These days a lot of my time is spent planning wellness journeys and training travel professionals on how to sell “wellness travel.”  So it’s natural that I’ve given this subject a lot of thought.

While wellness travel is not one size fits all, I can tell you what works for me. Here are my top five tips for traveling well:

1. Make sure you can find farm-fresh or local food.  Every place has good food; you just may have to search for it.  Just in case, I always travel with “healthy-ish” snacks such as Epic Bars, Skinny Buddha Peanut Bars, roasted chickpeas, and coconut milk caramels.
2. Find a way to get some exercise.  Sign up for a class at the resort, or find a local gym. Better yet, take a walk outside – you’ll not only get the benefits of nature, but you may discover an interesting neighborhood or meet someone new.
3. Book a spa treatment at your hotel or be an “urban spa explorer” and check out a local hot spring or reflexology place.  I have had many amazing experiences by trying signature treatments or asking the hotel where I can go for a “cheap and cheerful” treatment.  For example, I had an amazing, inexpensive 2½ hour treatment at a day spa in Bangkok that even included an extraordinary shampoo at the end.
4. Sleep, meditate or daydream.  I always break the cardinal rule of international travel by taking a nap when I arrive.  This helps me stay on the right track when shifting through time zones.  I believe in honoring my body’s rhythm, which sometimes means I start my day at 4am and end at 7pm!
5. Do something you’ve never done before.  One of my favorite sayings is, “When was the last time you did something for the first time?”  I keep this maxim front and center when I travel.  Even when it’s something small, a new experience is always mind expanding.  Recently I sampled a Texan wine while on a trip to Texas. Or, you can create a sense of community by having a drink with other guests in the hotel lobby.

One more thing – I always aim to come home feeling as good, if not better than, when I left.  While I encourage you to indulge (and believe, me I do!), it’s important not to overindulge. Drinking too much, eating junk, not sleeping well or refraining from exercise leaves me with regret, which is not how I want to feel after a trip.

While these tips may not be in your top five, I encourage you to think about what travelling well means to you. #wellnesstravel  #wellness #mindbodyspiritnetwork