Featured image: Learn how to choose a wellness retreat based on your needs | Photo by thanyapatm on Envato

Are ‘recovery retreats’ the latest travel trend for women?

by Diana Ballon

For some women, wellness travel means time in nature, healthy food and morning workouts in a gym. For others, it means going to a wellness retreat, where the primary goal is a more holistic approach to health — physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally.

Often, we as women have a particular focus; get fit, recover from trauma, loss, or grief. Many of us are at a turning point, having gone through a divorce, or serious illness, or want to live with greater meaning. However not all wellness retreats are created equal. You can register in a structured program, go with a group or simply use a resort setting provided for your own “retreat,” whatever that might be.

Wellness retreats offer women self-care

With retirement looming and travel increasing, I want my “time away” to be about de-stressing, staying active, and enjoying activities in nature. Wellness retreats offer all that. Since COVID began, I — like many other women — focused more than ever on healthy living and self-care, not just at home, but on the road. According to the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness tourism industry is on track worldwide to become a $1.4 trillion sector by 2027. I’m not alone in wanting to feel restored through travel, with time to “retreat” while still discovering new people and experiences and ways to stay healthy.

The Global Wellness Institute identified “recovery retreats” as one of 2024’s wellness trends, with recovery being about prioritizing “wellness and self-care” – both physical and mental – over sport. The Institute identifies technology as playing an increasing role in this wellness trend, from wearing devices to monitor our stress, quality of sleep and physical activity, to high-tech therapies such as photobiomodulation (a type of light therapy), to hyperbaric chambers (where you breathe 100 per cent oxygen) to red-light therapy, IV vitamin drips and lymphatic compression. Depending on the form, purported health benefits range from improved circulation to reduced inflammation to changing or boosting biological functioning.

How is a wellness retreat different than a wellness resort?

Often, a wellness “retreat” is a retreat from the outside world. It provides an opportunity to connect with yourself and other like-minded people, get a break from daily stresses and obligations, see your life with a different perspective, have more “authentic” experiences, and learn strategies and lifestyle habits that you can then draw on when you return home. The idea is to step out of your life so you can eventually step back in, with a new perspective and tools for a healthier lifestyle.

These retreats are often located in natural settings that promote healing. That might mean on a beach, in a forested area, in the desert or somewhere else away from urban concrete. Some retreats outright ban phones, computers and other technology, although most simply discourage these electronic “distractions.”

Resorts tend to be less “goal oriented” and structured than retreats. And they may help you achieve a goal of wellness but tend to be more focused on being a place to relax, have a healthy holiday, rather than a total reset. They are less likely to have you set an intention for your stay when you arrive, and less likely to offer inspirational talks or lectures, or have you meet with health care practitioners to help you reach your goals. However, both resorts and retreats may offer many of the same activities – from yoga, to fitness classes, hiking, horseback riding, meditation, healthy meals (and hands-on cooking), detoxing, massage and other spa services, hydrothermal experiences and sound bathing. However, a “retreat” will more likely include these activities in your fee (which can sometimes be quite hefty), while resorts may have various activities and services offered as add-ons.

Admittedly the distinction between resort and retreat can sometimes be subtle. For example, many properties call themselves a “resort,” but offer specialized wellness packages with different themes (from improving sleep to a fitness bootcamp) that would be more considered a “retreat.”

When to choose a wellness retreat?

You may want to choose a wellness retreat if you are a crossroads and are looking for a reset. Maye you are burnt out, need guidance, need to make a more radical shift in your life. Or maybe you simply want a healthy getaway and somewhere you can feel safe and cared for as a single person travelling alone. You may also want option of activities that will bring you together with others with similar interests and goals.

How to choose a wellness retreat?

Here are some questions to help you decide.

