Everyone wants to relax, de-stress and reinvigorate when on holiday. A trend for calmer breaks focusing on fitness and wellbeing has emerged — bespoke alternatives to beach holidays or city breaks, with benefits to help achieve your physical and mental peak. Long-term paybacks include greater understanding of your body, more easily achieved fitness goals and more efficient work performance. If you're contemplating a healthier holiday this year, Esquire has chosen four retreats to have on your radar.
Soul & Surf
If your primary aim is to eradicate stress with deep relaxation, this Sri Lankan operation is for you. At dawn, ride waves on the island's south coast to wake the senses — if you've never surfed, instructors will teach the skills. Fill your days with yoga, Esalen massage, meditation and ocean float-therapy and you'll never want to fly back to the daily grind. From £775pp pw.
Asanox
Need to escape the urban jungle and reconnect with your primitive side? Asanox offers military-style expeditions amid stunning rural landscapes in Scotland, Wales and France to reinvigorate the senses, acquire knowledge and test physical and mental capabilities. Whether climbing Ben Nevis, learning survival skills or taking on the original WWII commando/special forces training ground, you'll build stamina, concentration power, and be rewarded with group bonding events each evening. From £615pp.
The Jameson Retreat
Esquire's PT Harry Jameson eads fitness experts and medics to help you understand your body. To avoid injury and maximise results, a clinical analysis by Viavi of Harley Street establishes your capabilities, food tolerances and stress levels. Then your three-step programme takes place over a week in Dubai (with five weeks' UK aftercare). £8,500pp.
Pop-Up Fitness
Personal trainer Olivia Cooney offers bespoke boot camps at luxury Ibiza and South of France villas. Maximising the picturesque landscapes, you will start the day with a 7:30am cross-country run followed by kettle bell and TRX boot camps, core work, boxing, battle ropes, yoga or hiking. Best of all, you won't need to lift a finger in-between; a qualified nutritionist provides meals while sport and grooming treatments are given in your room. From £1,850pp.
