July 2025
For many, reading a juicy novel on the beach is the ultimate summer travel experience. Here at Wellness Travel University, our literary tastes run more to non-fiction tomes rather than can’t-put-’em-down thrillers or heady romances. Of course, we love a good wellness-oriented read. Here are some of our recommendations:
- Good Nature by Kathy Willis, which explores the relationship between plants and human wellness (short take: put a plant on your desk)
- Ikigai by Francesc Miralles and Hector Garcia, which dissects the Japanese concept of uniting the joy of life with a sense of purpose (this post from Calm offers a succinct definition of the term)
- Ageless Aging by Maddy Dychtwald and Kate Hanley, a positive exploration of how women can increase their healthspan and thrive as they age
While non-fiction, these books are page-turners for the wellness-minded. So, once you finish your summer beach reads, look them up.
Meantime, our News Digest this month features the newest trend in wellness– the reading retreat. Yes, you can read yourself happy, and sharing the activity with others makes the experience all the more rewarding. Also take note of the article about the increase of wellness options on board cruise ships. Given that cruise companies are among the more generous travel industry suppliers in terms of offering commissions, you might want to steer your clients toward wellness on water. For more on that topic, be sure to take Wellness Travel University’s AMA Waterways specialty course. And, as always, if you haven’t done so yet, get certified as a Wellness Travel Specialist by taking our Gold Course.
While wellness retreats focusing on yoga, meditation and menopause have been around for awhile, there’s now a novel kid on the block. For the client with a literary bent, a reading retreat can provide a storybook wellness vacation.
These days, wellness on cruise ships isn’t just about checking off spa treatments. Across the industry, there’s a growing emphasis on holistic practices fusing movement, mindfulness, and modern treatments. This Organic Spa Magazine article looks at the surprising array of wellness modalities on the high seas.
The increase of Thailand’s ranking among the global top-five wellness destinations is not by chance. It is the result of the country massaging its offerings through continuous innovation and a responsive service culture. The country now offers a mix of state-of-the-art wellness centers and resorts offering time-honored treatments.
While using the term “the world’s best” is usually more click bait than fact, we do agree that this list courtesy of Conde Nast Traveller (the two L’s reflect the publication’s U.K. edition) certainly includes some of the most elite.
English 
Arabic 
Bengali 
Bulgarian 
Chinese 
Croatian 
Czech 
Danish 
Dutch 
Estonian 
Finnish 
French 
German 
Greek 
Hindi 
Hungarian 
Icelandic 
Japanese 
Latvian 
Lithuanian 
Polish 
Portuguese 
Romanian 
Russian 
Slovak 
Slovenian 
Spanish 
Swedish