This Is Why We Travel: 16 Hyper-Specific, Extremely Healthyish Experiences You'll Never Forget
Picture your last vacation. What’s the one thing you can’t stop thinking about? Where were you? What were you doing? How did it feel, taste, look, sound like, or smell?
When I ask somebody, “How was your trip,” that’s what I actually want to know. Not how you got there, not how the weather was, not how you and your boyfriend fought the whole time (okay, maybe I’m kinda curious about that). I want to know about the best parts, the moments that will stay with you long after your tan has faded and that weird stomach thing you picked up has gone away.
For this travel guide, we paired up with Condé Nast Traveler's Women Who Travel to ask staffers and friends to tell us exactly what they’ll never forget from their recent trips around the globe. The chả cá lã vọng in Hanoi. The mineral pool in Oaxaca. The dance party in Lisbon. The izakaya in Santa Fe. (And we threw in our favorite carry-on bag and travel pillbox because, fine, sometimes the logistical stuff does matter). I hope you’ll use these ideas to inspire your own travel plans this year—or whenever you’re able to get away. Because, months and years and decades from now, you won’t remember which museum had what Picasso or which tour group was the least annoying. You’ll remember that sunrise hike, that bike ride to the lighthouse, that first slurp of brothy soba. They’re just moments, but they’re the whole point. –Amanda Shapiro, Healthyish editor
Illustrations by Egle Zvirblyte1/21Buy Peaches at This Massive Farmers’ Market in Zagreb, Croatia
I’m never sure what I’m supposed to be doing while traveling. Seeing…things, I guess? Which is why I love foreign farmers' markets. You never really know a place, I like to say, until you’ve accidentally bought a fruit that you thought was a different fruit! (Speaking of language: Farmers' markets are the one place where language-learning apps are actually useful—you really do just need some remedial food vocabulary and the numbers one through ten!)
And so yes, I did pick my lodging in Zagreb based entirely on its proximity to Dolac Market, an enormous (historic, famous) farmers' market right off the city’s central Ban Jelačić Square. This is not the kind of farmers' market where you go to spend one million dollars on heirloom, artisanal, sage-infused, gluten-free sourdough or whatever. It is a market where farmers sell produce. (Also, honey, dried fruit, nuts, dairy. Also, fish, meat, eggs, flowers.) It’s open every day and perpetually bustling, and you can pretend, as you wander the endless red umbrella-ed stalls, comparison-shopping local cheeses, that this is your actual life. Go in August. Buy the peaches. –Rachel Sugar, freelance writer
Going to Croatia? Check out these can't-miss spots.
Photo by Olivia Labonte2/21Freeze Your Ass Off Walking Then Warm It Up at This Spa in Montreal, Canada
A few years ago, I had the brilliant idea of taking my then girlfriend (now wife) to Montreal for her birthday. I knew the city would offer us a vibe foreign enough to feel far from home, but close enough that we could manage it all in a weekend. But I hadn't planned for how unbearably frigid it would be on December 1st. After pastries and coffee from Olive + Gourmando, smoked meat sandwiches from Schwartz’s, the obvious from Patisserie Au Kouign-Amann, a couple of share plates from Larry’s, glasses of natural wine at La Vin de Papillon, and walking everywhere we could, we’d turned into a couple of runny-nosed, bleary-eyed ice blocks. Some present I’d given her.
So we decided to skip dinner and spend the rest of the night at Bota Bota, thawing ourselves at the floating barge-turned-spa. The three-hour water circuit (about 65 Canadian dollars per person for a weekend visit) gave us access to all the saunas, steam baths, cold baths, hot baths, and relaxation rooms (hammock swings!) situated throughout the boat’s multiple cedar-and-steel decks. But we probably lingered the most in the outdoor jacuzzi (of all places) gawking at the Old City all lit up like Christmas. It meant we were out in the cold again, but with our bodies submerged to our chins, my teeth could finally stop chattering long enough to sing her “Happy Birthday.” –Sasha Levine, bonappetit.com editor
Everything else you need for an amazing time in Montreal.
