Life-Changing Escapes for a New You
Sure, you could return to your favorite winter beach spot to kick off the new year. Or you could take a vacation that will enrich your mind, body, and soul. Sherman’s Travel uncovered 10 life-changing escapes, with a splurge and a value option for each. Climb a volcano, explore the Nile, or learn to drive a race car. What are you waiting for?
1. Spa Renewal
Phuket, Thailand: Some spa programs are easy: a little massage here, a big salad there. Not the Five-day Puriti Purification Program at Trisara, a luxurious resort located near the Phuket airport on a secluded beachfront sanctuary. The immersive plan starts with a physical and includes daily fitness activities, body treatments, and yoga. You’ll eat raw organic food on the first and last days and only fresh vegetable juices and organic Chinese herbal supplements in between. But the tropical gardens are so beautiful and the private pools so relaxing that you won’t crave a thing—except, possibly, more purification. $4,120/5 days or $7,350/10 days; trisara.com
St. George, Utah: Red Mountain Spa is set in the stunning and serene southwestern Utah desert—an ideal spot for moonlight hikes, rock climbing, biking, tennis, swimming, and enough other activities to exhaust the tireless. The JumpStart 2008 package for January and February includes guided walks, tai chi, unlimited fitness classes, gourmet meals, and cooking demonstrations. Also available are extras such as day trips to Zion National Park and horseback riding. Save time for treatments at the Sagestone Spa, especially the Adobe Lavender Hydrating Cocoon. From $239/3 days (the minimum stay); redmountainspa.com
2. Health and Wellness
Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa: Guests come to The Raj for Ayurveda, the ancient whole-body Indian health-care philosophy and practice. This award-winning spa on 100 beautiful Midwestern acres has antiaging and weight-loss regimens, along with treatments for ailments like Alzheimer’s and hypertension. A one-week stay includes two to three hours of daily treatments, yoga, health coaching, and cooking classes. French provincial rooms are elegant and comfortable. $4,700/1 week; theraj.com
Mysore, India: Indus Valley Ayurvedic Center, an innovative clinic and spa resort, offers traditional, therapeutic treatments in a palm tree–lined setting in the Chamundi Hills. The weeklong program includes sessions with a doctor, massages, yoga, lessons in Ayurvedic practices, and detoxing treatments. Accommodations are in the lovely main house or in cottages scattered throughout the grounds. From $1,160/1 week; ayurindus.com
3. Academic Excursions
Southeast Asia: Stanford University’s Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia Suitcase Seminar, led by a former Stanford art history professor, includes tours of the Forbidden City in Hue and Buddhist temples in Luang Prabang. The 20-day trip is immersive, featuring traditional welcoming ceremonies, water-puppet performances, and visits to monasteries and the Phnom Penh university. Dec. 28-Jan. 16 and Feb. 15-Mar. 5; from $7,765, which includes visas and airfare from San Francisco or L.A.; stanfordalumni.org
The Nile: Smithsonian Journeys’ Splendors of the Nile is a 12-day excursion that includes a stunning visit to the Pyramids of Giza. A Smithsonian Egyptologist brings to life the region’s religion, art, and recent archaeological discoveries. Four nights are spent in hotels in Cairo and Luxor, four on the Mirage II ship cruising the Nile, and the last at Aswan’s Elephantine Island Resort. Various departures Jan.-Apr. and Sept.-Nov.; from $1,849, based on double occupancy; smithsonianjourneys.org
4. Extreme Sports
Dalton, New Hampshire: Learn to drive like a pro during a three-day course at Team O’Neil Rally School. The first two days cover basics like braking technique and skid control, and on day three you’ll move on to closed loops of real roads with gravel, trees, and other obstacles. Instructors are on hand at all times, and safety is a major consideration. One-, two-, and four-day sessions are also available, and students typically stay in one of many hotels in Littleton. $2,950 covers tuition only; teamoneil.com
La Jolla, California: Make your Peter Pan fantasies come true at Torrey Pines Gliderport, one of the oldest paragliding schools in the country. You’ll spend the first few days of the basic training program on the ground learning to control, launch, and fly the wing. Then you’re ready for your first solo flight off a 300-foot cliff. You’ll soar for three to five minutes and land on the beach below. The course lasts from three to five days, depending on individual ability and agility, but has one flat rate. There are no accommodations, but there are several hotels in the area. $895 covers tuition only; flytorrey.com
5. Volunteer Vacations
Kali Gandaki Valley, Nepal: Volunteers on the Chairro Gompa Restoration Project help redevelop an ancient Buddhist monastery (gompa) under the snow-capped Himalayas. The setting is stunning, encompassing a high-desert moonscape and colorful, orchard-filled valley. You’ll work on projects that can vary from building to restoration and art conservation. During the afternoons, you’re free to hike the villages, pick apples, visit schools, or keep working. You’ll stay in a modern, family-run guesthouse with comfortable but simple rooms. $2,495, fully tax-deductible; crtp.netCosta Rica: The Sea Turtle Conservation Project in Costa Rica helps protect the critically endangered Leatherback Turtle, whose eggs are poached for their aphrodisiacal properties. Volunteer duties include digging out eggs from nests and transferring them to a hatchery, as well as night patrols. This is a trip for beach lovers, not luxury seekers, as lodgings are rustic, with volunteers living together on the beach in a cabin or tent. But those turtles sure are cute! $995 for 1 week; i-to-i.com
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