The turning of the calendar year is a time for
reflection, renewal, and setting intentions for what’s to come. More and more
travelers are skipping the New Year’s Eve partying and choosing to ring in the
new year with clarity and calm.
We’ve rounded up 12 destinations that go far
beyond your typical spa experience. They offer immersive experiences, blend
ancient healing practices with modern science, and use nature as the ultimate
therapy to ensure you step into 2026 feeling balanced, energized, and ready for
a great year ahead.
Namia River Retreat | Hoi An,
Vietnam
Namia
River Retreat highlights traditional Vietnamese medicine, a practice
dating back to the 14th century that has largely remained under the radar.
Here, guests are introduced to Vietnamese well-being practices, including duong
sinh — the country’s unique approach to breathwork — and dien chan, a form of
facial reflexology.
Guests even have the chance to visit
Vietnamese healers in their homes, gaining an intimate insight into ancient
wellness traditions.
The resort is thoroughly modern, featuring
cutting-edge interiors and sophisticated circadian rhythm lighting systems that
gently reinforce day-night cycles to remind guests when they should be awake
and asleep.
The Lumina Spa offers unique wellness
programs, such as Deep Rest and Body Balance. Treatments are inspired by
Southern Herbology (Thuoc Nam) and include the Thuoc Nam Hammam for Relaxation,
which uses a custom blend of herbs like chrysanthemum and dried mint leaves.
eriro | Tyrolean Alps, Austria
Eriro is a super stylish, secluded Austrian
lodge nestled in a remote part of the Tyrolean Alps. It takes an intentionally
unstructured approach to wellness, allowing each guest’s well-being journey to
unfold in a way that feels comfortable and best for them.
The resort sits on the edge of a mountain,
surrounded by stress-reducing forests and calm lakes, enveloped in restorative
silence.
While you can stick to conventional yoga,
daily breathwork sessions, and forest bathing after a soak in the lodge’s trio
of pools, you may surprise yourself by agreeing to some off-the-beaten-path
activities.
These include barefoot hikes across
moss-covered woodlands and signing up to learn snowflake-reading techniques.
The spa also features a spruce and Finnish
sauna, a waterfall rock shower, and a relaxation room that uses sound waves
corresponding to the earth’s frequency to induce deep relaxation.
Rancho La Puerta. (Photo Credit: Rancho La Puerta Media)
Rancho La Puerta | Tecate, Mexico
Rancho La Puerta is the original fitness and
resort spa, set on 4,000 acres of gardens, meadows, and mountains in Tecate,
Mexico. This luxurious sanctuary invites guests to ring in 2026 with balance
and renewal.
The programming here encourages both
reflection and growth, offering over 80 fitness classes, from yoga and Pilates
to TRX and guided hikes. Holistic therapies, including Reiki, sound bathing,
and WATSU (an aquatic therapy), are available for deep relaxation.
Guests savor fresh, seasonal, pescatarian spa
cuisine crafted from the property’s own organic garden, or can join immersive
cooking classes at the renowned La Cocina Que Canta.
To welcome in 2026, the resort embraces an
alcohol-free celebration centered on mindfulness, movement, and meaningful
connection.
Euphoria Retreat | Peloponnese,
Greece
This sophisticated, holistic resort in the
Peloponnese has created results-driven yet uniquely relaxing wellness programs.
Euphoria
has done so by fusing the teachings of the Greek physician Hippocrates (the
father of modern Western medicine) with Traditional Chinese Medicine and the
latest technological advances.
The impressive range of wellness offerings
here includes fitness weeks that concentrate on green therapy, featuring al
fresco workouts in olive groves and amphitheatres. The resort also offers
in-depth medical testing to produce a personalized, step-by-step blueprint for
improving longevity prospects.
A central pillar of its award-winning spa is
its collaboration with Dr. George Leon, an internationally renowned expert in
metabolic medicine. Dr. Leon and his team developed the patented 3GL PLUS
therapy, a scientific metabolic test that measures biomarkers (like glycogen,
glucose, and glutathione) to assess health. With this info, the team customizes
a diet rooted in Greek cuisine to help guard against serious health risks.
Grand Resort Bad Ragaz | Bad
Ragaz, Switzerland
Long considered one of Europe’s leading
wellness and medical health destinations, Grand Resort
Bad Ragaz is pushing the envelope again with its Tamina Health
Center. New as of October 2025, the center is a world-leading facility for
longevity and preventative health, focusing on improving “health span” — the
number of healthy years a person has in their life.
The foundation of the resort’s therapies is
the 36.5°C thermal water from an ancient natural spring. The Tamina Health
Center stands out because its program goes beyond traditional longevity to
focus on health span. Additionally, it’s run by a team with decades of
pioneering medical expertise.
Each guest receives a tailored program, and
the resort is designed to be a multigenerational experience, allowing parents,
children, and grandparents to embark on their own tailored journeys.
In addition to the medical center, the Thermal
Spa features 14 thermal plunge and swimming pools across the resort, each
offering distinct health benefits.
Buahan, A Banyan Tree Escape. (Photo Credit: Buahan Media)
Buahan, A Banyan Tree Escape |
Bali, Indonesia
Buahan
is an adults-only “eco-barefoot” retreat nestled in Bali’s jungle, designed to
foster reconnection and self-discovery through open-air living. The no-walls,
no-doors concept offers guests a “naked experience” in communion with nature.
