Editor's note: This post was originally published in January 2019, now updated with wellness tours by G Adventures that are currently on sale!
This year, why not journey towards good health?
You stumble out of bed, throw open the blackout curtains and feel blinded by the sunlight piercing your red, tired eyes. As your weary and wobbly legs shuffle to the bathroom, you trip over the heap of last night’s clothes you couldn’t be bothered to put away the night before. The sudden movement makes your head spin and stomach queasy. You said you wanted a local experience, but maybe trying shots of the moonshine wasn’t such a great idea, after all.
Thank goodness there’s the all-inclusive breakfast buffet of grease to help sort you out, and maybe a Bloody Mary as a hair of the dog. You can always get back on a healthier track when you’re home, not that your regime was great, to begin with. If only there was a way of feeling better when you arrive home from vacation, instead of tired, bloated and overfed.
How does this sound instead?
You awaken to the sliver of tropical sunshine that warms your room, coaxed out of bed by the rooster’s morning song and the promise of a new, health-infused day. You can’t recall the last time you enjoyed such a peaceful slumber at home, but here the fresh, clean air and invigorating activities, like yoga and hiking during the day lull you into a deep sleep at night.
Refreshed and recharged, you bounce over to the bathroom, enjoying a private, outdoor shower and chirping tropical birds. You join a morning meditation inside a palm-and-bamboo hut and can’t think of what could be closer to paradise right now. Maybe it would be the fresh green juice that you’ll enjoy after this mind-clearing practice, which feels like it’s reviving you at a cellular level.
Need a Post-Vacation Vacation?
Indulgence and vacation are part and parcel. Stopping short at anything resembling scenes from The Hangover films, even behaving badly is more permissible; we laze about, ignore calorie consumption by gorging and imbibing, and who wants a morning jog when you’ve been up dancing all night?
In a vacation state of mind, don’t we deserve to do those things?
Absolutely we do, however, we also deserve to be good to ourselves by making healthy choices no matter where you are.
Enter wellness travel.
A Healthier Way to Travel
From yoga and meditation retreats to juice cleanses or even luxury spas, wellness holidays encompass activities and environments that benefit our physical, mental and spiritual health. While some of us will argue nothing sounds good about fasting or waking up at 6 am while holidaying, those who do it wouldn’t have it any other way. We’ve witnessed clients first-hand approach a wellness holiday reluctantly, only to return claiming they’ve never felt better (and energized, and lighter, clearer, more positive, and so on) and cannot wait for another healthy vacation.
This means you don’t have to be a granola-gnawing guru or yogurt-eating yogi to enjoy a wellness vacation. In fact, even those of us who don’t make the healthiest of choices at home cite a week-long, well-being focused holiday to be the jumpstart they needed for maintaining good health at home. Thanks to tour companies like G Adventures, a wellness travel innovator, a health-focused vacation is well within reach.
More than a Travel Trend
Travel, we firmly believe, is life-changing, improving our perspectives immediately and for years to come. Therefore finding new ways to move and stay healthy while travelling not only makes perfect sense; the habits you learn on a wellness holiday are more likely to stay with you, positively altering your life forever.
Wellness vacations are on track to gain more momentum and popularity in 2019. With the new year around the corner, what better time to implement health-related resolutions?
Get ahead of the curve (not to mention, get rid of any unwanted curves) by jumping on the travel industry’s fastest growing trends.
Examples of Wellness Holidays
Yoga & Meditation
Focus your mind inward, as you develop a practice that promotes inner peace and calm. In addition to yoga, you may also be guided through meditations, all in a beautiful tropical setting. In addition to nourishing your spirit, nourish your body with vegetarian meals and healthy juices.
Recommended: G Adventures' Wellness India - 11 days from Delhi to Delhi, learning the history of yoga and meditation in its birthplace, visiting Dharamshala, home of the Dalai Lama, and touring iconic and spiritual sites of Northern India.
Activities & Adventure
Adrenaline addicts, set your sights on this type of wellness holiday. Whether it’s zip-lining over rainforest canopies, learning to surf on Pacific waves, kayaking through mangroves or hiking majestic mountains, this type of wellness holiday gets your heart pumping and body moving.
Recommended: G Adventures' Wellness Peru - 7 days, Cusco to Cusco. From the sacred grounds of Machu Picchu that flow with energy to stand up paddleboarding on pristine mountain water, yoga and trekking, this tour exposes your body and soul to ancient powers and invigorating activities.
Spa & Luxury
Who said you couldn’t indulge during a wellness vacation? Soothing massage, mud bath soaks and cleansing facials are all related to self-care and overall health. Sip a hibiscus-infused herbal tea as you get pampered in a design-centric spa, and transported even further than you already are from home.
Recommended: Flight Centre's Better Beach Collection. Whether it's 'blissing out' in Bali or breathing the healing seaside air on the Amalfi Coast, a Flight Centre Expert Traveller creates your dream luxury wellness escape with our Better Beach holidays.
Diet & Nutrition
Learn how to prepare delicious and nutritious meals, while enjoying the flavours and how they make you feel. Following expert advice and supportive guidance, whether you’re looking for a kickstart to healthier habits or a full dietary overhaul, the buck(wheat) stops here!
Recommended: G Adventures' Wellness Costa Rica - 8 days San Jose to San Jose. Awaken your spirits at a sustainable coffee plantation, visit the G for Good project supporting local farmers, plus yoga, hiking, hot springs, and more.
In fact, there are wellness retreats that combine all of the above types of wellness travel.
Still not convinced? Let’s see if you are fit for wellness travel!
How Would You Prefer to Holiday?
Ask yourself, would you rather:
Awaken to the sound of your hungover partner snoring, or to the songs of exotic birds?
Morning stretches or afternoon slumps?
Health makeover or a hangover?
Downward spirals or downward dogs?
Hug a palm tree or hug a porcelain toilet?
Fill your stomach or fill your soul?
Personally, we think the answers are obvious, although for others the journey may take more thought. Whatever you decide, we cheers to your good health in 2019! (Cheers with a green smoothie, of course.)
Interested to learn more? Come visit a friendly Expert Traveller at a shop near you, or call the number listed at the top of your screen. Happy and healthy travels!
