When you hit Upolu, one of Samoa’s main islands, and see Lalomanu Beach you’ll understand why it’s been voted one of the best beaches on the planet. The bright white sand seems to stretch forever, and the reef is only a few metres off shore in places, so don’t forget your snorkel.
This little getaway offers enclosed and open-sided beach bungalows for travellers who love life’s simplicities (there are also a couple of rooms away from the beach with ensuite and air-con if you need the little luxuries). It’s small and lively, with an excellent bar and tasty grub. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, check out the after-dinner fiafia action, showcasing Polynesian and Samoan music and dancing. If your idea of a good time is a back-to-basics beach shack then Taufua is for you.
If Chucky had an evil playground, it’d be Isla de las Munecas (Island of the Dolls) in Mexico City. Haunted by the body of a girl he found floating in the canals, the island’s only inhabitant – Don Julian Santana – spent 50 years collecting and hanging dolls from trees to ward off evil spirits.
Unfortunately, it didn’t all go to plan and the dolls became possessed with the spirits of deceased girls instead. Rumour has it if you spend enough time on the island you’ll catch a doll’s arm twitching or sets of eyes following you as you walk.
In 2001, Santana mysteriously suffered a similar fate and was found drowned in a canal. Whether or not you believe the decayed dolls or the island itself are haunted, peering into the vacant eyes of a soulless dolly, riddled with mould and insects, will leave you feeling terrified.
This luxury cruise liner turned World War II troop carrier has seen its fair share of tragedy and terror since its maiden voyage in 1936. Time Magazine declared the ship one of America’s 10 most haunted places and the docked Queen Mary lives up to her reputation.
Nightly ghost tours lead spectre spotters on spine-tingling wanders below decks, taking in the engine room where a 17-year-old sailor was crushed to death while trying to escape a fire. There are also stories of a lady in white roaming the decks and lingering spirits of children drowned in the pool.
A paranormal investigator accompanies the brave with ghost-detecting devices and you can even sleep overnight. If you dare.
When the frenetic pace of city life has you feeling like a battery hen, it’s time to put yourself out to pasture. Check yourself in at the wholesome hideaway that is the Farm at San Benito and begin your personalised journey of transformation, whether you’re after the detox, stress management or wellness options.
While the term ‘holistic wellness’ is used loosely and liberally by any resort that boasts a spa and a gym, this Philippines establishment is the real deal. A team of doctors is on staff and your arrival begins with a rigorous health assessment to map out a course for achieving a new and improved you. You can expect to undergo colonic irrigation, reiki and possibly an intravenous vitamin infusion or a liver and gall bladder flush.
That’s the icky bit, now the indulgent bit: there’s a full suite of spa therapies to enjoy, from body scrubs and massages to facials and steam therapy. The retreat is tucked within 10 hectares of lush landscaped gardens in the foothills of Mount Malarayat and organic produce is all grown on site.
Forget about a Big Mac, meals here are vegan and served raw, using specially designed dehydrators to lock in the natural nutrients and enzymes that make your body sing. By day take part in yoga, meditation, boot camp, calisthenics or trampoline dance, and at night enjoy a moonlight massage, before retreating to your luxurious villa for your makeover’s most important ingredient – a restful night’s sleep.
Give the sauna the cold shoulder and air your lumps and bumps at a cool –120ºC. Haikko Manor’s Super Cold Treatment claims to leech away sleep disorders, stress and unsightly skin conditions, and locals have employed the technique to treat pain and rheumatic diseases for centuries.
Shimmy into a set of togs, pull on a pair of mittens and colourful felt booties then top off your ensemble with ear warmers – so you part with your ills, not your ears.
A one- to three-minute stint in the icebox earns you a diploma and you’ll greet a reinvigorated, refreshed you. It may not banish all your aches and pains, but for a while you’ll be too numb to notice.