Photo by Emma Fishman3/21Get a Pill Box You Actually Want to Use
I am someone who takes pills, but I don’t want to be known as Someone Who Takes Pills. That’s why I use a pillbox from Port and Polish, which has a much sleeker look than those plastic versions you buy at the local drugstore. Sure, those cases are functional, but the banal design makes the process of daily medicating feel even more joyless. In contrast, opening my navy Port and Polish box makes me think, “Oh, look at this cool thing I’m pulling out of my dopp kit” rather than “Ugh, medicine…again.” The pills go down the same, but my head is definitely in a better place. –Carey Polis, digital director
Buy it: Port and Polish Pill Case, $20.
All products featured on Healthyish are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Photo by Michelle Heimerman4/21Drink Hibiscus Tea and Sleep Under Shooting Stars in Wadi Rum, Jordan
In the village of Wadi Rum in southern Jordan, a local Bedouin guide ushered me and my boyfriend to a seat in the bed of a 1980s Toyota pickup. He drove us to the edge of the village, where the road transitioned into rich, red sand and the landscape became a desert of towering canyons and camel caravans. Twenty minutes later, we arrived at a swing bed and six tents tucked into the side of a rock formation. This was Discovery Bedu, a desert camp that’s rustic enough to blend into Wadi Rum's landscape but luxurious enough to provide a furnished, heated tent with an en-suite bathroom and rain shower.
At Discovery Bedu, we were greeted with warm hibiscus tea and a glass of local Jordanian white wine. The host brought us over to the swing bed, insisting we put away our phones, cameras, and worries. We were there to relax. As the sun set, the colors around us shifted from red to gold to blue. The bed swayed slightly as the desert wind echoed through gaps in the rocks, and the stars began to appear by the thousands. We collected our layers for the cooling temperatures and counted meteors until we fell asleep. –Michelle Heimerman, senior visuals editor
Going to Jordan? Why not hike to Petra?
Illustration by Egle Zvirblyte5/21Dance Kizomba Late Into the Night in Lisbon, Portugal
I have two priorities when I travel: to be surrounded by melanin and to eat banging food—I nearly missed a flight out of Kingston, Jamaica for a tender piece of spicy jerk pork—and a recent trip to Lisbon, Portugal gave me both. In Largo de Sao Domingos, Lisbon’s heavily African-populated neighborhood, I started the night with the ridiculously tender grilled octopus at Solar 31 and ended it with Kizomba dancing at Barrio Latino.
Kizomba is a partner dance and style of music that originated in Angola, which was once under Portuguese colonial rule. It’s been described it to me as “Tango’s cooler, younger sister.” (A good starter song to Kizomba is Fiona by Kaysha.) Barrio Latino teeters between a bar, a lounge, a club, and a hotbox of sweat. The dance floor is packed with hips swaying and bodies moving in subtle, circular motions. If you go, you’ll be moving too, even floating at times. You may not know how you managed to stay out until 6 a.m., or how you finally got back to your hotel bed. The power of Kizomba is that time is of no consequence, especially when you’re on vacation. –Kristin Braswell, freelance writer
Lisbon-bound? Have we got recommendations for you.
Photo by Aliana Tsvor6/21Try to Forget Social Media Exists at These Mineral Pools in Oaxaca, Mexico
“I did not find myself in Mexico; I did not kick my social media habit or rearrange the inside of my brain so that it would stop wanting to take pictures, to leave a moment with something I could hold onto and something I could share. None of those things are the kinds of things you can do in a week. Sitting at the lip of the mineral pool in Hierve el Agua, the sun shining white through thin, gauzy clouds, I was in the moment as much as anyone ever is: I was aware of the world, and of myself, and of myself being seen.” Read more from freelance writer Zan Romanoff about our obsession with taking photos on vacation.
