The Ranch Malibu

If you're looking for a romantic getaway that's close to Los Angeles but feels entire worlds away, you won't find anything more fitting than the Calamigos Guest Ranch. Nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains, the private bungalows and cottages, set within 200 oak-filled acres, offer guests a place to decompress and reconnect with nature. Built in 1947 and family operated ever since, this rustic gem features a vineyard and organic garden that grows strawberries and herbs. Beyond exploring their three pools and five restaurants, you can make a quick trip (twelve-minute shuttle to be exact) to their five-acre beach club for all manner of beach activities.

Hotel June Malibu has a collection of minimal, bungalow-style suites. It’s on Point Dume, just a couple minutes’ drive to the beach, and it’s dog-friendly, has a pool, and offers bikes and surfboards you can take out for the day. They don’t have a full restaurant, so it’s a good fit if you’re planning on going out more than staying in.

Occupying an especially picturesque stretch of Carbon Beach (directly on the shore, to be exact), the Inn was the first luxury hotel in Malibu. And while others have joined the club since, its recently revamped guestrooms (all soothing earth tones and perfectly placed references to the water), and ocean-facing balconies—every single room comes with one—are still a big hit with both out-of-towners and staycationing locals. The Carbon Beach Club restaurant, which blessedly welcomes non-guests as well, is a good way to get in on the action without booking an overnight stay—and enjoying a top notch seafood meal in the process.

While Malibu has long had a shortage of places to stay, that’s all changing now and a prime stretch of PCH is getting a modern update with the arrival of the Nobu Ryokan (a new hotel concept for the brand), just a few yards up the street from its namesake restaurant on Carbon Beach. Here, the intimate 16-room hotel is done up in a minimalist Ryokan-style. This translates to wraparound terraces, floor-to-ceiling windows meant to maximize ocean views, and teak, bronze and limestone detailing. The generously-sized rooms are a nod to both California and Japanese design with clean lines, tatami mats, and outdoor teak soaking tub. Guests naturally have priority booking at the restaurant next door, but there’s also a special in-room dining menu for those who don’t want to leave the comfort of their kimono robe, either.

This 20-room hotel is luxurious, airy, and light-filled. The rooms are thoughtfully laid out and beautifully appointed, each with its own ocean-facing balcony and hammocks, plus Grown Alchemist toiletries in the bathroom and Parachute waffle robes. (For a real treat, book the Surfrider Suite, which at 500 square feet feels like a serious home away from home thanks to a generously sized balcony, separate sitting area, and kitchenette.) There’s a guests-only roof deck bar and restaurant, which has uninterrupted views of Surfrider Beach across the street and a killer fire pit.

Broad Street Oyster Co. began as a seafood pop-up and became a word-of-mouth phenomenon. Now, with their permanent home tucked away in Malibu Village, you can order caviar and Santa Barbara uni within fifteen minutes of rolling off the beach. Come for the oysters, stay for the seafood tower, and come back next weekend for a loaded lobster roll.

While it may not look like much more than a roadside shack to the untrained eye, locals know that inside is where you’ll find the best Thai food this side of the 405. The interior is decidedly no frills—same goes for the backyard area—but that doesn’t take away from the fact that the lengthy menu of curries, noodles, and soups is delicious. Get the pineapple-fried rice and a few orders of “golden bags” for the table (funny name, seriously good) and wash it all down with some Thai coffee (some of the best in all of LA).

Sharing a driveway with another highly-trafficked Malibu spot, Nobu, Little Beach House Malibu caused quite a buzz when it first opened in May 2016. (A bit of backstory: Even those who were already a part of Soho House have to apply specifically to this location for access.) Much of the activity centers around the wrap-around terrace, which juts right up First Point Break and a stretch of sandy shoreline. (There are heat lamps and blankets, too.) The space itself—impeccably designed by Montalba Architects—is quintessential California, with a minimalist palette, teak wood, indoor/outdoor fireplaces, floor-to-ceiling windows, and a large and impressive gallery wall featuring a mix of contemporary artwork. There’s often a DJ playing a set, or live music, and on the weekends, many gather for their weekend “Feast”—a prix-fixe brunch served from 10am-4:30pm that has everything from an omelet and carving stations to Belgian waffles and some pretty-hard-to-resist red velvet cake. (Littles are welcome, too.) An all-day menu utilizes local produce and includes standouts like the shareable cauliflower in a black garlic vinaigrette and the avocado dip, which is served with taro chips and crudité.

Malibu Farm is our go-to restaurant for impressing out-of-towners, thanks to its sweeping views of the ocean in both directions (and even of Catalina Island on a clear day). Enjoying a zucchini pizza and white sangria on the porch while you watch surfers and stand-up paddleboarders on iconic Surfrider Beach? That's as California as it gets.

Every item on the modest menu at this beloved local spot is a sure thing, whether it’s the chowder (both Manhattan or New England are available), steamed mussels, tuna burger, or fish-and-chips (the fish is gently battered, never heavy). You place your order at the counter then carry your tray up to the semi-open-air patio to take in the views of the Pacific right across the PCH. Best part: BYOB. The teeny fish market is always well stocked with the best local catch with extra attention paid to freshness, which makes sense since the owner was a commercial fisherman for years. For working off a big meal, the entrance to the Corral Canyon hiking path—quick, relatively easy, and really beautiful—is right at the adjoining parking lot, just keep in mind that the rangers are not shy about writing tickets if you park and don’t pay the fee.

This roadside spot has remained a Malibu classic since the 1950’s, offering the best grilled seafood and beer-battered fish-and-chips, chowder, and all the expected sides (cole slaw, fries, onion rings) in a setting that’s more biker bar than restaurant: If you don't recognize the sign from its many film cameos, just look for the line of gleaming motorcycles out front. It’s downright blasphemous not to stop in for a quick meal on your way up the PCH—leathers not required.

There are now 32 outposts of Nobu—and they draw a devoted touristy crowd—but the Malibu location, positioned on a bluff overlooking the ocean, is worth braving the hordes. The backdrop offers sweeping views that deliver the drama people love for big, festive moments like a rehearsal dinner, plus the food is reliably good.

The chefs here cook with ingredients from local farms (One Gun Ranch, for one), resulting in a menu that covers all the bases (expertly prepped proteins, veggie-driven plates, and more). The space is open with natural light flooding in from every direction—trees covered in string lights rise directly out of the floor in the middle of the indoor dining area, and there's a lush outdoor patio surrounded by vines and greenery. Make sure to order a pizza.

Tucked into a particularly idyllic nook off the PCH, Paradise Cove lives up to its name. While it bills itself as a café—and it’s definitely worth making the drive for a lunch of live Maine lobster or their famous fish tacos—it’s really more of a beach club. Everything from beach beds to umbrellas to full-on beach terraces is available for rent, meaning you can post up for the day. Expect a fun, lively vibe—perfect for kids. (Note that the beach can get packed during the summer months.)

