Wellness Travel | MORAL COMPASS: Great Places to Go Where the Going Does Good

Shikoku is the smallest of Japan’s major islands. It’s encircled by a 1,200 km, 88-temple Buddhist pilgrimage route honoring the 9th-century monk Kukai. Cycling these ancient Samurai roads, trekking sacred Pilgrim routes, soaking in historic hot springs, and enjoying a unique culture and gastronomy make this Ride & Seek vacation the perfect wellness retreat for active travelers

Here’s something to look forward to, after the coronavirus pandemic passes: Wellness holidays to reboot life.

Wellness tourism is growing twice as fast as the tourism industry overall. In fact, by 2022 some predict it will be a $919 billion industry. Wellness tourism allows travelers to maintain, enhance or kick-start a healthy lifestyle and support or increase their sense of well-being. Whether it’s cycling across Italy with a famous chef, meditating with monks in Tibet, or cooking farm-to-table cuisine with cowboys on a Wyoming ranch, here are 11 dreamy wellness vacations to relax, reboot and establish a sense of inner balance.

1. Soaking & Cycling Shikoku – Shikoku is the smallest of Japan’s major islands. It’s encircled by a 1,200 km, 88-temple Buddhist pilgrimage route honoring the 9th-century monk Kukai. Cycling these ancient Samurai roads, trekking sacred Pilgrim routes, soaking in historic hot springs, and enjoying a unique culture and gastronomy make this Ride & Seek vacation the perfect wellness retreat for active travelers. https://www.rideandseek.com/tour/samurai-shikoku-island-japan/

2. Tiny House Ski Retreat – Just minutes from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Fireside Resort capitalizes on the tiny house craze and the classic appeal of rustic cottages by offering 25 pint-size, luxuriously outfitted units designed by Wheelhaus. Jackson Hole Mountain Resort offers 133 runs and 12 lifts across more than 2,500 acres. Well-groomed Nordic skiing, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing trails are also available. https://www.firesidejacksonhole.com/ContactUs/

3. Fly Fishing + Diving in Belize – Turneffe Flats has been one of the world’s top flats fishing and diving resorts for close to four decades. Frontiers International Travel guests enjoy a myriad of other activities such as unique marine eco-adventures, birding, and wildlife watching. https://www.frontierstravel.com/turneffe-flats-lodge-april-may-2020

4. Meditating with Monks – On this MIR Corporation adventure, guests visit Dunhuang’s UNESCO-listed Mogao Caves and explore the Tibetan Plateau on a splendid route that embraces the sacred cities of Gyantse, Shigatse and Lhasa, “City of the Sun.” https://www.mircorp.com/trip/chinas-silk-road-tibet-route-of-monks-merchants/

5. Cycling w/ Chef in Italy – Tourissimo offers cycling vacations that focus on the best food and wine Italy has to offer. On each departure, they invite a well-known chef whose role is to facilitate the understanding of local gastronomy. The tours all happen around carefully selected cycling routes. https://www.tourissimo.travel/chef-tours

6. Cowboy Cooking & Horseback Riding – In addition to hiking, fly fishing, cattle wrangling, horseback riding, yoga and luxury accommodations, guests at Red Reflet Ranch in Ten Sleep, WY have an opportunity to learn culinary techniques and skills by joining the ranch’s executive chef for cooking classes. Much of the meat and produce consumed at Red Reflet Ranch comes from its butcher shop and gardens. http://redrefletranch.com/

7. Biking Across Colorado – Cycle of Life Adventures has created a four-week-long “Epic Colorado” cycling expedition covering 1,258 miles with an elevation gain of 89,502 feet. In addition to cycling, there are three rest days built in so guests can enjoy fly fishing, kayaking, rafting, hiking, golf or spa experiences. https://cycleoflifeadventures.com/epic-colorado

8. Northern Lights, Dog Sledding & Curling – Get a dose of local culture by day and view the Aurora Borealis by night. Visit a local homesteader, walk with reindeer, go dogsledding, learn the sport of curling, and relax in the outdoor hot springs on this quintessential wellness vacation offered by Gondwana Ecotours. https://www.gondwanaecotours.com/tour/fairbanks-northern-lights-trips-alaska/