Plus a five-stop shopping guide for next time you're in Oaxaca.
Photo by Emma Fishman7/21Ward off Germs With an In-Flight Wellness Shot
I always seem to start feeling crappy at the most inconvenient time: right before a flight. I’ve developed a few precautionary measures (a yearly flu shot and copious amounts of lemon-ginger brew) but Rooted Wellness Shots have recently become an in-flight essential. They’re markedly less sugary than other fizzy vitamin supplements (you know the ones), using just ginger, lemon, and cayenne pepper to pack in 500 mg of Vitamin C—and an impressively fiery flavor. Call me masochistic, but the body-warming burning just feels like it’s working. I tuck a few packets in my carry on, get water from the flight attendant, and shoot it back at 35,000 feet. It might not quite be enough to counteract the perils of sitting in the middle seat between two coughing strangers, but I’ll take all the help I can get. –Aliza Abarbanel, Healthyish assistant editor
Buy it: Rooted Shots, $40 for 20.
All products featured on Healthyish are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Illustration by Egle Zvirblyte8/21Sleep With the Chickens at an Urban Farm in Detroit
When searching AirBnB’s very limited dog-friendly options for a trip to Detroit last summer, I saw a listing for an urban farm (a zillion species welcome here) and impulse-booked it instantly. It was a four-acre farm, where we slept in a cleverly-arranged shipping container. The biggest appeals were the outdoor space, the animal-watching ("chicken TV," a host said), and the generous offers of eggs and fresh vegetables. There was also an incredible second floor patio and fun bees to avoid. Since then, I’ve seen urban farms on AirBnB across the country—a lettuce farm in Kansas City, adjacent to a farmer’s market in Mesa, Arizona, and an organic farm with a lush grape arbor in Portland. They all drop you right into the local food system, give you some breathing room from the downtown commotion, and keep you close enough to eat in any city-swanky restaurant you'd like. Farms stays can be a mix of roughing-it (an outhouse bathroom) and not (hot water, usually), so read all the details before you book. For example, I did not know there would be bees on my Detroit farm, which was fine, I guess. I’m always told by people that keep them that bees are friendly but I’ll never believe it. –Maggie Lange, freelance writer
Only have a few days in Detroit? Don't miss these spots.
Photo by Chance Darcy9/21Snorkel Up an Appetite For Soba in Okinawa, Japan
“In the eight years my family lived on Okinawa, more changed than did not. Buildings went up and came down, and protests over the U.S. military presence on the island strengthened and waned. I went from a tween to a teen to something of an adult. But one constant was a feeling, a joy that I got swimming out over ecosystems that had been there thousands of years before I had and that would remain after I’d gone. It was a comfort. Same, in a way, as slurping bowl after bowl of a soup that had become a culinary touchstone in Okinawa decades before I was even born.” Read more about Katherine LaGrave's favorite post-snorkel soba spot.
And for more beaches and soba in Okinawa, we suggest a road trip.
Photo by Motofish Images10/21Ride Your Bike Across Vermont (Without Overpacking)
I’ve always pridefully considered myself to be an economical packer when I travel. But a recent three-day bikepacking trip around Vermont, in which I carried my supplies for the entire trip on my bike and in my jersey pockets, quickly taught me that I know nothing about packing like a minimalist. In fact, by bikepacking standards, I was an extreme overpacker. So I scaled back—way back. By constraining myself to only what I could fit in two small bags that attached to my bike, I freed myself from having to worry about anything that wasn’t absolutely essential. All I packed were the basics: a toothbrush, sunscreen, chapstick, socks, some Advil, a spare tube in case I got a flat tire on the road, and a couple good snacks to share with friends as we watched the sun sink behind the Vermont mountains. You know—just the essentials. –Christina Chaey, associate editor
We've got more craft beer and more epically beautiful Vermont spots.