Another PCH standby, the beauty of The Reel Inn lies not only in its massive seafood offering—everything from fresh lobster, mahi mahi, ahi tuna, and shrimp tacos, grilled or fried at your request and arranged into refreshingly generous portions—but also in its brilliant layout: The restaurant is split into two sprawling seating areas, one indoor, one outdoor, with rows upon rows of booths and picnic tables, meaning that finding a spot for the whole crew is doable even during peak season. There’s no waiter service, just a walk-up window with an easy-to-navigate chalkboard menu.

Disclaimer: The big-game meat-centric menu at this historic Malibu Canyon hunting-lodge-turned-restaurant (the drive up is really pretty at sunset) is not for the faint of heart. And with its scattered mounted deer busts and other such hunting regalia, neither is the décor. All that said, dining at this institution is a deeply LA-experience and not near as kitschy as it may sound—the outside tables in particular are perfect for romantic evenings. It’s not just for carnivores either—fish options, salads, and veggie sides are readily available. There’s also a $145 tasting menu for the adventurous.

What’s great about Taverna is that while it’s definitely one of the more scene-y restaurants in town, it’s also one of the best food-wise. The menu has all the traditional Greek specialties covered (dolmathes, spanakopita, and more) with an emphasis on fresh seafood—get the bass, it’s grilled and served whole with just the right amount of seasoning—and vegetarian dishes which range from elaborate savory pastries to basic grilled veggie plates. The restaurant is deceptively large, with an outdoor patio, indoor balcony, and massive main dining room, which on weekends also hosts live music and belly dancers. For a car snack, get some humus and pita to-go—trust us.

This traditional Italian food spot is situated right in the center of the Malibu Country Mart, making one of the outside tables prime people watching real estate. The fact that the menu of house-made pastas, risottos, and fish dishes is undoubtedly the best in town is icing on the cake. Pro tip: if you can’t get a table, order pizza and salad (try the Tuscan kale) at the little take-out window and stake out a shaded benches or patch of grass for an impromptu picnic.

You would think that Malibu would be overflowing with ice cream. But quality scoops are few and far between once Santa Monica is in your rearview mirror. Enter Le Café de la Plage. The owners swapped the perfumed fields of Provence for the Point Dume bluffs and their dairy (and nondairy) scoops are out of this world. Lychee, rose, fresh fig, pineapple and basil...you name it. Creamy delights aside, if you stop in for breakfast (they’re open from 7 a.m.) the bread and pastries are fresh out of the Gjusta oven—all the tastiness minus the insane line.

Childhood friends Mark Wain and Gary Chau wanted to bring a Northern Italian coffee shop sensibility to LA, and created a spot where you could hang for hours and people watch. (They currently have two other locations—in Santa Monica and in Brentwood at the Country Mart.) The newest location, right by Carbon beach, serves up their signature hand-crafted espresso coffee and pastries making it easy to get your caffeine fix as you zip up the PCH.

As a restaurant, this waterfront staple is more about location than cuisine (Taco Tuesday is the day to visit if you’re looking to hunker down for a meal, though); it’s the tiki-themed Barefoot Bar that’s the biggest hit. The drinks are fun—Mai Tai, mojitos, margaritas—especially during pau hana (that’s happy hour in Hawaiian) as is the food: sliders, wings, and naturally, fish in every shape and form. On Friday nights, much to the delight of its littlest patrons, they have hula dancers and music.

John's Garden has occupied the same spot in the Malibu Country Mart since long before it was known as the Malibu Country Mart. It's changed a few hands in its 40 years of business, but the sandwich menu has kept to the same standards of freshness and goodness the whole time. Every regular has their favorite, and ours is the Surfer Princess—a perfect turkey-on-wheat piled high with sprouts, avocado salad, and Vegenaise. It pairs well with the coconut-macadamia-chocolate-chip cookie. You can grab a seat by the swings so the kids can play through lunch.

The Malibu Farmers Market is a low-key operation—so low-key, that it hasn’t yet made it on the radar of LA’s Sunday farmers market crowd. Actually, its compact size is what makes the experience so enjoyable. Set up in the local library parking lot, within walking distance of the Country Mart, this is where you’ll find the freshest seasonal produce, driven in from local organic farmers that morning, pastry and snacks by small family owned businesses, and the prettiest just-picked flowers. Best of all, there’s usually plenty of parking.

One look at the menu—chicken tenders, chili cheese fries, hot dogs, burgers—and it’s clear Mutt’s really knows its customer: The little take-out stand is located just steps from the Malibu Country Mart’s adorable playground. It’s kid food at its best, and for mom and dad there are veggie burgers and a solid falafel wrap (also comes in salad form). There’s no designated seating area, so grab your order and find a shady bench or picnic table; there are plenty throughout the mart.

This location used to be home a different steakhouse, called the Chart House, before Mastro’s fairly seamlessly replaced it a few years back. After all, the real draw here isn’t the food, but the view: Perched on the beach, with very little distance between you and the water, expansive glass windows showcase a truly magnificent panorama of the Pacific. Warm, luxe interiors and great seafood round out the experience; angle to come here for a drink (and an appetizer) around sunset.

A relaxed tasting room on the east side of the PCH (marked by giant blue beach chairs that you won't miss), Rosenthal has a small interior that opens onto a mountainside, hidden backyard space outfitted with picnic tables, umbrellas, and patio lounge furniture. They serve two labels: The Malibu Estate wines (mostly reds) are made from the twenty-acre Malibu vineyard that's four miles in and up from the ocean, and their Surfrider label (more variety) sources grapes from around California. Rosenthal offers tasting flights but the move is to post up with a bottle of wine and some friends on the back patio—if you can, plan to bring snacks/a picnic spread and games with you, although you can buy a cheese spread there, and there's a food truck, plus live music on the weekends. (Rosenthal is also next door to Reel Inn, which is always an option if you're in the mood for seafood. And it's directly across from beach access, at Topanga, if you want to squeeze in some time by the water, too.)

Much more than just a juice bar, owner Khalil Rafati opened SunLife Organics in Malibu in 2011 to share what he’d learned through his own journey to wellness—which unsurprisingly involves lots of fruits, veggies, and some superfoods—in a community-oriented space. Amazing cold-pressed juices and acai bowls abound; their “Billion Dollar Smoothie” ingredient list includes reishi, cordyceps, hemp milk, and chlorophyll, just to name a few. If that’s not your thing, there are also sandwiches (think: grilled cheese, pesto panini) and sundaes made with their organic frozen yogurt. Along with several other Southern California outposts, they have a second Malibu location, too.

This famed whitewashed bungalow has gone through many incarnations over the years, but the unobstructed views of Zuma Beach and good OG-Malibu vibes have stayed consistent. As the name suggests, the sunsets here are epic, so it makes sense that weeknight happy hour stretches till 9pm. Food-wise we suggest sticking to the bar menu in the lounge (ceviche, fish tacos, ribs, and three types of fries) rather than committing to a sit-down in the main dining room. Keep in mind that parking can be a pain on weekends.

