Wellness retreats offer a variety of physical and mental health benefits, including the opportunity to eat guilt-free food, engage in fun physical activities, experience healing through exposure to nature, and break away from your busy schedules to recharge your batteries.
Moreover, wellness retreats allow for self-discovery in an environment that fosters relaxation and healing. Let’s look at 4 websites you can use to book a wellness retreat.
You can use one of several apps to create your own wellness retreat, but let’s face it, there’s something special about going on an epic journey. Retreat Finder offers you the chance to indulge in some much-needed “me time” without the guilt because it’s a retreat focused on health, not the kind of vacation that you’ll return from feeling even more stressed and tired than when you left.
Advertised as the central place to find any retreat, the site lists thousands of retreats from all over the world. You can search by retreat topics, including yoga retreats, meditation and mindfulness, Christian retreats, health and wellness retreats, LGBTQIA retreats, culinary retreats, and women’s retreats.
Different kinds of retreats offer a variety of activities, including yoga, meditation, journaling, dancing, drumming, or even counseling. For example, by narrowing your search to weight loss retreats, you’ll find modalities such as juice fasting, detox, raw foods, and nutrition in general.
Other features of the site include the ability to filter retreats by a variety of subcategories such as whether they are affordable, luxury, rustic, silent, or solo. You can also filter by location; Retreat Finder lists locations from across the globe, including Mexico, Portugal, and Canada.
Wellbeing Escapes also offers a curated selection of wellness retreats and vacations in destinations around the world, including luxury spas, yoga retreats, and fitness vacations.
Headquartered in London, Wellbeing Escapes works on commission and purchases retreats in volume, which allows them to offer you retreats at prices that are lower than what you’d find if you contacted the retreats directly.
The Wellbeing Escapes Offers section includes a summary of retreats you might be interested in if you’re on a budget. Retreats are listed at various price points in locations such as Morocco, Thailand, and Cyprus. For example, for under $1,900, you can stay at a Scandanavian-style resort and spa in Thailand. Or, for around $3,000, you can stay at the Sen Wellness Sanctuary in Sri Lanka, which features authentic yoga, Ayurvedic treatments, and vegetarian cuisine.
To get started, you can visit their Holiday Types page and search for your next retreat based on how you want to spend your time. Retreat types include weight loss holidays, nature holidays, as well as group retreats so that you can plan something with your crew if you want to travel as a group.
Alternatively, you can use the filters on the Wellbeing Escapes homepage to narrow in on retreats not only by type and location but also by date range. That way, you can find the perfect escape for when you will have the time.
Getaway’s unique value proposition is that it has compiled a list of cabin-like retreats that are located no more than 2 hours outside major cities in the United States.
Getaway allows city slickers to escape the fast-walking, high-speed pace of life for the natural, cozy, calm lifestyle associated with staying in a cabin in the woods—what Getaway calls Outposts. All Outposts have their own outdoor space with a fire pit, picnic table, and chairs.
By providing stays in nature, you can easily disconnect and create a personal retreat that leaves you feeling refreshed and grounded. Many Outposts even feature lock boxes for your cell phone to help prevent you from distracting yourself with your smartphone. Be warned, if you take advantage of the lockbox, you won’t be able to watch a YouTube channel that guides you through a meditation or use an app to practice mindfulness while on your retreat. But you may find yourself calmer nonetheless.
As if you’ve ever needed one, Getaway provides the perfect excuse to find a cozy spot to wear comfortable clothes and ditch the makeup. Because let’s be real, no one’s going to be judging you in a cabin in the woods.
What’s better is that Getaway offers a 15% special discount for healthcare workers, active military/veterans, and students. And not to worry if you have a dog—pets are always welcome!
Touted as the first company to blend first-class travel with yoga, The Travel Yogi is a website dedicated to helping you find the ideal yoga retreat. This is a great option if you’re looking to learn new ways to relax through yoga and meditation without the fear of judgment from your local yogi or Zen master.
This website offers a selection of yoga retreats and wellness vacations in destinations around the world, including both group retreats and private retreats. Yoga teachers are carefully selected and each retreat blends yoga experiences with hiking, kayaking, exploring, biking, horseback riding, local culture, and nature.
The Travel Yogi website includes retreats across the world, from Fiji to France to Colombia. For example, the Fiji retreat will house you at the five-star Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort overlooking the ocean.
You’ll have the ability to do yoga morning and night, as well as snorkel, hike to waterfalls, explore deserted islands, and eat local cuisine. The only thing not included in the price is airfare. Everything else—from airport pickup to mocktails—is included.
Book a Wellness Getaway
Choosing a wellness retreat is an exciting process—you’ll get to spend days or even weeks focusing solely on your own relaxation, mental rest, and rejuvenation. And there are retreats out there for everyone. If you’re looking to take a short road trip outside a major city in the US and love the idea of a campfire, log cabin, and nature, then check out Getaway.
If you’re looking for something specific like a retreat dedicated to weight loss activities, check out Retreat Finder or Wellbeing Escapes. And if you’re looking for an all-inclusive, luxury, yoga-centric retreat in one of the most exotic locations on the planet, check out The Travel Yogi. Whatever you choose, it should be easy to feel inspired and excited about your upcoming getaway.