Family wellness vacations, family retreat vacations (including family spiritual retreats and family mindfulness retreats) and family health and wellness travel are becoming more and more popular these days. We are all living in a stressful world and so we are looking for solutions to combat the stresses of life and feel better.
Travel in essence is a stressful endeavor in itself: you stress about planning, packing, things that can potentially go wrong, late flights, lost luggage, global pandemics and a million other big and small things.
The dilemma is: how to incorporate wellness elements into your family vacation? How to build family spiritual retreat or family mindfulness retreat pieces into your hectic vacation schedule if you can’t afford to go on a full blown family wellness retreat?
Bellow are my suggestions for easy family wellness vacation elements to add to your family travel plans that won’t break your budget:
Family Wellness Vacation Tip # 1 – Take a leisurely hike
I would like to emphasize the word LEISURELY when I talk about hikes in the context of family wellness vacation. I know lots of families who take hikes to the level of an Olympic sport. They think they absolutely need to get to the end of that 10 mile trail or reach that peak or waterfall or whatever ambitious goal they set for themselves.
A wellness hike is there to enjoy the process, not strive for the destination. Many of our family wellness hikes are a mile long or so but they can take 2-3 hour to complete because we let the kids do things they want along the way: look for rocks, gawk at banana slugs, and so on. We don’t use phrases: “let’s go”, “let’s hurry”, “we need to get to the parking lot before sunset”. All this rushing creates a stressful situation. It is totally OK not to reach the end of the trail and turn around whenever you feel like it. No one is judging!
A great wellness hike is along a stream, a river or any body of water that produces calming water sounds. In California there lots of such hike in redwood forests. Check my previous articles about Uvas Canyon and best places to see Redwoods near San Francisco for ideas of beautiful leisurely hikes along the streams.
Family Wellness Vacation Tip # 2 – Enjoy hot springs
Hot springs are nature-made spas. Spas mean wellness and relaxation for both your body and mind. While lots of actual spas don’t allow kids, most outdoor natural hot springs don’t have age restrictions. Below are some of the great hot springs around the country for family enjoyment.
Desert Hot Springs, CA
The town of Desert Hot Springs was built on natural hot springs. It has lots of resorts with hot spring, some of which sell day passes for adults and kids. Desert Hot Springs Spa Hotel is one of such nice places that will let you buy day pool passes for a minimal fee of $12 per person (kids 2 and under are admitted for free).
You can learn more about how to plan a perfect family vacation in Palm Springs/ Desert Hot Springs Area in my guide with a detailed itinerary: San Francisco to Palm Springs Road Trip Itinerary.
Franklin Hot Spring Paso Robles, CA
Franklin Hot Springs is a little rustic and a little hippy-ish but totally worth a try. It is located on private property and we paid $25 total for the family of 4. The natural hot springs water comes out of the ground at a constant 100.1 F and you can sit and relax under its streams. The swimming pool area is kept at constant 97.3 F – we visited in winter and it was perfect.
I think the cold days are probably the best to visit this spring so there is not many people. We visited in the afternoon when the air temperature is the warmest in winter in Paso Robles and there were people in the pool though I can’t say it was crowded. Next time I would probably go early in the morning. Winter mornings are in the 40s F in Paso Robles so I am thinking I will be pretty much the only person there. 🙂 The Franklin Hot Springs is open to the public every day 8 am – 9 pm.
For your trip to Paso Robles check out my detailed guide on things to do in Paso Robles with kids.
Hot Springs in Sierra Nevada Mountains
There are many outdoor hot springs in the Sierra Nevada area of California to add to your family wellness vacation. The best ones are listed by the Outdoor Project.
Out of all hot springs reference by the Outdoor Project we can personally vouch for Wild Willy’s (see the cover image for this article). It can get crowded so I suggest visiting early in the morning. Park at the site and enjoying this hot spring FREE of charge.
Hot springs beyond California
It is fair to say that whenever you find mountains in the U.S. you are likely to find hot springs too. Here are some state specific resources to find great hot springs for your family wellness retreat any time of the year:
Here are also some guidebooks that your will find useful in finding hot springs in the U.S. and Canada:
Hot Springs National Park
The gem of all hot springs family retreat destinations is, of course, Hot Springs National Park. It used to be a mecca for family wellness vacations with many bath houses built on natural hot springs. These days only a couple bath houses are in operation in Hot Springs, Arkansas but they offer a huge variety of wellness options.
These are adult only bath houses but if you can take turns with your spouse to go check them out, you will have a time of you life.
