For travelers, wellness isn’t just about a hotel spa massage anymore—though, let’s be honest, a great rubdown still feels like a mini-vacation. These days, it’s about embracing healthy routines, savoring local flavors, and unwinding (or getting the heart racing on a hike) in beautiful new surroundings.
U.S. & Canada
QC NY Spa, Governors Island, New York City
At QC NY Spa, guests can relax in a heated infinity pool with sweeping views of the NYC skyline. The spa features hot tubs, saunas, and massages—both indoors and out—inside a historic building on Governors Island, just a quick ferry ride from Lower Manhattan.
Dive into indoor and outdoor pools, saunas, and steam baths—some with picture-perfect NYC skyline views—at this day spa set in a 1930s army barracks. A short ferry ride from Manhattan’s southern tip drops you on car-free Governors Island, where you can hike or bike before your soak or massage.
Othership, Toronto, Canada
Toronto’s Othership bathhouses blend wellness and recovery with icy plunges (shown), steamy sauna sessions, and group classes.
Sober-curious travelers will appreciate how founder Robbie Bent drew from his own recovery journey to create these unique bathhouses in Toronto’s Yorkville and Adelaide neighborhoods. Guests swap alcohol for “state-shifting” activities, from saunas and ice baths to social classes focused on breathwork, chanting, and dancing to house music.
Kosa Spa, Madison, Wisconsin
A standout at this elegant Ayurvedic spa is abhyanga—a full-body massage using two bowls of warm, fragrant oil from Kosa’s skincare line. “In Sanskrit, ‘sneha’ means oil—but it also means love,” says founder Shilpa Sankaran. “So you’re saturating your body in love.” Housed in Madison’s historic Garver Feed Mill, Kosa also serves seasonal post-treatment meals and detox teas inspired by Ayurveda, India’s 5,000-year-old wellness tradition.
Caribbean
Cayo Levantado Resort, Dominican Republic
On a palm-lined Dominican island, Cayo Levantado Resort centers wellness with a meditation pavilion and a spa featuring a thermal plunge circuit.
Guests at this new all-inclusive resort pick from four wellness paths—like “relax” (yoga, meditation) or “refresh” (boot camp, adventurous hikes). The thatched-roof Yubarta center (named for the Taino word for whale) tailors physical and spiritual programs for each guest.
Amenta Wellness Journeys, Antigua and Barbuda
On Antigua’s volcanic highlands, daylong “nature walkabouts” include hiking Green Castle Hill, followed by beachfront yoga and a vegan picnic. Founders Ashante Lindsay and Malique “King” Williams designed these tours to showcase hidden island gems. “We spend the day sharing stories, eating, and liming [hanging out] like locals,” says Lindsay.
Rockhouse Hotel, Negril, Jamaica
Rockhouse Hotel’s innovative spa offerings include scrubs with local ingredients (seaweed, ginger) and meditation sessions with optional psilocybin microdosing (legal in Jamaica).
At the resort’s new wellness pavilion, two-hour meditative experiences incorporate psilocybin, a psychedelic mushroom known for enhancing senses. Guests nibble psilocybin-infused chocolate before breathwork and a sound bath with brass bowls.
Mexico & Central and South America
Banyan Tree Veya Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California, Mexico
At Banyan Tree Veya, guests enjoy spa treatments with local plants, yoga amid mountain views, and garden hikes (shown) in Mexico’s top wine region.
This resort follows Banyan Tree’s “eight pillars of wellbeing” (rest, mindfulness, nourishment, etc.). Massages and hydrotherapy use local herbs (hoja santa, white sage), while 30 modernist bungalows—designed by architect Michel Rojkind—offer vineyard views.
The Shack, José Ignacio, Uruguay
In chic José Ignacio, this yoga studio (now at Bahia Vik resort) hosts bilingual classes and themed retreats like Yoga for Bad People. The wood-lined studio overlooks the wild Atlantic.
Hotel Nantipa, Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
Hotel Nantipa offers Blue Zone wellness experiences, from rainforest hikes to helping cook local fish.
Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula is a Blue Zone, where many live to 100. The hotel embraces this with veggie-forward meals, beach yoga, and open-air massages. Guests can also hike to Montezuma Falls or volunteer at a turtle hatchery.
Europe
Six Senses Rome Spa, Italy
Ancient bathhouse-inspired plunge pools (hot, warm, cold) star at Six Senses Rome, along with massages, aromatherapy, and guided meditation.
This spa in a 15th-century palazzo near the Trevi Fountain also offers sound baths, yoga, and potion-making with a local alchemist.
Forest Lagoon, Akureyri, Iceland
This new hot springs spa overlooks Eyjafjörður, Iceland’s longest fjord.
After whale watching or waterfall hikes, warm up in tree-framed thermal pools or a Finnish sauna. The onsite restaurant serves smoked fish by a circular fireplace.
Göta Canal Trail, Sweden
Bike 137 miles past farms, castles, and historic locks along Sweden’s Blå Band. Rent bikes or join guided trips to watch boats navigate the 19th-century canal.
Bad Ischl, Austria
This 2024 European Capital of Culture thrived on salt-based wellness in the 1800s. Today, visitors soak in mineral-rich waters or hike the 230-mile BergeSeen Trail.
Middle East & Africa
Kisawa Sanctuary, Mozambique
This Indian Ocean resort’s thatched wellness center offers coconut oil facials, Ayurvedic massages, and birdwatching hikes.
Founder Nina Flohr aims for “reconnecting, not disconnecting.”
Zulal Wellness Resort, Qatar
The Middle East’s largest spa (3M sq. ft.) blends ancient Arabic and Islamic wellness, from stomach massages (Al-Batin) to family nature walks.
Asia
Kamalaya, Thailand
Kamalaya’s new Radiant Bliss program addresses women’s health with cupping and shirodara (oil dripped on the forehead).
Soulshine, Bali
A “sound and wellness resort” with music-themed rooms (Bowie, Prince), daily yoga, and DJ-led meditation.
Adventure Therapy Treks, India
Therapist-led Himalayan hikes blend forest bathing, journaling, and talk therapy.
Australia, New Zealand & South Pacific
Great Rides Network, New Zealand
New trails like the Whakarewarewa Forest Loop (20 miles) weave past redwoods and Māori carvings.
Cunnamulla Hot Springs, Australia
Soak in artesian basin-fed pools, then join Indigenous storytelling events.
Bora Hiking Explorer, French Polynesia
Bora Bora’s first guided hikes pass ancient temples, WWII sites, and fruit-filled jungles.