• Do you want to travel solo or bring a friend or partner?
• Do you want to simply slow down and reset or do you want increased physical activity and challenge?
• Are you looking for a wellness “resort” where activities are available without structure, or do you want a more structured calendar of activities each day?
• Are there specific things you want to work on or are you just looking for a break?
• Do you want to try new activities (e.g., dance, art, different forms of exercise) or are you looking for more stillness and meditation?
• What activities are you looking for?
• Do you want a luxury escape, something rustic or something in between?
• What is your budget?
• How far are you willing to travel?
• Do you want a retreat designed mainly for women, and for a certain age group?
• How long do you want to be away – for a weekend, a few days, or for a week or longer?

Types of wellness retreats and wellness resorts

There are many wellness retreats to choose from. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but all ones I have tried, or another member of JourneyWoman has participated in.

Resorts with customized wellness packages and wellness activities

The city of Scottsdale just outside of Phoenix, Arizona has a longstanding reputation as a “spa mecca.” In fact, it has the most resort spas per capita than any other city in the United States. Scottsdale’s setting in the Sonoran Desert, its ideal climate, and locally grown plants and herbs all contribute to the region’s healing powers.

Two of its award-winning resorts include Castle Hot Springs and Civana Wellness Resort & Spa.

While Castle Hot Springs is primarily a luxury resort, it does offer customized wellness programs. These include their “Intentional Wellness package” where you can get a massage, choose from activities such as yoga, Qigong, tai chi and guided hikes along with unlimited soaks in their three hot spring pools, a central feature of the resort. These hot springs, set into the rocks, are alluring now just for their warmth, the stunning natural setting (where you may well be soaking alone), and the lithium, magnesium and other minerals in the water.

Another highlight of the resort is the exceptional farm-to-table dining, with many of the ingredients harvested on their on-site farm, which you can tour. They have more than 150 rotating crops, providing fresh, super local cuisine with regenerative practices that promise minimal if no waste.

For more about costs, meals and activities included in an all-inclusive stay, visit their website here.

 Stay connected here with an Airalo eSIM. Use code JOURNEY10 for 10% off.

Civana Wellness Resort & Spa offers a huge array of fitness, mindfulness and other activities that add up to more than 70 wellness classes and experiences each week! These include everything from guided hikes to mountain biking, horseback riding and kayaking, some for an additional cost.

Participation is optional, but I booked several classes each day — from yoga to aquafit, to a “mindful mixology” class (using fresh juices and herbs) to sound bathing, TRX, floating guided meditation – and a walking meditation in their on-site labyrinth. They also have a spa with a hydrotherapy thermal circuit (think hot and cold) and many other treatment options to choose from.

Check rates and special offers here.

A wellness and cultural centre

Unlike the other retreats featured here, Le Monastère des Augustines is located in the heart of a city but connected to gardens, offering a unique urban sanctuary. This monastery turned boutique hotel and wellness and cultural centre in Quebec City, Canada has preserved the legacy of care of its founders, the Augustinian sisters of the Mercy of Jesus of Quebec, who founded the first hospital in America north of Mexico, and the first monastery-hospital building in 1695.

Although the centre is no longer religious so much as humanistic, Le Monastère has preserved its culture of care, encouraging quiet contemplation and introspection. Breakfasts happen in silence. And guests staying at the hotel gain “tools to care for themselves,” says Assistant Executive Director Isabelle Houde.

“Being at Le Monastère is not about managing a diagnosis, or losing weight or telling people what to do, but of finding meaning that resonates for you, spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically,” she says.

With 63 rooms, guests can book a hotel stay, and register for an overnight retreat with add-ons of yoga, meditation, massage and healthy meals. Or they can do one of the Wellness Retreat Packages or a Group Signature Retreat: there is one for health care providers as well as others for the general public. Le Monastère also offers a sleep package (with a sleep massage ritual, NeuroBed session and sleep-focused breathing and meditation) as well as a massage, health consult and access to their museum, which explores the Augustines’ legacy of spiritual and social engagement with the community.

Note that most group retreats are offered in French only.

Caregivers can stay for a reduced rate. Click here for current rates.

 Find the best priced flight to here on Skyscanner.