The giant rocks coming up from the sand (not to mention the exquisite sunset views) at El Matador make it a favorite for photographers, and many people stage engagement or family photoshoots here. That said, it's usually not too crowded, in part because those same rocks make it difficult to swim and surf—it's really best for picnicking, reading, and enjoying the view. Be sure to pack a blanket and wear tennis shoes, as the parking lot is on a bluff far above the beach, and the walk down can get a bit hairy.

This semi-hidden beach sprawls over the stretch of coastline where PCH meets Escondido Road. Not quite as crowded as the more spacious beaches in the area, Escondido is the perfect size and vibe for mellow sunbathing or strolling with the family. Parking can get tricky, so its best to park along PCH, and access the beach through a public stairway west of Geoffrey’s. Keep in mind, no dogs allowed.

Starting at the end of Los Leones Drive in the Palisades, the best version of this hike ends at the Parker Mesa Overlook in Malibu, which is the perfect perch to have a snack or a meal after a roughly three-mile ascent. (About a mile in, make sure you take a hard left at the Paseo Miramar Trail junction.) There’s not a lot of shade—and because of the unsurprisingly gorgeous view of the Santa Monica Bay and surrounding area at the top, it’s fairly well-traveled—so it’s best to go in the early morning. You’ll see “Los Leones” and “Los Liones” used interchangeably; don’t worry, they’re the same thing. There are a couple small parking lots at the bottom, and ample (free) street parking. Note: No dogs allowed.

Rockier than other local beaches and fortified by picturesque cliffs, Point Dume is ideal for exploring, not just laying out. There’s a hiking trail for taking in the scenery, plus it goes up the bluffs to an overlook spot at the very top of Point Dume for panoramic views of the Santa Monica Bay and a good chunk of the Malibu coast. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch a glimpse of the migrating grey whales in winter. There's also plenty of swimming, scuba diving, and surfing here if watersports are your thing.

Anyone who's done a lot of hiking in the LA area will tell you that Sandstone Peak is one of, if not the, most beautiful hikes within driving distance of the city. It's a bit of a schlep to get there, as it's on the very edge of Malibu—the turnoff is the just after Neptune's Net, and you'll drive 15 minutes up Yerba Buena Road until you get to the trailhead—but more than worth it. The hike itself is about six miles round-trip, and the entire way is filled with sweeping views of Westlake Lake and Sherwood Lake on one side and the ocean on the other, plus a section where you can see rock climbers scrambling up the Echo Cliffs. This is a really good place to come the day after a rainstorm, when the smog clears and you can see the snow on the peaks of the San Gabriel Mountains across the valley.

The Solstice Canyon is one of the most popular hikes in Los Angeles. There's a route for every level of intensity, from mellow walking to more difficult treks. As you work your way up, you’ll bump into the Keller House, the remnants of a 100-plus-year-old stone cabin which was damaged in the 2007 fires. The true pièce de résistance, however, is the Solstice waterfall, where you’ll also find the Paul Revere Williams-designed Roberts Ranch house. The trails are well-suited for picnicking, mountain biking, and observing local wildlife, an especially thrilling experience for pint-sized hikers. Dogs are allowed, as long as they’re on leash.

Odds are if you’ve seen a Malibu postcard or any surfing movie, you’ve seen Surfrider Beach. Home to the iconic first point surf break, this is one of the more crowded beaches along PCH, though it’s well situated if you’re looking to take in a bit of sun and some surfer-watching after lunch on the pier. Don’t waste time searching for roadside parking; it's easier to splurge for the lot or valet on the pier instead—unless it’s peak season, in which case, it’s every man for himself.

There’s a seasonal waterfall on this 2.5 to 4.6 mile trail (we like to do the Skullrock extension to get in a bigger workout)—and there’s also stunning water views. It’s a dog-free trail, great for kids, and parking is simple (there’s a lot at the bottom that costs $10). Photos: Hikespeak

Situated in the mountains between Malibu and Topanga, Tuna Canyon Park is less well-known than other parks in the area—which just makes it less crowded and more appealing. There are several trails, but the best destination is the Big Rock Lateral fire road, where you’ll reach stunning views of the surrounding mountains (and the Pacific, of course). The three-mile hike is mostly downhill on the way there—you’ll get a workout on the way back to your car, along with views of Saddle Peak. Getting to Tuna Canyon can be a little tricky; if you’re coming from PCH you’ll be spending a bit of time in the car winding through Topanga roads. Dogs are welcome and parking is free.

One of our go-to beaches, Zuma is also one of the most impressive in scope, stretching close to three miles along the coast. It’s usually pleasantly un-crowded, too, leaving plenty of room to spread out. It’s also home to a great break for beginner surfers as well as a meeting spot for paddle boarding classes. For kids, there’s a junior lifeguard program during the summer.

At Zuma, you have several (equally great) trail options, depending on what you’re looking to get out of your hike. If you want a good, efficient workout, you can take the Ocean View Trail, which is an aptly-named three-mile loop boasting ocean views at the top. If you’ve got plenty of time and want to enjoy the scenery, consider the Zuma Ridge Trail, which is considerably longer workout at about six miles and also has an ocean view payoff. There's a section of the Backbone Trail that's considerably easier and shorter than the other two, but if you’re lucky—try going after winter rains—you’ll see water flowing through Upper Zuma Falls. All trails are dog-friendly, and there's plenty of parking.

This immaculately preserved 1930’s Moorish-Spanish-style villa serves an important purpose in the community: to educate visitors about the history of Malibu, going all the way back to the 18th century when the land was home to the Chumash Indians. You can see the entire house, with its elaborate tile work and stunning views of the Pacific Ocean during a one-hour guided tour, and if you visit on a Friday, save some time for a tour of the gardens as well. (Its' history and idyllic setting also make the property a coveted wedding venue.) Also on site is the Malibu Lagoon Museum, offering an even deeper dive into Malibu’s past.

While surf lessons for kids are a dime a dozen around these parts, skateboarding lessons are more complicated to arrange. As its name suggests, Drill Surf & Skate does both, and does them really, really well, so you should feel good knowing the kiddos are in good hands. Also on offer, rentals for every type of board-centric sport (surf, body, SUP), plus all the supporting accessories. And for board-owning pros, they’ll arrange to send your board out for minor repairs and have it looking like new in less than a week.

Modeled after a first-century Roman country house, J. Paul Getty originally built the Getty Villa to house an art collection that was quickly outgrowing his house. Now, beyond touring the exquisite home and gardens, you can see his collection of 44,000 antiquities, with treasures that range from 6,500 B.C. to A.D. 400.

Nestled into the Santa Monica mountains high above PCH, Malibu Creek attracts rock climbers year-round. If rock climbing isn’t your thing, the park offers a long list of activities: biking, hiking, horseback riding, kayaking, camping, and even painting. It's also home to some great wildlife-watching. On any given day, you can almost always find lizards, rattlesnakes, raccoons, foxes, bluebirds, and more up here. Fun fact: The park was formerly owned by 20th Century Fox Studios, and has starred in Pleasantville, The Seven Year Itch, and Love Me Tender, among many other films.

