Summer may get all the vacation glory, but fall is quietly becoming one of the best times of year to get away.
The kids are back in school, peak-season crowds have thinned and, in many parts of the world, temperatures have finally dipped from sweltering to sweater-worthy. Now, travelers seem to be catching on. According to luxury travel network Virtuoso, autumn bookings are up 59 percent, while sales have jumped 69 percent.
And while leaf-peeping road trips will always have our hearts, there’s another reason to embrace fall travel: It’s practically tailor-made for a reset.
That sweet spot between the chaos of summer travel and the even bigger chaos of the holidays is an ideal time to slow down, sleep in and devote a few days to feeling like yourself again.
From soaking in a 1,300-year-old Japanese hot spring destination to practicing Pilates atop an Italian mountain, these six destinations make a pretty convincing argument for putting your OOO on this fall.
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Hotel St. George, Helsinki, Finland
If your idea of wellness goes beyond a massage and a green juice, Hotel St. George is taking a decidedly more data-driven approach.
Its new Healthspan Stay, developed with performance coaching company Hintsa Performance, is designed around not just living longer, but living better. Guests undergo assessments including body composition, strength and biomechanics profiling before receiving personalized coaching aimed at improving long-term well-being.
And because even the most dedicated wellness warriors deserve some downtime, there’s still plenty of opportunity to switch off and enjoy the hotel between sessions.
Es Racó d’Artà, Mallorca, Spain
Mallorca after the summer rush? Say less.
Set around a restored 13th-century estate, Es Racó d’Artà feels worlds away from the island’s buzzy beach clubs. Here, the focus shifts to nature, stillness and slowing your internal speedometer way down.
Days can begin with guided meditation and yoga before moving on to sound therapy, holistic treatments or simply wandering the surrounding landscape.
MANNA, Arcadia, Greece
Think Greece and chances are Santorini sunsets and Mykonos beach clubs spring to mind. MANNA offers a completely different Greek escape.
Tucked into the forests of mountainous Arcadia, the hotel occupies a landmark former sanatorium dating to the late 1920s. Today, its secluded setting lends itself to a much more relaxing prescription: outdoor yoga, a serene wellness space, farm-to-table meals and picnics surrounded by nature.
With Virtuoso also reporting a significant rise in fall travel to Greece, heading inland offers an intriguing alternative to the country’s famous islands.
Vigilius Mountain Resort, South Tyrol, Italy
Getting away from it all takes on a fairly literal meaning at Vigilius Mountain Resort in South Tyrol.
High above Lana on the Vigiljoch mountain, the retreat leans into seasonal wellness with experiences ranging from yoga and mindful fasting to wild-herb walks, tea ceremonies and mountaintop Pilates.
Voaara, Sainte-Marie, Madagascar
If fall has you craving sunshine rather than sweaters, Voaara offers a very different kind of reset.
The intimate seven-bungalow retreat sits along a private beach on Madagascar’s Sainte-Marie island, where open-air living and a decidedly barefoot approach are part of the appeal. Massages take place in thatched treatment bandas using local Anoka Botanic oils, while the surrounding beach provides plenty of room to wander at your own pace.
Matsumoto Jujo, Matsumoto, Japan
Few things say “switch off” quite like soaking in an onsen with the Japanese Alps outside your window.
Matsumoto Jujo sits in Asama Onsen, a hot-spring area with a history stretching back some 1,300 years. The restored ryokan embraces that heritage while adding a contemporary, design-forward spin, with expansive windows framing the mountains and libraries that practically beg you to linger with a book.
Add Japan’s spectacular fall scenery to the equation and suddenly postponing that summer vacation doesn’t sound like such a bad idea after all.
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