9. Big Sky Spring – Visit Big Sky, Montana, and make the new Wilson Hotel your base for active spring adventures. End ski season on hundreds of exhilarating runs spread across 5,850 acres of terrain at Big Sky Resort, or venture into Yellowstone National Park on foot or bike to see natural wonders and wildlife waking from the quiet of winter. https://thewilsonhotel.com/

10. Ride the Roof of the World – Join H+I Adventures on a mountain bike trip in the Himalayas of Nepal for breathtaking climbs and fast descents in the Kathmandu Valley and among the highest peaks in the world. Along the way, share tea with local farmers on their rooftops in the mountains. https://www.mountainbikeworldwide.com/mtb-tours/nepal

11. Sri Lanka Safari – Visit the national parks of Sri Lanka with Adventure Life to see wildlife like colorful peacocks, giant crocodiles, majestic herds of elephants during jungle hikes, game drives and boat rides. Also find four centuries of Arab, Portuguese and Dutch cultural influences on a walking tour through the cobbled streets of Galle. https://www.adventure-life.com/sri-lanka/tours/14369/sri-lanka-wildlife

For more travel features, visit:

goingplacesfarandnear.com

goingplacesnearandfar.wordpress.com

moralcompasstravel.info

www.huffingtonpost.com/author/karen-rubin

travelwritersmagazine.com/TravelFeaturesSyndicate/

goingplacesfarandnear.tumblr.com/

instagram.com/going_places_far_and_near/

‘Like’ us on facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures

Twitter: @TravelFeatures

*Anne Dimon, founder/editor of Travel to Wellness offers this recipe for immune-boosting Sweet Potato, Coconut, Ginger Soup*

Anne Dimon, the founder/editor of Travel To Wellness and the co-founder/president of the Wellness Tourism Association, offered this marvelous recipe for an immune-boosting soup that comes from her friends at Grail Springs Retreat for Wellbeing in Bancroft, Ontario – just what we need while sequestered at home to keep healthy with comfort food that evokes the tastes and pleasures of travel. She writes:

It’s been a while since we reached out to you with wellness travel news and updates, and we sincerely hope all is good with you and your family in this time of global stress and disruption. While we are all going thru our own challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to keep positive that it will be contained, hopefully sooner rather than later. I have no doubt that you have been inundated with things you need to do to keep yourself and others safe and healthy, so we won’t bore you by reiterating the things you probably already know. Just one quick suggestion: there is a lot of misinformation out there. Take the advice of those you trust, like public health professionals.

So, to get to the point, one thing we all need to do is keep our immune systems strong. Yesterday, I whipped up a batch of this immune-boosting soup courtesy of our friends at Grail Springs Retreat for Wellbeing in Bancroft, Ontario. Once you have all the ingredients purchased, It takes about an hour to make. Double the recipe, freeze a batch for later, or share it with a family member, friend or neighbor.

Wherever you may be in the world today, know that we are all in this together. On a personal note, my husband is in the category of the most vulnerable so we, too, are being extra careful. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Stay strong. We shall overcome.

Sweet Potato, Coconut, Ginger Soup

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tsp salt

1 red onion chopped

3 celery stalks chopped

1 carrot peeled and chopped

1 inch of ginger root peeled and sliced

1 Tsp apple cider vinegar

2 small sweet potatoes peeled and chopped

1 can of coconut milk

Sauté onion in oil until softened. Add celery, carrot, ginger and salt and saute until they have softened about 5 minutes. Add apple cider vinegar and stir to de-glaze pan. Add sweet potato and coconut milk. Add water to cover and bring to a boil. Simmer until potatoes are soft.

Blend in a blender until smooth. Add water, coconut milk or almond milk to get desired consistency.

Launched in 2004, TravelToWellness.com was one of the first editorially-driven online resources for the wellness-minded traveler.

The Wellness Tourism Association www.wellnesstourismassociation.org is a not-for-profit with a mission to bring definitions and standards to the industry for the global good.