How to Turn Your Next Trip Into a Self-Care Vacation

Some vacations are packed with sightseeing excursions and exotic tours, and while these trips are plenty of fun, you often come back home feeling more tired than when you left. If you’re looking for something different that will leave you feeling refreshed and relaxed, treat yourself to a self care vacation. These intentional trips are designed to feed your soul as you slow down and practice self care. While there are a variety of formal group retreats available around the world, these self care vacation ideas can turn any trip into your own wellness retreat.

1. Choose the Right Destination

While you can take a self care vacation anywhere in the world, some destinations lend themselves more easily to wellness retreats. Choose a quiet destination where you’ll be surrounded by natural beauty, and make sure it has all the luxuries and amenities you need to feel relaxed and pampered. Staying in an all-inclusive resort in a tropical beach destination will immediately put you at ease.

2. Put Your Phone Away

The biggest distraction on any vacation can be your phone, and to focus on your mental and physical health, you’ll need to shut down your email and turn off notifications. During your wellness vacation, limit your screen time to keep yourself in the moment and soak up the present.

3. Start Your Day with Mindfulness

Mindfulness is one of the biggest practices in selfcare, and practicing mindfulness can take a variety of forms. To draw attention to your mental wellbeing, try practicing deep breathing, meditation, yoga, or journaling, tuning into how you're feeling and focusing on the present. Apps like Insight Timer and journal prompts simplify mindfulness, and implementing these practices on a self care vacation can turn them into lifelong habits. 

4. Get Your Body Moving

There’s a variety of self care vacation ideas to get your body moving, and finding an activity that you enjoy will make you feel rejuvenated. Start your day with a walk on the beach, a trail run, or a scenic bike ride. Taking this time to move will energize your day as you stretch your muscles and breath in the fresh air.

5. Immerse Yourself in Nature

Throughout your vacation, find opportunities to get outside where the sound of the wind in the trees and waves crashing on the shore surround you. Spend your days lounging on the beach, hiking in the jungle, or sailing at sea. Whether you’re snorkeling or taking a hike, the tranquility of nature is the perfect environment for reflecting and relaxing. 

6. Fuel Your Body with Fresh Produce and Seafood

To make sure you have the energy you need for these outdoor activities, start your day with a hearty breakfast with fresh produce, and when you’re vacationing in a tropical destination, pineapples, oranges, and papaya are in season all year long. At each meal, fuel your body with local dishes and fresh seafood, and while eating healthy is part of a wellness vacation, allow yourself to indulge in a few treats and cocktails.

7. Give Back

Taking a wellness vacation gives you the chance to slow down and focus on yourself, but one of the best self care vacation ideas is to give back. In destinations all over the world, there are plenty of opportunities to volunteer, from walking dogs at a shelter to lending a hand at an orphanage. Spending time giving back will give you that satisfying feeling of helping others.

8. Sleep Well

When you have time off work and are in a sumptuous resort suite, it can be tempting to stay up late reading a good book or watching a movie, but to feel refreshed at the end of your trip, make sure to give yourself a full eight hours of sleep. Go to bed at a good time, and wake up with the sunrise in the morning. This way, when you return home, you won’t struggle to fall back into your daily routine.

While high-energy trips filled with tours and nights out are fun, sometimes, you just need to slow down and focus on your wellbeing. Taking a self care vacation gives you the chance to practice mindfulness and restart healthy habits. At the end of these trips, you’ll return home recharged and ready for whatever’s next.