Illustration by Egle Zvirblyte11/21Use This App to Find a Safer Space to Pee
“Recently in Buffalo for a reporting trip, I got up early on a Saturday and drove a little out of my way to a sight I’d seen on screens my whole life but never firsthand: Niagara Falls. The falls do stun the soul. They defy language. It is impossible to convey their thunder, the palpable rattling power of the water as it reaches this climax. You feel real small. I stood on the platform, my skin dewy. Gulls darted in and out of the mist and rainbows threatened. Friends had told me to buy a ticket to ride the boat, the Maid of the Mist. But I couldn’t do it; the line seemed slow and I was already contending with the very real problem of how I was going to pee.” Read about the crowd-sourced app Sandy Allen uses to find gender neutral bathrooms when traveling.
Photo by Rachel Karten12/21Run to This Bakery For Pastries in Washington D.C.
My favorite way to see a new city is to go on a run. And my favorite way to motivate myself to go on a run is to make sure there’s a croissant at the finish line. That’s why, when I’m on vacation, I look up the bakery I am most excited to go to (within a reasonable three-mile radius) and get to jogging. On my most recent trip to Washington D.C., that bakery was Seylou, a spot that’s cranking out A+ pastries and bread using 100-percent whole grains that are milled in-house. So I laced up my sneakers at The Line Hotel (my favorite spot to stay in D.C.) and set off on my two-ish mile run. I passed by Meridian Hill Park, Busboys and Poets, and lots of dreamy Victorian houses in Logan Square, until I arrived at my carb-filled destination. I got to see the city. And I also got a damn-good whole grain tart with cherry tomatoes and cheese, an almond croissant, and a financier. I walked back. –Rachel Karten, associate director of social media
Once you're fueled up, here are 13 more things to do in our nation's capital.
Photo by Emma Fishman13/21Become a Packing Cube Connoisseur
For years, I lived comfortably (but messily) in the throw-everything-into-your-suitcase camp. But after trying packing cubes mostly to silence my husband’s incessant pleas, I’ve switched teams unapologetically. I can legit fit way more clothes in my suitcase with these cubes, and, moreover, I can find them too. Underwear, socks, and bras go in a small one; shirts go in a medium-sized cube; pajamas and workout clothes go in a third; and dresses stay in the largest cube. (I still pack pants sans cubes.) Now, I don’t have to dig through piles of wrinkled clothes, and my suitcase doesn’t look like a disaster zone no matter how jostled my bag may get in transit. –Carey Polis, digital director
Buy it: Ebags Classic Packing Cubes, $50 for 6.
All products featured on Healthyish are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Illustration by Egle Zvirblyte14/21Take a Dip in Hampstead Ladies Pond in London, England
The wild swimming craze has swept London in recent years (yes, even in the winter), but there is nowhere more storied—or magical—to take a dip than in the Kenwood Ladies’ Pond on Hampstead Heath. The heath itself is a special place; a rugged, unruly slice of nature in the northern part of the city. But, growing up, I was always most intrigued by the Ladies’ Pond. It’s operated as a women-only swimming hole since 1925 (Katherine Hepburn once swung by!) and, rain or shine, you’ll see women slipping in and out of the water like seals in swimming caps. It intimidated me as a child—it felt like a mysterious, slightly eccentric members’ club—but as I grew older, I began to understand it’s value as a safe space: Women of all sizes and ages swim there each day, topless sunbathing is welcomed, and it costs just two pounds (around $2.60) to enter. There’s often a temptation to see, eat, and do everything when you travel, but it’s also an opportunity to experience the sort of quiet that’s impossible to find among the noise of everyday life—and maybe get back in touch with your body while you’re at it. Floating quietly under the trees of the Ladies’ Pond lets you do exactly that. –Lale Arikoglu, senior lifestyle editor at Condé Nast Traveler and Women Who Travel editor
There's a lot more to see, do, eat, and explore in London.