Overall, there are lots of things to do in Hot Spring Arkansas for a great family vacation and I promise you a wonderful trip.
Family Wellness Vacation Tip #3 – Go bird watching
Researchers from the University of Exeter recently found that bird watching can have a positive effect on mental health.
Bird watching in general is a very relaxing activity, it requires you to be quiet, walk slowly, listen carefully and really it is nothing short of a meditative experience. We are very lucky that there are many bird watching hot spots in San Francisco Bay Area
That said, wherever you are currently or wherever you plan to travel, if you find a forest or a body of water you can enjoy great birdwatching – one of our best bird watching experiences was on small town park pond in Flagstaff, Arizona!
Family Wellness Vacation Tip #4 – Spend time at the beach
Did you know that there are lots of mental health benefits of the beach? There have been many scientific studies to prove that. You can walk on the beach, or just sit and do nothing, listen to the water sounds and relax.
I have to admit, our family lucked out being located in California with thousands of miles of gorgeous beaches. But to give you all the health benefits the beach does not have to be an ocean beach, necessarily, your local lake or river beach will work just as well!
Family Wellness Vacation Tip #5 – Family yoga
Have you considered the benefits of doing yoga with your kids? From managing stress to learning concentration yoga is a great practice and an excellent resource to add to your family wellness vacation tool kit.
If you are not able to find a yoga studio where you live or where you plan to travel that offers family yoga classes, check out these great DVDs and teaching cards to guide you in doing a family yoga session yourself (great activity for the beach!):
Family Wellness Vacation Tip #6 – Visit a farm
Visiting a farm can be a great wellness experience. A tour of a farm has the same benefits as a hike and animals watching is similar to bird watching, I think. In addition to that, some farms offer targeted wellness experiences like yoga with goats or “take a llama for a walk” or healthy farm to table dinners.
Check the farms in your area or stop by our farm soon – California Lavender Honey Farm – we will start offering tours in 2022.
Family Wellness Vacation Tip #7 – Try therapeutic animal interactions
Other animal interaction beyond farm experiences can be great for your wellness. Our favorites are horseback rides and cat cafes.
The British Horse Society has recently published a great article about all the wellness benefits of horse back riding that explains why you should definitely try it.
As for cat cafes, these are my personal favorites (because horses may be a little intimidating for some people). You can come to these special cafes where you can interact with cats that are ready for adoption. You can pet them, play with them and just enjoy your time. The whole experience is usually an hour long. Just Google “cat cafe” plus the name of the town to find a location near you or where you plan to travel.
If you want to learn more about benefits of feline companions for your health HERE is a comprehensive article on the topic from Medical News Today.
Family Wellness Vacation Tip #8 – Attend an art therapy class
Art therapy classes have become increasingly popular in recent years. Art galleries, art museums and various are studios are organizing them these days and it is typically not a problem to find one near you – the bigger the town you are travelling to the more options you will have, for sure.
Not clear how art influences your wellness? Check out some excellent tips from Art & Creativity for Healing, a nonprofit organization that promotes the healing aspects of art.
Family Wellness Vacation Tip #9 – Enjoy music therapy together
As per Healthline magazine, sound healing therapy uses aspects of music to improve physical and emotional health and well-being.
I believe that you can get lots of benefit from music, whether you attend a class or a music performance. Classical music, in my view, is at the forefront in terms of healing benefits so if you are able to attend a concert together as a family it can be very soothing, calming and relaxing. But I think that jazz, blues and good country concerts can be also placed in the same great league.
Family Wellness Vacation Tip #10 – Travel to a spiritual location
Sometimes what need is just to go to a place that encourages “wellness” activities such as reflection, meditation, may be even a prayer. One of my most favorite “spiritual” places in California is City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. It is beautiful monastery in Mendocino county where you can walk around, reflect, meditate and even eat a delicious healthy vegetarian meal. Unfortunately, the monastery is temporary closed for visitors due to Covid but I hope it will re-open soon.
Or you can go as far as world famous spiritual places: have you considered Nepal travel? Or Bhutan or Tibet? Disconnecting from the modern world for a week or two makes an impactful spiritual and wellness journey.
Conclusion
I hope you will be able to use some of these family wellness ideas for your next trip or staycation. Now that I have shared my ideas, do you have any tips of your own for a family wellness vacation? Please, share them with us in the comments below! I would love to know if you went on a family retreat some place and loved it – may be we can try it too!
I am wishing you a healthy and relaxing 2022!
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