Technically outside Malibu city limits in Calabasas, this gleaming, otherworldly, South Indian-style temple is a straight shot up Las Virgenes Canyon from PCH. The temple was built in 1981 for the god Venkateswara, with shrines for various deities scattered throughout the property along with ample space for quiet reflection and meditation. Other than the breathtaking architecture, what’s special is that participating in ceremonies or prayer isn’t a requirement—visitors are welcome to simply take it all in from the sidelines—just make sure to reference the rules of conduct. On weekends, the temple kitchen serves surprisingly delicious vegetarian snacks for a small charge.

Tucked away in the hills of Malibu, One Gun, a dreamy ranch owned by Alice Bamford and Ann Eysenring is breathtakingly beautiful, sure, but it also serves as a kind of ground zero for sustainable agriculture. Every nook and cranny reveals another Instagram-ready moment: There’s a mountainside guesthouse with its own potbellied stove, a suped-up vintage Airstream, a dressage arena, as well as alpacas, sheep, goats, chickens, and a loving donkey named Waffles who strolls the grounds, willingly accompanying Alice and Ann on foraging hikes. While the property is no longer open to visitors, the pair hosts a series of school tours for children to learn about composting and gardening at home while exploring One Gun’s own garden where they grow corn, beans, squash, and even pumpkins. For a closer look, it’s worth picking up a copy of One Gun Ranch, Malibu: Biodynamic Recipes for Vibrant Living for tips on healthy living, easy-to-follow recipes, and a closer look at environmental stewardship on the ranch.

This ranch, built in 1941 by famous horseman Egon Merz, is where Elizabeth Taylor trained for her role in National Velvet. Classes specializing in hunting, jumping, and dressage are available alongside general riding lessons. To enroll your child or book a session, the quickest way to get up-to-date programming is by contacting the ranch on WhatsApp at 310.503.6789.

The only advice we have to those seeking to push themselves through the original back-to-basics boot camp? Stick it out. The seven days of crazy-long hikes, intense workouts, and a cleansing, vegetarian diet will be hard work, but it will also whip you into shape. Not for the faint of heart (or the fussy), this no-frills, no-excuses program is no less grueling (or cushy) than it is in Mallorca—but the OG Calabasas location is just far enough removed from city life to feel like a quiet respite, too.

This is where you head for all your crystal, sage, incense, singing bowl, and general metaphysical/mystical needs. Going strong since the ‘80s and family owned, this artfully crammed shop is exactly what you’d expect to find in Malibu. With a packed roster of talented psychics and tarot-card reader friends (get a 30-minute reading from Cathy Crystal—trust) there’s usually availability for a last-minute session. There’s also an impressive library and a tarot card section that rivals anything we’ve ever seen (more on what to do with your deck, here).

It doesn’t really get more Malibu than this: a guided meditation experience, performed on paddle boards, out in the Pacific. Creator Jobi Manson—who also owns the shop Sēfari nearby—designs each session to encourage self-discovery and spiritual transformation, working in astrological birth chart readings and journaling to the ritual. Sessions last two to three hours; you can book private or group sessions every morning but Sunday. (You don’t need paddleboard experience or own a wetsuit to participate.)

The first thing you'll notice upon entering this gleaming two-story boutique-slash-gallery are the shoes, a nod to the shop's past as a sneakerhead mecca—it's a tight edit, but every pair is a slam dunk. The space has since evolved to house, among others, Nili Lotan basics, LSCO quilted jackets, and On runners for women and Engineered Garments, Maison Kitsune, Salomon, and the house line of Japanese cotton shirting and basics for dudes. Seamlessly merchandising the apparel and shoes with art from both local and international artists is the doing of owners Arlington and Jac Forbes—both entertainment industry veterans—who do an incredible job of scouting fresh talent.

Only half a block from the PCH in the heart of Malibu, and a 20-minute drive from LA, the Malibu Country Mart has something for everyone: a great blend of boutiques, both big-name and indie, including Oliver Peoples, Ron Herman, and a small but incredibly well-stocked Madison outpost. Plus, there are several galleries and a pleasantly manageable amount of restaurant options—Taverna Tony is a local treasure. To keep the kiddos busy, there's a spacious outdoor playground with swings, sandboxes, and a jungle gym. A few steps up Cross Creek Road is the Lumber Yard, a newer, shinier shopping center.

Owner Lucy Jolis has the uncanny ability to pull together a shop full of brands you love (like Rachel Comey, Lee Mathews, Natalie Martin, and Matteau), plus smaller, lesser-known labels. The space, tucked into a well-trafficked corner of the Malibu Country Mart, is just as inviting to shop in. It's not overly packed with items to browse; instead it's thoughtfully broken up into swimwear, party dresses, and wear-anywhere pieces. Don't miss the jewelry display, which includes a nice selection of small gold-and-turquoise pieces from Larisa Laivins, plus pendants by CVC Stones. The original location is in Austin.

This easy toy shop (which has a second location at the Brentwood Country Mart) is on speed dial for kids birthday parties, since they do great gift wrapping and local deliveries. The shelves are lined with everything a kid could ever want, and we appreciate the emphasis on IRL, low-tech toys like the Etch A Sketch, blocks, trains, puzzles, kites, and stuffed animals.

Even if you’re not in the market for orchids (though odds are, you’ll go home with one or two new buds) this sprawling greenhouse and the surrounding grounds are worth a visit. In addition to à la carte flowers, the staff will gladly put together a beautiful arrangement right on the spot, arrange a local delivery, or even shipping. This is a sweet mom-and-pop operation, so expect hands-on service but none of the big-box nursery frills.

Having recently undergone extensive renovation, this 1840s neo-Gothic hideaway—just thirty minutes from Shannon airport—sits on 842 acres of manicured gardens, lush rolling fields, and medieval ruins; it's reason alone to travel to Ireland's verdant southwest (although the dozens of nearby historical sites, lively pubs, and quaint villages don't hurt, either). Each individually designed room is palatial in size, decked out with authentic mahogany Georgian-era furniture, sumptuous fabrics, nineteenth-century artwork, and a roaring open fireplace to ward off the inevitable Irish chill. The generously sized marble bathrooms are finished in vintage wallpaper and include deep stand-alone tubs, many of which overlook the grounds. As far as dining goes, there are two solid options on the property, but the Oak Room is hard to beat. The elegantly appointed Drawing Room is the perfect spot for morning coffee or a pre-dinner aperitif by the fire, while the subterranean David Collins–designed, vault-ceilinged Tack Room is the spot for wine and whiskey connoisseurs (Guinness lovers, too) to retreat for a few drinks. Activity-wise, choose from golfing, fishing, archery, and horseback riding, alongside dozens of country hikes and cycle trails. The spa (stocked with 111SKIN) is a tranquil space to indulge and unwind after a long day, accompanied by the comforting scent of autumnal fig that pervades the entire property.

