5 Healthy Trips for People Who Hate Wellness Retreats
This story is part of the 2018 Feel Good Food Plan, our two-week mind-body-belly plan for starting the year off right.
As well-intentioned as New Year’s resolutions may be, life tends to get in the way of those twice-daily meditations, early morning workouts, and austere meal plans. Rather than travel to a wellness retreat that prepares you for a life of asceticism, why not opt for an adventurous getaway that emphasizes the life in your life, with skill-building activities that happen to have calorie-torching, muscle-toning, and nutrition-building benefits. From sailing in Thailand to surfing in Japan to watching the northern lights alongside humpback whales in northern Norway, here are five trips designed to take you to a place you’ve never been, to do something you’ve always wanted to try. In other words, resolutions worth sticking to.
Photo by Johny Goerend on Unsplash1/5Whale Watch Under the Northern Lights
Just north of the Arctic circle, hidden above the Lyngen Fjord is the Lyngen Lodge, a romantic snowy retreat also serves as one of the most dramatic backdrops for the Aurora Borealis. The natural phenomenon is on view from September to March while dog sledding, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, and on the hotel’s boat safari—where you can watch migrating humpback and springer whales breach beneath a brilliant green sky. Back country skiers can board a boat in their ski boots to secluded, mountainous islands beneath the celestial show, and the cold-weather averse can kick their feet up and watch the northern lights dance on the Alps while they Instagram from the Lodge’s fireplace or their private hot tub. Stay at the Lyngen Lodge.
Photo by Patricio Realpe/LatinContent/Getty Images2/5Hike, Bike, and Kayak in the Galapagos
Play Darwin in one of the most genetically diverse places on earth. On the mainland, climb up to Ecuador’s Cuicocha Crater Lake and count blue footed boobies hiking Santa Cruz’s Frigate Hill, named for the region’s iconic red bellied bird. Then head to the Galápagos to kayak alongside sea lions, white tipped sharks, and eagle rays around Isla Lobos. Bike across pristine white beaches and through towering mangroves. Snorkel beside the gigantic Galápagos tortoise in Loberia Grande and check in on the Galápagos penguin by boat through the islets of Tintoreras. End each cardio-heavy day with a well-earned cerveza. Take a Duvine bike tour.
Photo by Xun Zhang/Getty Images3/5Surf in Japan
A mere hour southwest of Tokyo by train or car is a little surf town on the Sagami Bay, Kamakura. Nicknamed the Malibu of Japan, here California beach culture mixes with national traditions under the shadow of Mt. Fuji. Find the best waves from August to October, and don’t worry about packing your own gear— plenty of boards, wetsuits (and, if necessary, lessons) are available at the numerous surf shops within walking distance from both the train station and the break. After naminori (wave riding), refuel on Californian-inspired veggie-driven dishes at the rustic Garden House (note the local groms eating French fries with chopsticks), where you can also partake in post-surf Kamakura ham and Kamakura beer, or opt for the amber lighting, mellow jazz, and art deco interiors of the ultra swanky The Bank for a gin cocktail. Remind yourself you’re in Japan by sleeping on tatami mats at the sleek, black and white Zen Vague hotel and by hiking to the city’s towering, bronze 13th-century Buddha the next day.
Head an hour north (equidistant from Tokyo) to the Chiba prefecture, site of the the first Olympic surf competition in 2020 for a quieter seaside escape that is nonetheless stylish. Tokyo Contemporary Art Foundation founder Yusaku Maezawa has plans to open a museum of his own collection here, but until then, Tokyoites stil travel en masse to spend a weekend at Rhinos, the chic hotel set within the Wild Beach glamping park (think canvas tents, metal trailers, and communal grills). The two- and three-person apartments are felled from glass, wood, and steel, and boast individualized decor that recall Greek islands, Kenyan safaris, and, of course, retro beach Bohemia. Stay at the Wild Beach.
Photo by Dayyan Armstrong4/5Sail in Thailand
The latest in Free People’s new, exceptionally curated FP Escapes, on this 8-day sailing tour of Thailand, find that there’s little that staring at a sea-meets-sky horizon can’t fix. For what it can’t, serious circuit training courtesy of Dara Hart (co-founder of The Dogpound, Manhattan’s gym of choice for A-list actresses and models) whips bodies into shape, daily meditation aligns minds with the sybaritic setting, and the veggie-heavy, locally-sourced menu is designed to nourish, satisfy, and stave off sea sickness. Opulent distractions include (calorie-melting) snorkeling and diving through the Andaman Sea’s coves and caves and earning your stripes learning how to sail. Sail in Thailand, January 23–29.
Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash5/5Immerse Yourself in California
Channel your inner Captain Fantastic in this single day immersion course with wilderness survival instructor Cliff Hodges (of National Geographic’s Remote Survival). In less than 24 hours, learn to collect and purify fresh water and harvest wild lettuces, berries, and root vegetables to eat under the canopy of Northern California’s towering redwoods. The iron stomach-ed among you can also set wild traps for additional sustenance. Cook your findings over a fire built with friction (read: no matches) and create a shelter using natural materials—not that you will need to sleep in it (though you can, with the intensified two-day course). Celebrate your newly forged skills with the modern conveniences of a hot shower and a soft mattress when you return home by nightfall. Enroll in the wilderness survival skills clinic.