Wellness resort and fitness retreat

Just an hour’s drive from San Diego in the foothills of Mexico’s Mount Kuchumaa, Rancho La Puerta has an award-winning spa, with miles of hiking trails, acres of organic gardens, accommodations in private Mexican-style casitas (many with fireplaces) and an all-included menu of lacto-ovo meals, and activities. While nothing is mandatory, you can take advantage of a plethora of classes, sometimes with a choice of as many as six at one time! Activities range from yoga to pilates, to sound healing, water aerobics, cooking and inspirational talks.

Their spa offers extensive body treatments and holistic therapies, while relaxation can also happen more informally, with a dip in one of the property’s swimming pools or an afternoon reading in a hammock slung between some oak trees.

Now that founder Deborah Szekely is 102(!), her daughter Livia Brightwood has taken over most of the Ranch’s operation. Week-long all-inclusive stays start at 5,650 USD, they offer a reduced rate for Canadian travellers as well as shorter three- to four-day stays.

Fitness and wellness retreat

Award-winning Mountain Trek Health Reset Retreat is located in the forests of B.C. about 45 minutes from Nelson, where you really do “retreat” from urban life and into wilderness. Staff here are heartfelt in their commitment to creating lasting change for their guests, but you also need to put in the work!

Highly structured week-long programs focus on the five pillars of health — fitness, sleep, nutrition, stress management and detoxification. While you are there, you agree to renounce coffee, sugar and alcohol so you can learn healthier, more mindful ways to cope with any challenges that may arise. Distractions aside, your day begins with a wake-up knock on your door at 6:00 am. Then you head downstairs where a glass of ginger water and a smoothie await before your yoga class begins. After that, it’s breakfast, followed by three to four hours of Nordic trekking. This trekking is different than your leisurely hike or walk in the woods. Instead, you walk using poles and without speaking, ideally using 65 to 85 percent of your maximum effort for the requisite “fat flush.” (Note that people more focused on stress reduction and connecting to nature can join separate groups that hike at a slower pace.) Later there may be a talk focused on one of the pillars of health, followed by dinner and then a fitness class and a massage. By around 9:00 pm, you are ready for sleep.

I won’t say that I found my week there easy, but I can say that that week has had one of the greatest impacts on how I feel about healthy living. Even several years later, I still focus my own wellness goals by following Mountain Trek’s five pillars of health.

Mountain Trek is co-owned by its program director and general manager, Kirk Shave, along with Alex Timmons, a former tech founder from San Francisco who, after finding himself in the hospital with a collapsed lung, “realized he needed to find a more sustainable path.” Rates start at $8,900 CDN per week, and slightly less for any additional weeks.

Wellness and weight loss resort

Behavioural psychologist Dr. Peter Miller first opened the luxury resort Hilton Head Health in South Carolina in 1976 for people seeking to lose weight without a “fat farm” or “fat camp” mentality. Their goal was to help people achieve long-term, sustained weight loss, which they continued to do almost 50 years later. The focus of their weight loss programs is on teaching healthy habits and encouraging personal responsibility. Programs last anywhere from three days to a week or longer, with everything from tailored fitness routines to nutrition counselling, vitamin therapy, mindfulness practices, and healthy cooking classes and food options.

Now with a mandate for weight loss and wellness more generally, the resort has been rebranded as the Hilton Head Health Wellness Resort & Spa. The ReNew wellness program I participated in began with a LifeBalance assessment to help me set goals for my visit, and included a massage, a cooking demonstration, an extensive choice of fitness and yoga classes, along with many other perks: I had access to a stand-up bike for the duration of my stay for daily rides to the beach. And I could enjoy their outdoor pool and hot tub.

In January 2025, the resort is also introducing “Healthy Island Getaways,” focused on beachside wellness and self-care. You will be able to personalize your stay with “tracks” on outdoor adventure, self-care and renewal, culinary, fitness or recreation, over three days or a week. You will also be able to choose various “Healthy Enhancements,” such as mindfulness sessions, nutrition workshops and activities like pickleball, kayaking, spa treatments, private cooking lessons and pilates.

For weight loss and wellness program rates and prices, check their website.

Look for more wellness retreats as part of a series, including psychedelic, menopausal and “longevity-focused” retreats.

More on Transformational Travel