Photo by Kulikovan15/21Get Up at Dawn to Beat the Crowds at Angkor Wat in Cambodia
I met my childhood best friend in Cambodia last spring, right on the heels of a breakup, a medical situation, and a very expensive move. In other words, I was totally unprepared for—and totally in need of—a trip to the other side of the world. We’d planned to do a three-day tour of Angkor, the network of ancient temples in Siem Reap, Cambodia and once the largest metropolis in the world. What we hadn’t planned for was the excruciating heat in mid-June. By noon every day, I was approaching heat stroke and in need of a nap. So, on the third morning, tossing and turning with jet lag at 5 a.m., I decided to get ahead of the sun. I got in a tuk-tuk and went straight to Angkor Wat, the largest, most impressive, and typically the most crowded temple of them all. Even at dawn, I was hardly alone in the 500-acre maze of interlocking hallways and chambers. But in that relative cool and quiet, I was able to think straight—and feel straight—for the first time in months. Yup, I cried like a baby that morning. And because I was already sweating, no one could even tell. –Amanda Shapiro, Healthyish editor
Heading to Cambodia? Here's where to go in Siem Reap and beyond.
Photo by Emma Fishman16/21Get a Carry-All For Your Carry On
When I started to travel consistently for work, I realized I needed to become a little bit less of a hot-mess traveler who forgets to pack any pants and a little bit more strategic. So I decided to put an end to the days of frantically digging through my carry-on with Cuyana’s incredibly chic, problem-solving, carry-all pouch. Now I have easy access to all my in-flight necessities: AirPods, face wipes, earplugs, melatonin tablets, travel-sized Pepto-Bismol (not glamorous, but we keep it real here at Healthyish), a Replica perfume stick, laneige lip sleeping mask, and an SK-II face mask (the official sheet mask of the travel influencer). I even took my Cuyana obsession a step further and purchased a matching passport case, because I’m worth it, and you are too. –Emma Fishman, visuals editor
Buy it: Cuyana Medium Leather Zipper Pouch, $95
All products featured on Healthyish are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Illustration by Egle Zvirblyte17/21Hang With the Penguins in Cabo Polonio, Uruguay
I almost don’t want to tell you that Cabo Polonio exists. Like a secret recipe or that one product we don’t mention from our skincare routine, there is a place that deserves its mysticism as much as its governmentally protected land status. On the southeastern edge of Uruguay, accessible only via an escorted 4x4 or on horseback through slapping saltbrush and rosemary-infused ocean breeze, the little hamlet feels equally post-apocalyptic and civil. One can order a cocktail, but there’s no electricity or running water and waves occasionally eddy through front doors. My first sensation was elation. Was this not heaven? My first thought, which I didn’t mean to say out loud but apparently did, was: “Why would anyone wear clothes here?” You may see whales or a lost little penguin on the beach. You’ll definitely meet the thousands of sea lions protecting the roiling peninsula that attracts surfers and wrecks ships. (“Cabo Polonio” is named for this feat.) Go. Stay for a day, a month, or indefinitely. –Rachelle Robinett, freelance writer
Explore coastal Uraguay while there's still time.
Photo by Douglas Merriam18/21Eat Izakaya at a Spa in Santa Fe
I came to Santa Fe to inhale carne adovada and green chile cheeseburgers. So when my family decided to have our Christmas Eve dinner at an izakaya tucked inside Ten Thousand Waves, a Japanese spa outside downtown Santa Fe, I had some reservations. But then I stepped out of Izanam’s parking lot and onto a wooden path winding around discrete hot tubs and fragrant piñon pines, and any skepticism was replaced by a craving for sushi. It turned out that fish plays a relatively minimal role on the menu (the closest ocean is 1,000 miles away, after all), but the carefully considered omakase experience still soothed my Frito pie-craving soul. We paired microbrew sake with bracing housemade pickles, cooked our own wagyu beef ishiyaki on a hot stone nestled into the table, and fought over the last crunchy shard of mushroom tempura. Then we wound our way past the paper lanterns and steaming saunas, ready to dive into the tamales once more. Next time, I’ll stay for the purest of vacation pleasures: a post-dinner soak. –Aliza Abarbanel, Healthyish assistant editor
Here's how to do the adobe city right.