The wellness highlights are deeply rooted in
the local landscape. The Toja Spa offers open-air treatments using locally
grown botanicals. Guests can embark on the Soul Freedom Journey, a spiritual
purification ritual that involves a short hike to the captivating Tjampuhan
waterfall. Dressed in traditional attire, the ceremony includes chanting,
meditation, and a flower-release ritual at the river to symbolize letting go of
what no longer serves you.
The resort also offers The Art of Loloh, a
hands-on tonic-making ritual using foraged herbs, which complements the healing
menus of the plant-based dining and herbal cocktails at the Botanist Bar.
Lamangata Luxury Surf Resort |
Costa Rica
At Lamangata Luxury Surf Resort, wellness is
found in the immersion of nature and mindful movement in unexpected ways. This
new six-suite boutique resort is an ideal destination for a New Year’s Eve that
swaps the champagne for the ocean.
Guests can start the day with a guided beach
meditation before flowing into a surf session. The experience turns surfing
into a moving meditation, where each movement is paired with breathwork or
intention-setting.
The all-inclusive stay features personalized
surf lessons and dynamic warm-ups. Beyond surfing, the resort also offers
soundbath sessions, intention-setting rituals, and guided nature walks. Guests
are treated to fresh, locally inspired, organic cuisine from the resort’s
on-site gardens and greenhouses.
Sensei Retreats | Lanaii
(Hawaii), Rancho Mirage (California), & Los Cabos (Mexico)
Founded by Oracle’s Larry Ellison and
physician Dr. David Agus, Sensei offers evidence-based retreats that merge science
and self-care across locations like Lanaii, Rancho Mirage, and Los Cabos.
The New Year’s programming is designed for
deep reflection and intention setting. Activities include Map Your Year, a
vision board meditation workshop. Guests can also engage in Grounded
Reflections, a guided year-end mindfulness review, and celebrate the first
sunrise with a New Year’s Day sunrise hike and meditation. The experience is
rounded out with the Holiday Harvest Garden Walk & Sensei by Nobu Dinner,
offering wellness-focused culinary and garden experiences.
Paws Up | Greenough, Montana
Paws Up, a two-Michelin-key ranch, combines
luxury with unforgettable adventure across 37,000 acres of untamed Montana
wilderness alongside the Blackfoot River. With wide-open spaces and fresh air,
it’s the perfect place to reset and soak in the New Year.
The wellness journey here is holistic and
centered in nature. Guests can immerse themselves in the forest atmosphere
through the ancient practice of forest bathing. To further rejuvenate, you can
couple this with a full menu of treatments at Spa Town, an open-air retreat set
at the edge of a peaceful meadow. Offerings here include massage, facials, IV
hydration therapy, apothecary classes, breathwork, yoga, and soundbath
sessions.
For those looking to let their inner
adventurer run wild, the property has over 70 year-round activities, including
more than 100 miles of designated trails for horseback riding, hiking, mountain
biking, and ATV rides.
Euphoria Retreat. (Photo Credit: Euphoria Retreat Media)
Regent Phu Quoc | Phu Quoc
Island, Vietnam
For a warm and sunny start to the New Year,
escape to Regent
Phu Quoc, a luxury beachfront resort in Vietnam surrounded by white
sandy beaches. The resort’s spa offers a comprehensive range of treatments
inspired by local traditions, all designed to help you uncover your best self.
The Welnamis Energy Therapy is a notable
option that uses advanced acoustic and vibrational technology to guide your
brain into a state of next-level relaxation. It combines precise vibrations and
binaural audio frequencies to slow mental activity. Doing this targets the
body’s energy centers to deliver a relaxed state of mind. This is paired with
foot reflexology to ensure an even deeper state of relaxation.
You can also try the Tam Quat Reviver Body
Treatment, inspired by traditional Vietnamese healing techniques and using
manipulation movements such as kneading and clapping on pressure points to ease
muscle tension and promote circulation.
Hilton Head Health Wellness
Resort and Spa | Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Hilton Head Health (H3), located on the coast
of South Carolina, recently introduced the first and only Blue Zones Experience
in the U.S. This experience is a transformational, seven-day program based on
the Power 9 principles, everyday healthy lifestyle habits of the world’s
longest-living communities.
Led by Blue Zone-certified facilitators, the
continuous program educates, engages, and empowers guests to adopt these
principles. Guests participate in plant-forward culinary experiences, daily
movement, purpose workshops, and happiness workshops. The goal is for guests to
leave with a personalized plan to extend their health and vitality at home,
helping them to “add years to their life and life to their years.”
Jamaica Inn | Ocho Rios, Jamaica
Looking for a wellness trip with a taste of
old-school glamor? Jamaica Inn has welcomed icons like Marilyn
Monroe and Winston Churchill to its screen-free resort. Preserving this
property as a state of bliss, the family-owned resort boasts no clocks, TVs, or
radios in any of the rooms.
The resort’s Ocean Spa is nestled within the
cliffs of Cutlass Bay in a collection of rustic, open-air, thatch-roofed huts,
overlooking the Caribbean Sea. The spa recently launched the Caribbean’s first
Farm-to-Skin Foraging experience. During this, guests are taken through the
tropical gardens to sustainably forage for natural ingredients used to create
the spa products for their treatments.
The Inn also offers a new experience with
nearby organic cannabis farm JACANA, where guests can take a farm tour to
explore the facility and learn about the meticulous care that goes into making
Jamaican botanical wellness products.
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