Even if you’re not in Cusco preparing for the journey up to Machu Picchu, this beautiful, cobbled city is well worth the visit. The Belmond Hotel Monasterio, a former monastery and now national monument—built in 1592 on the site of an Inca palace—turned luxury hotel brimming with character is, without question the most atmospherically beautiful spot to room in Cusco. The candlelit, cloistered courtyard is perfect for a pre-dinner pisco sour or morning coffee surrounded by trees. Be sure to wander into the restored Baroque chapel as you make your way to one of the hotel's two excellent restaurants nestled in the cloisters (Illariy is the Peruvian fine-dining option, while the more laid-back El Tupay hosts live opera a few nights a week). Besides visiting Machu Picchu, the hotel can arrange any number of activities, from white water rafting to cooking classes (Peru is a hotbed of culinary activity, after all). An additional draw is the live oxygen pumped into each room, a godsend for those adjusting to the altitude.

Buttermilk biscuits with a view. Equal parts luxury hotel, world-class kitchen, and working farm, this 4,200 acre foodie resort in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains is a slice of heaven for those hungry for rest, relaxation, good music, and, of course, incredible Southern cooking. Check their calendar before booking for events that may be of interest like truffle hunts, photography workshops, wellness weekends, and featured celeb chefs like Joanne Weir and Daniel Boulud.

They say you get to know a culture best through its food. And no one knows food better than the chefs who make it. That’s the idea behind Tasting Notes—a bunch of high-end trips created by Black Tomato, in which you travel to Basque Country or Peru or the Lake District in England or any of a handful of places to eat, taste, and immerse yourself in that particular culinary world. The trips are incredibly luxurious, designed by chefs, and often offer access to the places and the kitchens that are closed to the public. Come curious, and come hungry.

Massimo Bottura’s flagship restaurant Osteria Francescana has three Michelin stars, but Bottura is probably just as well known for saving the Parmigiano Reggiano industry after the catastrophic 2012 earthquake. Now he and his wife, Lara, have extended the Francescana experience into the Emilian countryside. Casa Maria Luigia has just opened and is the Call Me by Your Name dolce far niente escape we spend most of the year fantasizing about. A restored country home with tennis courts, a pool, expansive gardens, and of course—Francescana. Dinner takes place in the carriage house and includes a nine-course tasting menu of all the Osteria’s greatest hits. After this feast to end all feasts, simply cross the courtyard, climb the stairs, and tumble into queen-size bed surrounded by contemporary art from the Botturas’ own collection.

Though it offers incredible views of the Tuscan countryside and an excellent spa, the 12th-century castle-turned-hotel is really about food. The owner, Aurora Baccheschi Berti, is a world-class chef who specializes in Northern Italian cuisine (check out her cookbook here). In addition to whipping up a daily breakfast spread she holds cooking classes (fresh pasta making, for example) using organic ingredients grown right on property. There’s also a working vineyard and an olive grove where you can witness the harvests firsthand.

At this point—several documentaries, World’s Best Restaurant awards, and multiple cookbooks later—chef Rene Redzepi of Noma fame is a cult figure in the food world. Despite several residencies from Oaxaca to Tokyo and a new restaurant with greenhouses, a roof garden, and a fermentation lab, Redzepi is still steadfast in his dedication to the New Nordic. The culinary practice is resolute when it comes to seasonality and indigenous ingredients which, given Denmark’s frigid winters, is no small feat. The new Noma splits the year into three menus—game in autumn, seafood in the winter, and vegetables in the summer. A table in the farm-style, nearly all-glass space is one of the most impossible seats to snag anywhere in the world. A few tips: Plan months ahead. Consider the number of food-obsessed friends you might have who will get on an international flight to eat with you. And stay at the design-forward SP34 hotel. Then prepare to eat the most creative, delicious (and expensive) meal of your life—with wine pairings, of course.

The minute you set foot in Copenhagen and take a look around it’s obvious: The Danish know design. So it makes sense that the luxury travel company Indagare paired up with Architectural Digest to mastermind the perfect trip for the kind of people who know Eames is spelled with an E. The trip is six days long (September 16 to 21), and the itinerary includes touring the best design museums in Copenhagen as well as private design studios, visiting the archives of Georg Jensen, seeing the best of the city’s architecture by boat, staying at Hotel Sanders (one of the nicest in town), and did we mention the food? There’s room for only two dozen people, so get to it.

Casa Teo is an Airbnb that moonlights as a creative space for artists, chefs, and regular travelers. It’s also the latest culinary concept by chef Enrique Olvera of Mexico City’s legendary Pujol. This well-appointed, Scandinavian-style, two-bedroom apartment perched atop the former Pujol location in Mexico City’s achingly chic Polanco neighborhood, is a food lover’s dream. And as in many households, the action (and in this case, design focal point) centers around the kitchen—namely, a long communal kitchen table, where gorgeous breakfast spreads and elaborate evening tasting menus are prepared by an in-house chef. Prefer to go out? Who knows what kind of near-impossible dinner reservations the Casa Teo team might be able to snag for you.

A city redevelopment project of gargantuan proportions, this 10km stretch of green space along the city's Manzanares riverbank replaces the former M-30 freeway, which now runs underground. Its completion in 2011 brought local Madrileños back to the riverbed with a system of restored bridge monuments, new footbridges, or Cáscaras, an urban beach for sunbathers, 17 new playgrounds, and kayak docks. What's more, it's stitched neighborhoods like Arganzuela, Carabanchel, and La Latina—once dissected by the city's traffic—back together, making them all completely walkable. Rent a bike or stroll the riverbank to check out the park's features, such as the fruit tree arboretum recreating that of the formal royal palace, or the pine walk which is almost directly above the now submerged M-30. All of this is the work of an impressive, 4-year collaboration between the Dutch firm West8 and Madrid's own MRIO. Photo: © West8

If Napa is a pilgrimage for foodies and wine-lovers, then Meadowood in St. Helena—officially one of the world's best hotels—is most certainly the mecca. There's no better place to sleep off a day of wine tasting than in one of their cozy rooms by a roaring fire (unless you count the massage table at the seriously idyllic spa).

Hovering somewhere between a bed and breakfast and organic co-op farm, LA-transplant Calvin Zara’s refurbished four-bedroom Thacher house and its four private cabins is where you want to be for a fully-immersive, get away from it all experience (it accommodates no more than 20 guests at a time). If you stay here, be prepared to share the lush grounds with chickens and a family of goats, in addition to citrus and pomegranate trees and a garden. Needless to say, all the food served at the beautifully appointed dining room is sourced locally or from the Thacher House farm itself. Also on offer: classes in cooking, baking, olive-oil pressing, wine-making, and so much more.

