The spa can change your life – a spa certainly changed mine. After my first spa vacation, at a state-run spa in Germany, I was such a fan of spa travel I went home, wrote about the spa I’d been to and sold the articles to some top newspapers including the San Francisco Chronicle, the New York Post and the Toronto Star – a fluke or fate, who knows?
At any rate my life as a travel and spa writer was born. Who knew there was such an interest in wellness?
Spa luxury at the Park Kenmare in Ireland
The spa is a good for your health
Since then I’ve written about the spa industry, spa travel and top wellness destinations around the globe. And what I’ve learned is that there is no healthier way to vacation. Is it any wonder spa and wellness travel is one of the fastest growing niches in the tourism industry?
My only question is, what took it so long?
Nordic Spa Natur’Eau in Quebec
Open your mind to spa travel
So drop those spa prejudices (you know you have them – at least my husband did until I brainwashed educated him), because a trip to the spa can mean far more than a mani and a rose-scented facial (though you wouldn’t catch me turning one down).
Today, the spa is as much about lifestyle as it is about beauty and there are spas and spa destinations that cater to every taste.
Historic Bath Spa
What can you do at the spa?
The options for spa treatments and spa programs are so varied it’s mind blowing. In additional to the good old Swedish massage, at the spa you can:
- Hone your sports performance
- Soothe your back pain
- Improve your sleep habits
- Challenge yourself with equine therapy
- Learn how to do Nordic walking.
- Let us not forget the power of a really good pedicure
Sahra Spa at Cosmo Las Vegas Hotel
Why go to the spa?
Ah, Spa, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways:
- Because you offer stress relief, especially a spa that has expansive facilities such as saunas, whirlpools and relaxation rooms. The minute I walk into one I start to relax.
- Because when my skin looks haggard you make it look better – nothing beats a good collagen facial. Nothing. Not even champagne.
- Because you ease my back pain and shoulder tension: A good masseuse is gold, baby. Gold.
- Because when no one cares, you do. Seriously. The spa is a terrific substitute for love and attention.
- Because you like to celebrate: Going to the spa for a special occasion is a no brainer. I’d rather go to the spas in Vegas on a bachelorette party than play the slots wearing fishnets and a captain’s hat any day.
- Because you heal: Curative spas are all the rage these days, a throw back to the time when taking the ‘cure’ in Europe was a high society past time. My personal favourites are thermal water (hot springs) spas, though I’m not adverse to a good seawater spa cure either.
- Because luxury travel is always better when it includes a spa.
- Because spa travel is the very best type of travel of all.
Different types of spas
Trying to define a spa these days is like trying to define culture, or health, or life itself. The spa can be so many different things. There are Nordic spas with outdoor pools, beauty spas, medi spas, wellness and holistic spas, fitness spas, detox spas, destination spas, day spas and even DIY spas out in nature, where you slap some mud onto your legs and rub.
Something for everyone to be sure.
DIY wellness in Saturnia, Italy
Spa travel is a wide open world
With so many spa options available, the question isn’t whether to go to the spa, it’s where to go to the spa.
There are luxury spa destinations, affordable spa holidays and everything in between. And that’s why WanderingCarol has such a large wellness and spa section: it’s designed to be the ultimate resource for spa travel, luxury spas, spa destinations, spa trends and how-to information, just for you.
How to use this spa guide
To get the most out of the spa information on this travel, you can search out spas by destination on the SPA menu at the top of the page, or go to the spa category on the lower right. Have fun and happy spa travel planning – don’t you feel better already?
I think we all need more ‘self care’ when we travel, Kristi!
I need to put going to the spa at the top of my list of things to do when traveling. I try to go to hot springs, but really need to do more for self-care as I travel.
Hey, Megan – I come back from vacation needing a vacation, too! Glad to know I’m not the only one.
Thanks for this Carol! I don’t really see myself as a spa traveler, though when I think about it I’ve visited a large number of European historical baths in my time, so I assume they do count! Definitely not going to diss the importance of learning how to relax while traveling, because often I return from one vacation and am so worn out I need to take another!! So a spa influence may not be such a bad thing :D!
Oh, Claudia, that’s too bad. Maybe you need a place like Berchestesgaden in Germany where they have asthma treatments deep in a salt cave.
I love spas. But last time I went to one, all the humidity caused me a horrible asthma attack that I would rather forget – it lasted for days and had to take so many medications for it that seriously the benefits of the spa were gone within an hour!
Thanks, Gem – I can’t believe I lived in Korea and the only spa I ever went to was a foot spa. Now I hear about them all the time.
Ah these photos make me want to go to a spa right now. The only spa travel I’ve done so far is in Korea and one here in Palawan, Philippines. Always the highlight of my trips! In Korea, we need to be butt naked, really awkward! Haha.
Part of the spa ‘magic,’ Anda, is learning how to relax. It takes a good therapist and strength of mind. It’s SO hard to turn off these days.
Hi Hitch-hiker – I had a similar experience at a Russian banya in St Petersburg. Fabulous, cheap and we got to beat each other with birch branches. Now that’s a spa!
We don’t usually visit spa resorts,but we had a really good time recently in Kyrgyzstan in a traditional Soviet sanatorium, where we took some mud baths! It was so much fun and so cheap too. For the mud batch and a massage we paid less than 10$ each!
I probably should visit one of these beautiful spas that you are talking about in your post. Would you believe it if I told you I never visited one? Yea, it’s true. It’s not because I don’t believe in the benefits of a great spa. It’s because I don’t have patience to “relax” when I’m on the road and at home (in Los Angeles, I mean) I don’t know any such spas…. Well, maybe some day, when I grow old…
Thanks, Girl, Unspotted. I love a good spa, too. In fact, I’m thinking of a facial this week. Always good after jet lag.
I love a good spa! You nailed it down pretty well!
My partner and I spent a long weekend in a spa on Boracay Philippines. It was amazing! Will be looking through your spa guide to help us decide where to go next!!
Who doesn’t like to go to a spa! I go for massages every week…maybe I am a bit addicted!