy to the physical beauty of the land.”


3. Six Senses Zighy Bay, northern Musandam Peninsula

in the Sultanate of Oman

 

Two hours from the bustling city of Dubai, you’ll find the Six Senses Zighy Bay tucked away amongst the rugged stone beauty of Oman. The resort offers activities ranging from paragliding, hiking, and biking to watersports like diving, water skiing, and snorkeling. You can customize your program to your preferred level of activity.


4. SHA Wellness Clinic, Alicante Spain

 

SHA is a well-being clinic and medical resort focused on improving and lengthening your health and well-being. Offering programs for everything from weight loss and detox to sleeping well and smoking cessation, SHA covers a wide array of wellness treatments. Its close proximity to the beach and elegant, modern, and minimalist styling make SHA Wellness Clinic a can’t-miss on our list.


5. Clinique La Prairie, Montreux, Switzerland

 

Clinique La Prairie is located in the foothills of the Swiss Alps, near the shores of picturesque Lake Léman. With a philosophy rooted in supporting health and well-being, their medical specialties include menopause, mental wellness, and even dentistry. In addition to various medical procedures and diagnostics, Clinique La Prairie specializes in offering programs like Better Mobility, which trains you to perform at your physical peak and optimize your mobility. The Rebalancing program focuses on combating fatigue, stress, and insomnia.


6. Ananda in the Himalayas, Uttaranchal, India

 

Ananda in the Himalayas is located in the tranquil Himalayan foothills. Ananda offers numerous wellness programs, including a number of Ayruvedic experiences, consultations, and guest specialists. Other healing rituals like Reiki Healing, Reflexology, and Vedanta help to invigorate your spirituality and spiritual enlightenment.


7. Tabacon Grand Spa Thermal Resort, Costa Rica

 

Located at the base of the Arenal volcano in Costa Rica, Tabacon Grand Spa is an eco-friendly and carbon neutral resort that places emphasis on transforming your experience into a close encounter with nature. Three thermal springs naturally surface and flow in the property where you can relax and rejuvenate. According to the resort’s website, the beneficial effects produced by the volcanic springs also help stimulate the skin’s defense mechanism, helping to repair aging damage.


8. The Farm at San Benito Manila, The Philippines

 

The Farm at San Benito features organic, vegan, and raw foods and the promise of wellness treatments that make you feel 10 years younger and guarantee weight loss. Retreats can vary in focus from diabetes management, heart health, and integrative cancer care, to beauty and longevity. The resort also offers a solo trip focusing on mindfulness. Unlike many similar resorts, children’s programs are available. If digital detox is on your wish list, Travel+Leisure magazine recently named this as one of its “best places to unplug[ii]."


9. Remota Puerto Natales, Chile

 

Remota is located in Puerto Natales, known as the cultural and geographic center of Chilean Patagonia. Remota prides itself on being sustainable and in harmony with the environment and the local culture. More than 30 nature-focused excursions are offered daily and are carefully structured to cause minimum impact to the local ecosystem. Rooms are free of TVs and Wifi (with service available only in common areas). Guests are encouraged to relish communing with nature during any season and refresh body and soul in the midst of some of the world’s most expansive and diverse landscapes.


10. Amankora Paro, Bhutan

 

Amakora is the second of the Aman Resorts featured on our list. It is located in the Kingdom of Bhutan, one of the most isolated nations in the world, and allows for a true digital detox experience. Landlocked between India and China and lying in the Eastern Himalayas between India and Tibet, the region is home to a variety of monasteries and temples, including the famous “Tiger’s Nest” monastery. The monastery was built in 1692 on the side of a cliff 3,120 meters above Paro Valley. It is accessible via a steep two to three-hour hike and represents just one of the many opportunities for outdoor recreation and exploration in the region.