Tucked in the heart of Chilean wine country, Viña Vik is a hideaway just two hours south of Santiago. The ultra-modern design, which offers wholly uninterrupted views of your surroundings—amidst some 11,000 acres of unspoiled land—is reminiscent of Frank Gehry. Winemaking is the primary focus here, and the Vik family (which also has Estancia Vik and Playa Vik in Uruguay), but the organic garden, which cultivates more than 250 different varieties of fruits and vegetables (kale, mint, lavender, peaches, and avocados, among them) is equally notable. There's a dedicated culinary education program for guests around harvesting and cooking the produce. Come December, well-known Argentinean pastry chef Osvaldo Gross will host a series of classes for guests, too.

Safaris have gotten a real makeover in recent years as travelers have become more discerning about the environment and welfare of the land, the animals, and the people who safeguard it . Chobe Game Lodge in elephant-rich Botswana is Ecotourism-certified by TKTKorganization, and despite being a five-star operation (Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton honeymooned here), sustainability and the delicacy of the ecosystem is taken very seriously. Accommodations are absolutely stunning—even standard rooms have private terraces overlooking the landscape with binoculars to spot the giraffes among the treetops, four-poster beds made up with local textiles, and deep tubs for late-night soaks. Emissions-free, electric game drives start early, when the lions, leopards, and crocodiles are still hunting (hot coffee and warm throws for your shoulders make these cooler sunrise drives extremely pleasant), while solar-powered boat safaris are best in the early evening when herds of elephants come to the river to drink. In between, head to the lodge with a book, cool off in the pool, or wander the gardens and get acquainted with the monkeys.

Kin understands that seasoned travelers care about sustainability, cultural sensitivity, and offsetting their carbon footprint. Kin Travel’s trips (it offers itineraries in Kenya, Wyoming, Cape Cod, and Haiti) are varied and a tad unusual. The Haiti trip is maybe the most remarkable: It takes guests off the grid to the beaches along the northern coast reachable only by boat. Travelers sleep in a camp designed to soak up as much of the natural beauty as possible, hike to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of La Citadelle Lafferiere (a fortress from the 1800s), and take a boat to see reef restorations up close. This also comes alongside swimming, snoozing, and yoga, of course. Proceeds from trips go toward funding eco-sanitation throughout Haiti and community health in isolated villages, plus building access to education. Any carbon footprint generated is offset by Kin Travel with Terrapass.

Laikipia, a county in central Kenya, is vast. Stretching across millions of acres between Mount Kenya and the northern deserts, it’s not necessarily a game park, but many ranchers have removed fencing and barriers to allow the wildlife to roam free. Reachable by plane—a small prop plane—this trip, led by Pelorus who excel in planning experiential expeditions is an educational one. Rather than spending days in a four-by-four, hoping to catch sight of the big five, you’ll bear witness to elite antipoaching operations and conservation efforts led by the people who live in Laikipia. From there you could fly down to Amboseli National Park in the shadows of Kilimanjaro, trek with the Maasai, and experience firsthand their efforts to safeguard the endangered elephant herds native to the region.

Every spring hundreds of whale sharks swim to Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula to feed off the nutrient-rich plankton in the area. The site is incomprehensible: dozens of gently curved, grey, polka-dotted whale sharks, most the size of a school bus, churning up the clear blue water. It's a playground of gentle giants—and it's safe to join. Whale sharks aren't a threat to humans—only to plankton—which makes swimming with them not only safe but a truly transcendental experience. And because the species is facing extinction, it sadly may be a fleeting one. The Blue Sphere Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for oceanic health and endangered marine life, hosts dive expeditions off Isla Mujeres: You can see the whale sharks from the boat or snorkel among them.

&Beyond is an eco-tourism company that operates twenty-nine of the most luxurious safari camps in Africa. Since 2013, &Beyond has been involved in an ambitious attempt to save South Africa’s rhinos from extinction through poaching. In partnership with Rhino Force and Great Plains Conservation, the company has been translocating white rhinos from their South African game reserves to Botswana’s safer, relatively poacher-free Okavango Delta. &Beyond now offers visitors the opportunity to sponsor these translocations and witness the complexity—rhinos are carefully sedated and tagged to ensure their well-being before being transported to neighboring Botswana—of the operation. While the process of finding and tagging the rhinos can be extreme, accommodations on the Phinda Camp are incredibly luxurious, and the feeling of helping safeguard this vulnerable species for the next generation is something that stays with you forever.

Habitat for Humanity was among the first to make volunteer travel what it is today. And not only did Habitat make it viable; the company made the idea of using your vacation to bring good to the world a more attractive option than just: Get on a plane; land on an island. The ethos of the company is to provide housing for low-income families, and to do that, it relies on volunteers. The Global Village trips are relatively short—a week to ten days—and are available in dozens of countries all over the world—Paraguay, Zambia, Kenya, Cambodia, Mexico, and Nepal. Decide where you want to go, explain what skill sets you bring, and go make the world a better place. After one trip, you’ll almost certainly plan another.

Much like Marlon Brando fell in love with Tetiaroa while filming Mutiny on the Bounty (he purchased the land for him and his wife Tarita in 1967), guests are instantly charmed by the island’s coconut palm groves and white-sand beaches. To further his commitment to sustainability, Brando enlisted the help of hotelier Richard Bailey to build the world's first ever post-carbon resort. Though by no means cheap (the all-inclusive rates start at $2,700 per night) The Brando’s lengthy list of activities (snorkeling, kayaking, paddle boarding) and indoor/outdoor accommodations—complete with sleek decor, plunge pools, and outdoor bathtubs—mean the pricetag makes sense. The island’s restaurants serve dishes comprised of ingredients plucked from the resort’s own organic fruit orchard and veggie garden.

Beyond the high-tech camping fabrics and unglamorous tents, this is our pick for the most design-worthy camping site out there. Located about an hour west of the park’s boundaries, beneath Lone Peak, this collective of beautifully built canvas tents is roughing it at its best (and to say roughing it is a stretch). Each teepee-like tent is outfitted with chic, rustic furniture, a plush king-sized bed, and tribal decor. To make the entire camping experience pretty much labor-free, the full-service company schedules farm-to-table breakfasts and dinners cooked on site by a nearby chef.

The relationship between the Fogo Island Inn and the beautiful community and physical landscape in which it exists is pretty incredible. Conceived as a social enterprise to support the tiny, yet sturdy outport community on the island, it provides jobs, celebrates local cuisine, and donates all of its proceeds to community programming. The inn itself is a gorgeous, simple, modern building that juts out in juxtaposition to, yet somehow at harmony with, the rocky outcroppings of the landscape. For visitors, the quaint quality of the place inspires plenty of hand holding: In the summer and fall, you can hike the idyllic trails in search of wild berries and local wildlife, like caribou, foxes, puffins, and migrating whales—in the winter, you'll find ice fishing, picturesque snowfall, and plenty of cozy fires. The décor (not surprisingly, all of the furniture was built by the locals) is modern but cozy, with Scandinavian-feeling wooden shapes and warm, hand-made quilts. As you might expect, the views out of the wide, modern windows are nothing less than jaw-dropping.

