Vacations are no longer for blowing off workouts and stuffing your face with food and booze! It's all fun and games until your pants don't fit!!! Right?
Thankfully for our health's sake we now have a whole new world of "Wellness Travel." Hotels, resorts, and cruise lines have all adapted to meet the needs of healthy-minded travelers.
I'm sure you've all been to a hotel that claims they have a gym, but to your surprise, it's a tiny box with a few lousy cardio machines that don't even work. Ugh. It's so annoying that you don't even want to work out.
The new era of travel and leisure inspires and enables us to keep up with our fitness while seeing the world and having a bit of fun too. This is not as hard as you may think if you book in to the right place and come with the right mindset. Workouts can be part of a vacation, and they can become some of the most memorable experiences on the trip too! Picture the yoga guru at the hotel guiding you into a new pose at sunrise on a beautiful beach? Or a hike and cross training workout with a local guide! Whatever your dream vacation is... winter wonderland, tropical beach, or secluded oasis, know that the resorts and cruise lines are continuing to add healthy options to their menus and have stepped up their fitness facilities. Make sure to ask about the activity packed perks that most resorts are now offering.
This year Ryan and I went to Cabo and stayed at the JW Marriott Los Cabos. If you have never been, I highly recommend. This isn't the Cabo spring break spot by any means. Forget that, The JW is seclusion, luxury, and complete paradise. This resort is as stunning as it is health conscious. The hotel offered yoga, pilates, meditation walks, and spin classes to all guests. Now that is what I call some great activity perks. And did I mentioned they were all complimentary! Also to keep the balance Ryan got to do a Mezcal tasting! We had to sweat that out in the morning that's for sure!
My motto while I am away... "Sweat hard to Rest hard!"
If you're like me, you can't roll out of bed and head straight to the pool. I need to move, and nothing feels better than moving to start the day. A swim, beach jog or yoga class followed by a fresh juice and a latte will kick start any vacation day! I love to get active in nature with hiking, biking, surfing, and standup paddle boarding, After I burn off some energy, I'm ready to chill out, read a book, and sip on a tropical drink.
SO, you're probably wondering, how do you find a wellness hotel or the right vacation destination to meet your needs? Let's get you started and moving in the right direction:
1. What is your budget? This is #1. Your starting point. You first need to know how much money you have for your vacation.
2. What time of year are you looking to travel? When can you schedule your vacation? If you're flexible with your dates, you can find great deals for flights and air especially out of peak season.
3. What are your interests? How do you want to feel on your vacation, and when you are done? First determine this, and then you can decide what you want to do and how you want to do it. Adventure, relaxation, shopping, site seeing?
4. Consult with a specialist. Travel agents do exist and are extremely helpful. When you are sick, you go to a Doctor. When you want to travel, see a travel agent. They can often find you better deals and help you plan the trip that best fits your needs. The part most people don't know is that the service is free! When you book through a travel agent the hotel, resort, or cruise line pays the travel agent directly a commission, so you don't have to. You pay the same price as you would booking on your own, but have the additional service and support! What a Win Win!
5. Subscribe to The Balanced B. As you know I love to travel and I am always sharing travel tips and tricks. My next adventure sets sail Dec. 17th on Royal Caribbean's newest ship, The Harmony of the Seas. We're kicking off the holiday season with a family cruise so stay tuned...