Wellness travel experts share tips on planning a health-centered trip in 2025.
According to a Pew Research study, more than half of upper-income workers and 45 percent of middle-income workers don’t use their vacation days. Can you relate? Maybe you’re worried about the avalanche of emails you’ll come back to after not checking your inbox for a few days. Or maybe you just don’t feel like you need a vacation. A new study out of Edith Cowan University (ECU), which found a link between traveling and longevity, may have you changing your mind.
Keep reading to learn how transformative a trip can be, plus get tips for planning your own wellness-oriented vacation.
How Taking a Vacation Can Slow Signs of Aging
Fangli Hu, a Ph.D. candidate at ECU and a senior author of the study, explains to EQX+ that the purpose of the study was to see if taking a vacation could slow entropy. She explains that while you can’t stop aging, certain experiences can slow it down, including many of the aspects built into vacations. “Cultural trips could stimulate cognitive function and social interaction, while nature-based travel might foster relaxation and physical activity,” Hu says, adding that travel as part of a healthy lifestyle may enhance physical and mental health, which contributes to increased resilience and longevity.
Think about the last vacation you took. Your step count was likely a lot higher than a day spent behind your computer working. You may have also spent time in nature, such as on the beach or in the mountains. Your stress levels were likely reduced, too. All of this, Hu says, benefits health and slows the aging process.
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“Reduced stress levels are associated with lower risks of chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, which can increase longevity. Travel encourages physical activity — through walking, hiking, or cycling — which could improve cardiovascular health, muscle strength, and overall wellness,” she says. The inverse of this is true, too: Being stressed out accelerates the aging process.
Nir Barzilai, M.D., the Director for the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, believes there are four cornerstones of a vacation that slows the aging process: integrating movement throughout the day (such as walking or hiking), eating healthy (such as trying local, plant-based cuisine), sleep, and social connectivity (connecting with your travel companions or people you meet while on vacation).
That means in order to really reap the anti-aging benefits of a vacation, your trip should include all of these factors. For this to happen, Dr. Barzilai recommends doing what you can in advance to decrease travel stress (e.g., giving yourself plenty of time to get to the airport).
Does this mean you need to vacation all the time? Absolutely not. In fact, Dr. Barzilai says too much travel could actually backfire because jet lag takes a toll on the body. So if you’re consistently jumping time zones, you won’t benefit as much from travel that happens less periodically. He also says that while vacationing is great, it’s everyday habits that matter the most. That means taking a blissful vacation once a year can’t make up for eating an unhealthy diet, being sedentary, and feeling stressed the rest of the time.
Tips for Planning a Wellness-Oriented Vacation
Feeling inspired to take some time off in 2025? To plan a vacation with the study results in mind, The Wellness Travel Expert founder Samantha Lippiatt, recommends prioritizing a balance of rest and activity — or attending a wellness retreat that arranges that balance for you. “The goal is to create a flow between rejuvenation and adventure, which helps reset both body and mind,” she says.
Eliza Harris, the C.O.O. of Indagare, an Equinox Circle partner and membership-based luxury travel agency, says to start with deciding on a destination with the purpose of your vacation in mind. “Besides budget, the first question to ask yourself is what you want from the experience,” she says. Try to include both high-energy and low-energy activities, she suggests. For example, you may decide to walk around the local town in the morning and relax by the pool in the afternoon.
Wellness-oriented vacations are only getting more popular, and Harris says there are specific trends emerging in the wellness travel space. Hiking-oriented vacations, for example, are becoming more popular, she says. “Women, in particular, are signing up to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, walk the Camino de Santiago, or embark on a spiritual awakening in Sedona with other women and wise spiritual guides,” she says.
Harris says there is also a growing interest in vacations tied to a medical or longevity program, particularly ones that offer a doctor’s expertise. One example of this, she says, is a menopause retreat that Indagare offered in the past, hosted by Robin Noble, M.D., an ob-gyn certified in integrative medicine and menopause wellness.
The goal is to create a flow between rejuvenation and adventure, which helps reset both body and mind
If booking a vacation in 2025 isn’t in your budget, Hu and Dr. Barzilai say there are still ways to reap the anti-aging benefits of going on a trip. First, take those vacation days even if you aren’t going anywhere. Then, plan a staycation that integrates both movement and rest. Can you do a hike nearby and then spend an afternoon reading at a local cafe? Is there a neighboring town you can spend the day walking through followed by unwinding by cooking a healthy recipe you’ve been meaning to try?
“It doesn’t have to be an international trip; local travel or weekend escapes might work well, too,” Hu says. “These forms of small travel can be wonderful alternatives for those who are mindful of budget constraints. They allow people to explore their own communities or nearby areas, engage in meaningful activities, and connect with local culture and nature, potentially improving health and well-being. For individuals with health conditions who might find long-distance travel challenging, these shorter and more affordable options are particularly beneficial.”
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Wherever you decide to go with your vacation days, using them as a reset and way to re-integrate healthy habits in your life will have the biggest payoff. After all, it’s what you do every day that impacts the body the most.