Born from the imagination of James Bond novelist Ian Fleming, GoldenEye is rooted in such cultural lore, it’s hard not to feel like you’re playing a part in a glamorous spy story. It was here Fleming penned all fourteen Bond books (the author’s home, the Fleming Villa, can be reserved separately), and this is also where Bond’s cinematic debut, Dr. No, was filmed. But if these cultural muses don’t inspire a trip, consider that the collection of villas was also constructed by an all-star cast. Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, enlisted Ann Hodges, one of Jamaica’s most noted architects, to produce the property’s supremely comfortable accommodations, fitted with hardwood floors, outdoor showers, and lush, secluded gardens. Go for one of the six lagoon cottages, which were built to hover above the tranquil water and have private docks for midnight swims and morning paddleboarding. In the spare, octagonal bedrooms, louvred windows welcome natural sea breezes to replace air-conditioning.

A private, guided “slack-country” ski itinerary that’s tailored to you? That’s the Parom Camps calling card. One or two weeks, off-piste or touring—the choose-your-own-adventure vibe is exactly what Finnish transplant Inka Haapala’s epic ski-guiding company offers. The incredibly knowledgeable guides are powder chasers at heart; they go where the best snow goes—or, in Japan, where the Japow (that’s local for powder) dumps day in and day out. That means skipping out on the crowded resorts in search of that impossibly perfect, untouched terrain. Take over the lodge with your crew or tuck into one of the cozy cottages in the woods near some of the best backcountry in Niseko—Parom Camps will hook you up with lodging, transportation, and suggestions for where and how to après like a local. Which, if you’re doing it right, means soaking for hours in a traditional onsen (hot spring), slurping up the richest miso ramen Hokkaido has to offer, and washing it all down with a glass of Yamazaki whisky.

For a beginner mountaineer, Kilimanjaro has many advantages. The mountain’s proximity to the equator makes for a tolerable climate (serious storms are rare). The 19,000-foot climb will take you through rain forest, tundra, and desert—and the crescendo is the snow-capped glacier above the clouds. Be prepared: Catching your breath becomes harder as the oxygen decreases and the air thins out; experts recommend a nine-day climb to adjust. The Machame route is the most scenic (admittedly with a few steep climbs), while the Lemosho route is the least traveled for those craving solitude and quiet. Abercrombie & Kent is an expert tour operator that caters to small groups only (no more than twelve) and climbing with one of its teams comes with helpful luxuries like chefs, porters, and guides who know the mountain better than anyone else. All you’ll need to carry is a backpack of essentials—lip balm, a camera, sunscreen, maybe some toilet paper—to summit Africa’s tallest peak.

Some trips are so far off the grid that just a little advance planning doesn’t quite cut it. Take Mongolia. Cazenove+Loyd are pros at crafting bespoke experiences in the far reaches of the world, and there is no team better equipped to get you acquainted with the Mongolian wilderness. You’ll set up camp and sleep in comfortably outfitted gers (traditional yurt-type structures) complete with memory-foam mattresses, wood-burning stoves, bathrooms, and exquisite, handmade Mongolian personal-care products. Getting up close with the Mongolian steppes means roughing it, but the mobility of the set-it-up-anywhere ger ensures a warm night’s sleep accentuated by spectacular vistas and the odd rustling bird. If you decide to venture into the wilds of the Gobi Desert, Three Camel Lodge has got you covered. The Cazenove+Loyd team will handle every detail, from saddling up the horses to procuring local delicacies, like mutton dumplings, for supper under the stars.

If you were to drum up an image in your mind of what an Old West homestead should look like, you’d probably conjure up The Ranch at Rock Creek. And for good reason, as it was one, dating back to its original function as a mining claim in the 1800s (nearby Philipsburg was home to a major silver boom). It was homesteaded in the early 1900s and has been a working cattle ranch since, though it now doubles as a luxury guest ranch—and it is really, really well done. Though it’s been tastefully rehabilitated, much of the main lodge is original, and the log homes and tent-style accommodations that dot the valley seem like they could have been from that era as well, thanks to period-appropriate (though cushy) fixtures, and an incredible body of photography, all sourced from the state archives in Helena (19th century boy with pet bear? Check.). It’s all-inclusive here, and you can pick from a range of activities every morning, so if your kid falls in love with a particular horse, he can ride that horse everyday. (As a nice extra, they accommodate more advanced riders, too, which means you can actually get out and run.) There’s fly fishing, paint ball, shooting, archery, an on-site spa, and a rodeo every Tuesday night—they can also arrange for rafting, helicopter trips to Glacier or Yellowstone, or heli-hiking into the back country (those cost extra). And the food? The food is the perfect balance between comfort ranch and modern healthy— and all as locally sourced as possible. There’s a weekly post-rodeo barbecue, an evening of cooking outside in Dutch Ovens (a neat culinary trick that the chef, Josh Drage, picked up from his grandmother), interesting spins like sweet potato sandwiches, and the occasional night of wine pairings and fancy food.

This is another Chris Blackwell property (the other is GoldenEye), and as the founder of Island Records, Blackwell keeps the walls of these white wooden cottages lined with an array of historic rock-and-roll memorabilia. (This is the place Bob Marley chose as an escape when he faced threats to his life in the mid-1970s.) It feels like a secluded mountain village tucked high in the contours of Jamaica’s Blue Mountain Range, over 3,000 feet above sea level. The nineteenth-century Georgian architecture has a sophisticated, laid-back charm, matched by hand-dyed batik linens and four-poster beds with billowing drapes. And it’s almost a magical experience to stroll through the morning mist in the private gardens before breakfast. The hikes (led by expert staff members) give you a real sense of what the interior of the island is all about; afterward, unwind with an aloe wrap at the spa. But our favorite thing to do was to take in the views—every last heart-stopping one of them.

Everything about this safari camp is achingly chic (to the extent that it's Michael Kors' favorite vacation destination), from the leather and canvas washed interiors, to the long pool. Of course, that's kind of just a side note to the fact that it's in the middle of South Africa's Kreuger National Park, meaning that you get to take your laps in the morning to the sound of giraffes tussling nearby. There are also incredible views of the N'wanetsi river. While they allow kids over 10, keep in mind that a safari isn't for those who don't want to wake up early in the morning (or hate being confined to a car for most of the day). Rates include two game drives per day, walking safaris, and all meals and drinks (there's a great wine cellar).

Tavarua is the island you see when you daydream about the South Pacific: sand as fine as confectioner’s sugar, a break that looks like the cover of a surfing magazine, and good god, so much blue. This tiny island in Fiji is home to one resort (which itself is home to a pool, hot tub, spa, fitness center, and Ping-Pong table), and caters to a very specific kind of traveler—the one who likes the quiet that you find at the edge of the world. Actually, it also caters to surfers, tennis players, and people who want to be in beautiful tropical places. We also love it because Tavarua puts a huge emphasis on sustainability, from a rain-catchment program to locally sourced food.

