What exactly is wellness travel?
Since the beginning of my wellness travel journey, this is has been the question of the hour. People have been asking me what is it, if it’s a type of health travel, and how does someone practice wellness focused travels?
My explanation:
Wellness traveling is consciously focusing on your mind, body, and spirit, then actively pursuing what it needs through whatever those needs may be during travel. It’s enhancing or preserving your wellbeing. Wellness travel involves intuitively turning inward, listening to the body, and then engaging in what you hear during your travels.
Wellness traveling is enhancing your health through travels.
Let me give you an example of this. Recently, my partner and I went to Singapore and Malaysia. I was so excited to reach our destinations even after a 26+ hour flight, which included a 12+ hour layover in South Korea. Emotions of excitement were high, but the exhaustion crept up even faster.
The first day in Singapore . . .
The entire first day in Singapore, I felt like I was in a constant earthquake. The ground felt like it was rolling up and down. I often had to brace or lean against a wall to regain my balance. I was jet-lagged. Because I practice wellness traveling, I decided to turn inward and ask my body what it needed to feel good and enhance its wellbeing.
The answer was rest and slow travel. It was hard, because I often have a lot of energy and want to go-go-go. However, instead of jetting around the city visiting the breathtaking Gardens by the Bay and eating my way through Little India, I listened to my body and made a conscious decision to rest.
The second day in Singapore . . .
On the second day we relaxed by the infinity pool for the day, ate some tasty pastries, went on a slow walk around the quiet town of Johor Bahru. My partner and I ate some great Singaporean noodles and rice dishes for our meals. We ended up having an amazing day! Practicing wellness travel in that moment benefited my overall trip because I had more energy for day three, better sleep, and the earthquake like jet-lag subsided substantially.
Now I know being attentive to your jet lag is well-known advice, and every article would advise taking it slow when you’re jet lagged. However, I used this example for that same reason. Most travelers have experienced jet lag, so it’s easy to relate. Having a wellness travel mindset means focusing on boosting your health and wellness, so let’s start with easing jet lag if you have it.
P.S. You can also read inspirational wellness quotes to get you in the right health-focused mindset.
Think
The third day in Singapore . . .
Moreover, wellness traveling is really about finding what will make you feel good in the long run, and not just in that moment. Since we rested on day two, I had so much more energy for the rest of our trip. More energy for trying new foods like durian, and more energy to let my nose be the guide of where to eat next as we weaved our way through the surplus of food stalls in Chinatown, trying tantalizing and exciting foods such as bao buns, durian, and so much more.
Part of me wanted to skip out on our downtime lounging by the pool and go straight to exploring the city. My feet would have been exhausted from walking around, but I’d survive and I’d still be happy.
On the contrary, because I chose to think long-term about my wellness during the trip, I ended up being even happier than I thought. I focused on what my body wanted, which was sleep and rest, and in return I had more energy, less jet-lag, and more alert taste buds for the food excursions around town.
Combining wellness and travel
One thing I’ve learned about wellness traveling is that wellness doesn’t stop because your environment changes; rather, it’s acknowledging how your environment influences your inner being and how you can support it. The rolling earthquake feeling probably should have been a big sign I was jet-lagged, but it wasn’t. Being extremely focused on my environment, I forgot to notice how I was feeling in the environment, as compared to how I wanted to feel.
“Wellness traveling is committing to boosting your health during your trip”
I wanted to feel like the earth was not shattering beneath my feet. I wanted to feel balanced so I could move throughout my day with ease. The solution was resting by the pool to support my well-being. At first it can be difficult really honing in to what your body needs long-term, but it gets easier with practice. Normally that would have taken me a couple days to figure out, but I figured it out in a couple of hours. Progress!
Types of wellness traveling
While wellness traveling is committing to improving or boosting your health during travels, it can be done in two different ways. The one I focused on while in Singapore and Malaysia was secondary wellness travels. This involves doing activities that facilitate your well-being. For me, this was lounging by the pool on day two, getting a massage to promote even more relaxation on day three, and everyday devouring some amazing sugar-free green juices I found walking around China town or Johor Bahru.
In European cities like Barcelona, my wellness travels were more food based to boost my physical well-being, dining at gluten-free dairy-free restaurants and indulging in sweet creamy vegan desserts.