With no roads, no mobile signal and no electricity, Scotland’s Skiary is the ultimate destination for getting away from everything. The remote cottage, which accommodates just six guests at a time, is located on the shores of Loch Hourn in the northwest Scottish Highlands and is considered one of the most remote places to stay in Britain.
Skiary is only accessible by foot or by boat (don’t worry, your hosts will meet you where the road ends) and is completely disconnected from the stresses of the modern world. Your days are left free to explore the surrounds, unleash your creativity or clear your mind.
Pursue all those activities you’ve ever wanted to try, without technology and the frenzy of life to get in the way. Shoot some nature photography, fish in the loch or observe the wildlife. Local red deer visit at dusk and seals often perch on the rocks nearby.
As for accommodation, think warm, cosy fireplace with gourmet home-cooked meals. Although Skiary may be a digital detox, it’s surely an indulgence of simple pleasures.
Feel like a kid again – or re-create scenes from some of your favourite movies – at these summer camps for adults. With the slogan ‘disconnect to reconnect’, Camp Grounded is the ultimate gadget-free getaway for tech addicts who want to get off the grid. Hand in your smartphone, laptop and assorted devices because here face time honours the true definition of the term, and the only posting you might do involves a mallet and dirt.
This is the perfect environment for grown-ups to tap into more wholesome childhood pastimes. For four days you can roast marshmallows during a campfire singalong, stargaze, learn to play a ukulele, take part in creative workshops, hike, bake, swim in the lake and shoot arrows. Hold your own in a laughing contest and be on guard for one hell of a pillow fight. You’ll have so much fun, you won’t want your gizmos back.
There are camps in New York, Texas and North Carolina, but our favourite Camp Grounded is set on 800 hectares on the edge of Jackson State Forest in California. It’s a renovated 1930s camp, surrounded by old-growth coastal redwoods. Trek into the forest to find secret forts and bands playing late into the night, or take a dip in the River Noyo, which runs through the property.
Picture a holiday in India and you usually envisage crowded streets, incredible forts and the bustle of daily life, but at the Ashram Surf Retreat near Mangalore, on India’s south-west coast, you’ll find an experience far removed from the madding crowd. Take to the water and make the only barrel in your life the one you ride, rather than the one clinging to your waistline.
Choose your fitness weapon – surfboard, bodyboard, wakeboard or stand- up paddle board – and reinvigorate your body in the sun and surf. If you’re a novice, join the surf school and learn to master the swell, or opt for a sea kayaking adventure, snorkelling or meditation and yoga sessions. Delicious vegetarian meals are served twice a day, and you can eat your fill of coconuts and fruit.
Cast away that bottle of Bintang, scrap sun-baking on the beach and get your blood pumping at a Balinese wellness retreat.
Located at the heart of the island at a village outside of Ubud, a restored Balinese bungalow will be your home as you spend a week working out. You’ll earn that sweat streaming down your back getting active in the ‘jungle gym’, where the trainers utilise coconuts, bags of rice and bamboo apparatus.
Other sessions involve jungle runs, crawling through muddy rice paddies and hauling logs upstream. Rise at 3am to trek Mount Batur by torchlight, summiting its peak as the first rays of light catch a wisp of volcanic smoke. The early start is rewarded by a trip to natural hot springs to soothe those weary muscles. There’s also plenty of down time for massages, reading, napping and shopping in Ubud, and the meals are prepared using the freshest local produce. And, yes, you can have banana pancakes for breakfast.
At Amansala’s Bikini Boot Camp, a hardcore team of trainers will sweat away your insecurities and have you looking the business in no time. And the surrounds couldn’t be more idyllic. Imagine having Mexico’s Riviera Maya as your military camp HQ while you put your body through its paces on glinting white sand with the Caribbean Sea lapping at your toes.
Trade weights for coconuts and the treadmill for twilight jogs on the beach. The camp also serves up a sweat-fest of salsa and tribal dancing, kayaking, volleyball and yoga – whatever your physical fancy. Oh, and bikinis are optional if you would rather work out more modestly attired.
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