Wellness Travel
Journeys to Nourish Body and Soul
by Suzanne Johnson
Photo Courtesy: Juniper Preserve
In the contemporary world of digital screens and jam-packed calendars, planning a getaway from the daily grind can become just another stressful task. What if we took the advice of author and traveler Miriam Beard who wrote, “Travel is more than seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”
Understanding that travel is more than sightseeing and a bucket list of photo opportunities, growing numbers of travelers are building wellness and health into their vacation plans to ensure they return home restored instead of exhausted, and nourished instead of depleted. With a focus on restoration and mindfulness, travel to elevate health can indeed shift one’s life for the better.
More Self-care, Fewer Selfies
Wellness travel means intentionally adding experiences to enhance every aspect of human health—physical, mental, spiritual and social. From ancient practices such as yoga and meditation to newer treatments such infrared light therapy and sensory deprivation tanks, the wellness spectrum holds an abundance of opportunities to reset or kickstart healthy habits.
The concept of wellness travel differs from medical tourism, another growing trend. In medical tourism, people with a medical condition travel for various reasons, including reduced costs, accessibility or services not available in the United States. Wellness tourism is also related to health, but the goal is proactive and holistic. Instead of fixing a specific problem, wellness practices aim to lift moods, lower stress and strengthen bodies.
This approach to travel is thriving, and the hospitality world is taking note. According to the Global Wellness Institute, the demand for wellness services has blossomed into a significant sector of the travel industry. In 2022, wellness services and activities made up 17% of all funds spent on tourism worldwide. That number continues to grow and is expected to top $1 trillion in annual revenue by 2025 as people weigh paying for experiences versus material goods. Wellness travel supports both wanderlust and commitment to health.
For travelers, that data means wellness has gone mainstream. Once considered an indulgence, self-care services are the new gold standard in hospitality. Hotels and resorts are replacing stuffy fitness rooms with airy yoga studios and top-notch equipment. Spas offer more than facials—guests can find meditation and breathwork spaces, sound baths, saunas and cold-plunge pools, along with specialized massage. After a full day, guests gather in spaces designed to bring people together in real life, as consciously created menus serve up fresh, seasonal fare aimed to nourish body and soul.
Whether planning a weeklong retreat or a weekend road trip, travelers can introduce wellness into their plans. For example, an extra day added to the end of a business trip allows for self-care and decompression outside of a conference room. Vacationers may pivot from crowded amusement parks to an unplugged beach experience. Sometimes wellness just means setting intentions and a few DIY details: packing an eye mask and earplugs for deep rest, setting aside journaling time or checking the map for nearby open spaces to plan for a few moments in nature.
The Power of Nature
Photo Courtesy: Juniper Preserve
Western medicine now validates what ancient cultures have long understood about the link between nature and health. A simple walk outdoors listening to birds, smelling the earth and breathing in what the trees breathe out can lower stress hormones and boost memory. Getting hands in the dirt raises serotonin levels as it softens anxiety. If that walk is near a river, waterfall or ocean waves, the impact multiplies. Moving water charges the air with negative ions, which can lift depression and improve sleep.
Finding wellness destinations immersed in nature is worth the search. With its mineral-rich hot spring pool, cozy-rustic log cabins and lodge, and endless alpine trails, the Idaho Rocky Mountain Ranch, deep in the Sawtooth Mountains near Stanley, Idaho, offers unplugged, low-tech wellness with a daily dose of adventure. Try fly fishing the Salmon River or exploring the endless alpine trails and lakes. The ranch has been fine-tuning ways to restore wellness for almost a century, according to office manager Ryan Kolbe. “Our goal is to leave our guests feeling better than when they checked in,” he explained.
Another wellness destination can be found in Central Oregon, just 16 miles northeast of Bend. There, among the sage and old-growth juniper trees, Juniper Preserve resort creates an oasis of wellness in the high desert landscape. Self-care in this setting extends beyond luxurious spa services to guided experiences, including yoga and breathwork, kava and cacao ceremonies, sage bundles and ecstatic dance. The resort offers specialized packages, such as the Babymoon Bundle, curated to nurture expecting mothers. Considering the ample menu of à la carte wellness options, guests can design a personalized wellness retreat. It can be coupled with getting outdoors for golf at Juniper Preserve’s Pronghorn course designed by Jack Nicklaus as well as its Tom Fazio Golf Course.
Returning to the real world
When a journey comes to its end, a wellness experience can help create meaningful changes to your daily living, as author Beard expounded. How can a traveler hold onto those new practices back in the world of work and family obligations? To raise the odds of success, choose one or two habits to continue, such as a morning meditation or afternoon walk in nature. Or keep the inspiration alive by planning your next destination. After all, wellness travel itself might be the healthiest habit of all. 
Suzanne Johnson, a Midwesterner by birth, is a writer based in Bend, Oregon, with a passion for stories about finding community, connecting with nature and adventures in traveling.