Tip: Want more ideas for wellness activities while abroad? Read this guide for wellness activities to get inspiration to boost your wellbeing anywhere.
The opposite wellness travel style is called primary wellness travels. This style involves planning an entire trip around your well being. For example, if I decided to go hiking around Malaysia for three days, or if my purpose in Singapore was for a yoga retreat, I would be engaging in primary wellness travels. Each style will benefit your health and wellness long term, it just depends what your body is needing.
How to wellness travel
Moreover, wellness traveling can be embraced at any stage of travel. Whether it’s the planning stage, the packing stage or the already there stage. Maintaining your wellness and health installs the readiness needed to tackle your traveling day(s).
During my packing stage, I probably packed about ten dairy-free and gluten-free travel snacks for the flight to Singapore. I wanted to make sure I had plenty to hold me over during the flight and the long layovers to maintain my well-being. I’m glad I did, because the jet-lag would have been far worse on an empty stomach!
And that’s it!
Wellness travel doesn’t mean you need to meditate all day, or that you can only drink green smoothies. Nor does it mean squeezing every experience into your trip so you’re burnt out once you return home from vacation. It’s a happy medium.
Wellness travel trends
Wellness traveling trends are not going away anytime soon, so if you are embarking on wellness trips, expect there to be more options to enhance your wellness travel experience. Research from the Global Wellness Institute shows from 2015-2017, the economy for global wellness travel has increase by 6.5% annually. That’s almost double the annually growth for global travel and tourism, which is about 3.5%, according to World Tourism Cities Federation’s tourism economy report.
Ultimately, there is no right way to travel, but there are ways to travel feeling your happiest and healthiest self. Wellness travel is that avenue. All we have to do is listen to what our bodies are saying and give it that love and support it wants. After all, everyone deserves to feel good traveling.
Quick Wellness Travel Tips
Each body is different, and what it needs daily can change. All we have to do is listen to what our bodies need and give it that love and support it wants.
Sometimes it’s helpful to ask ourselves questions about how we want to engage in our health before we travel.
- What kinds of things does my body want during this trip? (adventure, relaxation, detox, food-centered, sports filled)
- What will help me feel my best?
- Do I want a wellness centered trip or do I want to engage in a well being activity? (yoga, mediation, take a cooking class)
Give yourself flexibility to find the answer (as it may surprise you/be different than what you expected). Our bodies change, and so can our answers.
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Awesome advice! I always like to think about taking it easy and enjoying the travel experience, rather than rushing through and trying to make the most out of the time. Your post gave me some further ideas, thanks!
While we’re travelling we often forget to check in with ourselves. What a great idea.
Really interesting post. It made me realize I should consider my wellness more carefully when I return from travel. I am normally quite good at looking after myself when we travel (I guess it helps that we travel to walk/hike, which makes me really happy aaand healthy.)
But you made me think I don’t listen to my body enough when we get home. I normally head straight back to work with jet lag, and it takes me a while to re-adjust to life when I am so tired.
I often think about wellness while traveling, because my body demands it. I think you have some great tips here, particularly concerning flexibility and doing what’s best for you. Because everyone’s body and mind are different and like you said, we all explore differently!
What an eye-opening post. I did a lot of these types of travel when I was single not knowing that they are actually called wellness traveling. I love languages so back in 2015, I lived in Germany for a few months to learn German, and I traveled all around Europe on weekends. I also enjoyed sitting at cafes and restaurants alone where nobody knew me. It was a great time to reflect and reset. So many people think wellness is all about doing enjoyable activities or spa days. For me, it’s all about personal development, combined with travel 🙂
I love this so much!
This is great advice. Traveling can be tough on your body especially when you’re moving from place to place so often. It’s important to rest and take care of yourself. I try to eat well too when I’m traveling so I’m not feeling gross.
Interesting explanation of wellness travel. This is a new term to me and definitely makes a lot of sense. Like you, I tend to overdo it as I want to make the most of every opportunity and every minute exploring new places. I know when I went to Dubai last year, it was comforting to know that I’d be there a full week and it was wise to take the advice of my host to take the first day or two slower. Like you I enjoyed pool time and more lounging and that ensured my wellness and happiness for the remaining of the trip.
I love this so much! Wellness traveling is super important to me! I think everyone needs a getaway once in a while for some freshness!