Photo by Andia19/21Take a 4 a.m. Jet Lag Hike in Iceland
I know your most energetic friend insists that exposure to sunlight staves off jet lag, but your most energetic friend was not helpful to me on my summer trip to Iceland. From May to August, the sun sets for just a few hours and still leaves an electric blue glow behind. Time means nothing and there are no boundaries! In a cabin on the classic Golden Circle tour—a driving route that takes you by explosive hot springs and Earth's most jagged rocks—I couldn't tell if general restlessness or bright light woke me up. But unlike any other 4 a.m. insomnia I've had, this one resulted in me bolting from my bed and walking right up a steep little mountain. This and almost every other hike I took in Iceland was both impeccably tidy and well-marked. They did not want me lost or inconvenienced! I saw a fox! So bless that horrible jet-lag for once in your life and scurry outside no matter what time you wake up. It’s a weird type of peace to hike by yourself in a well-lit, dramatic landscape, like living in a world that exists just for you and your new fox friend. –Maggie Lange, freelance writer
Where to go in Iceland, from driving the Arctic Coast Highway to dipping in secret hot springs.
Illustration by Egle Zvirblyte20/21Bike Lighthouse to Lighthouse on Block Island, R.I.
My husband’s always talked about Block Island’s North Lighthouse, the stoic granite tower at the tip of the tiny island off the coast of the smallest state. Just in beyond the brackish pond in front of his family’s property, it’s the first landmark I saw from the ferry on my inaugural trip to the island with him years ago. But there’s another giant ashore, too: Outside of the small downtown, past The Spring House Hotel with its Adirondack chairs sprawled across the lawn, The Gothic Revival-style South Lighthouse is perched on top of high bluffs. Biking south to north to see them both is both a workout and a sightseeing trip, one that takes you past sandy-floored bars like The Yellow Kittens, gray-shingled cottages behind stone walls, and beach grasses that give way to ocean views. By the time the road ends, you’re just one beach-walk away from the North Lighthouse. Stay for sunset. It’s fiery red. –Cassie Shortsleeve, freelance writer
Heading back from Block Island? Why not make a pit stop in Newport, R.I.?
Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Andy Baraghani21/21Eat This Dish in Hanoi—Then Recreate It at Home
Every year I take a solo trip, and, three years ago, that trip was to Vietnam. I worked my way through the country south to north, eventually landing in Hanoi where I slurped all the noodle soups, ate herbs by the fistful, and overdosing on iced coffee. But there was one meal I kept putting off, the sautéed turmeric fish known as chả cá lã vọng at Cha Ca Thang Long, which was in all the guidebooks as a must-not-miss. It made little sense to me to fly to a city known for its street food just to go to a tableclothed restaurant, but I decided to go anyway.
When I walked in, the dining room was crowded with locals and tourists, and charcoal burners sat on each table, most of them covered by pans of white fish stained by golden turmeric and scattered with dill and scallions greens. I sat down to what felt like a performance: Servers swiftly assembled the dish in minutes right before my eyes. While the fish cooked on the burner in front of me, little bowls of nuoc cham, silky noodles, chiles, herbs, and toasted peanuts appeared to be eaten alongside. I took one bite and my tastebuds went wild; I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. As soon as I got back to the test kitchen, I created this recipe, inspired by what turned out to be my most memorable meal in Hanoi. –Andy Baraghani, senior food editor
Once you're full of chả cá lã vọng, check out these essential Hanoi spots.