Nothing but you, a few friends, a family of elk, and a bald eagle. That—plus a lot of fresh air in a series of jaw-dropping locations—is the general idea of this trip. While MT Sobek offers excursions and hikes and adventure travel all over the world, not much can beat a view of the Rocky Mountains from 10,000 feet. You’ll hike up to a dozen miles a day and raft for about eleven miles—but this isn’t the kind of Outward Bound–style trip where you have to pitch your own tent and kill your own dinner. (You stay in a hotel every night.) After a week, you’ll come home a stronger, fitter, more well-adjusted human.

We have it on good authority that Zion Mountain Ranch is a total gem. Go here for canyoneering, night campfires, and horse back riding, as well as the incredible, life-changing landscapes and scenery. In fact, this National Register of Historic Places member is the only place to stay within the confines of Zion National Park. Top-notch restaurants and modern amenities are above and beyond what one might expect from such a remote location.

Eat, pray, and love your way to wellness at this palatial mountain estate in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas. For those curious about yoga, meditation, Vedanta, or Ayurveda, it's a magical wonderland where you can experience a variety of disciplines and learn from a range of philosophies every day. You'll be present to the history and tradition that surrounds you with every view of the Ganges, each meal prepared in accordance to the Dosha, and every walk through the palace grounds. You can read more about this magical place, here.

This Rosewood-managed property is located in Hawke's Bay, deep in the heart of New Zealand's rich wine country—which, geographically speaking, looks as if one took the rolling hills of the Napa Valley and set them down on the edge of a dramatic seaside cliff. The internationally known golf course (which meanders its way along the aforesaid cliffs) is part of the draw here, but guests also spend their time exploring the 6,000 acres of pasture—The Farm is actually a working sheep and beef operation, and touring around by foot or on a four-wheeler, to see the full acreage and get a glimpse of the sheepdogs at work, is highly recommended. The architecture features worn wood panels on the inland side and glass, view-facing windows on the other, achieving a barn-like effect that's tempered by modern features like a sleek infinity pool. Interiors echo the modern farmhouse vibe, with cozy wooden fireplaces in every room, rustic beams crossing the vaulted ceilings, and curtains done in soft blue French ticking. The owners have two other properties in New Zealand (Matakauri, a lakeside retreat a short drive from Queenstown, and Kauri Cliffs, which has beach access in Mauri Bay), so if you're making the trek from the United States, it's worth hitting more than one over the course of the trip. P.S. Everyone's obsessed with the chocolate chip cookies from the kitchen here, for good reason.

With an emphasis on holistic wellness, this stunning retreat calls upon certified specialists in yoga, Pilates and qigong, to personalized mountain biking, hiking and circuit training guides. In the Estate's main kitchen, you can design your own three-course menu (go for an authentically Indonesian dish) to cook with chef. During your stay, you’ll likely live at Glow, an all-day restaurant/café serving pressed juice, organic salads, and fresh Mediterranean fish.

Three hours from Bangkok along a beachy stretch of coast, the Chiva-Som spa staff greets you with lemongrass tea, a cold towel, and a garland of jasmine and roses. You can relax here. This wellness retreat opened nearly 30 years ago, and it remains one of the world’s best.

We’re not the only ones who get that making profound connections, spiritual growth, and emotional well-being are all things that modern men crave. We started goop Men. Lucas Krump started Evryman. This B Corp’s mission is simple: to help men connect. Connect to what? That’s where it gets a bit more complex. In connecting to the wilderness through intensive guided retreats and expeditions to spiritually charged places like Joshua Tree and Yellowstone, men forge deeper connections to themselves. There’s meditation, overcoming physical feats, sleeping outdoors, yoga, group work, and much more. Back home, by attending weekly groups, they develop bonds with peers to support and nourish and maintain their hard work in a totally destigmatized environment.

This is the perfect place to decamp with a group of friends: The spa is fantastic (treatments involve local and endemic ingredients), the food is even better, and the scene—the northern edge of New Zealand—couldn't really be more spectacular. A lot of golfers stay here, though there's plenty to do that doesn't involve a set of clubs: Horseback riding, surfing, fishing, and mountain biking are all easily accessible (though it's also the kind of resort where they make wishes into realities, so if there's something you're dying to do, just ask). And starting in November, you can book your own private four-bedroom enclave.

Tucked into the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Miraval Arizona is a one-stop shop for all things wellness. This 400-acre desert retreat is the kind of place you can go on a girls' getaway or a solo journey—and return home feeling totally reset. The guest rooms and villas have recently had their own reset, of sorts—the design weaves in the fabric of the surrounding Sonoran Desert with natural fibers, wood and stone textures, and big French doors that take full advantage of the views. In early 2018, Miraval is launching the Retreat—a collection of 22 residences equipped with indoor-outdoor showers, a private pool or spa—each designed for larger groups traveling together, or those seeking a bit more living space. The rugged, cacti-dotted terrain is the backdrop for a host of activities, including horseback riding, hiking, and botany-focused tours. The spa, with its army of healers, wellness practitioners, and massage therapists—is obviously the main draw. And all programs are fully customizable: Guests can begin their morning with reiki, try an aerial yoga session in the afternoon, and wind down with a hot stone massage in a temperature-controlled outdoor tent.

They call him the “Tarzan” of today. But MovNat founder Erwan Le Corre’s real-life MO? Getting back to nature—specifically, helping people move instinctively in nature. You can think of his workshop as a next-level workout, except that it’s in the wild. Bouldering, scaling rocks, climbing trees, deep-sea swimming, lifting fallen logs—it’s the kind of stuff you can’t do or find even in the most tricked-out gym. His challenging weekend and weeklong retreats—held all around the globe in jungles, on beaches, near mountains—are for adventurers; designed to get you out of your comfort zone, back to nature, and back in your body.

This old whaling island off the coast of Cape Cod is where you go if you want time to slow down—but not necessarily stop altogether. A day can be as mellow or as active as you wish: Pick a beach to lie out on or pick up a SUP; wander aimlessly through the immaculate little streets on a self-guided architecture tour or wander into the Nantucket Historical Association to learn a thing or two. With eighty-two miles of coastline to wade through, countless secret beach dunes to climb, three authentic New England lighthouses to gawk at, and one goop MRKT to work your way through, there’s no risk of getting bored. For a home base, choices are limited (the island is small), but the ones that exist—like the White Elephant (a landmark property right in the center of the harbor), Greydon House (designed by Roman and Williams) and a sprinkling of idyllic bed-and-breakfasts—are all perfect in their own uniquely Nantucket ways.

Sitting on 3,000 acres of ancient sacred grounds at the foot of Mount Kuchumaa in Tecate, the ranch has been welcoming those seeking a head-to-toe reboot since the ‘40s. Unlike a hardcore medical spa, the focus of a basic seven-day retreat is on spiritual wellness and gentle de-stressing by way of diet (there’s an organic farm and a cooking school on site), rigorous physical activity, mindful meditation, and a slew of world-class treatments performed at one of three stunning organic spa complexes. For more intense healing, there’s acupuncture, chiropractic services, Craniosacral therapies, and more.

Somewhere in the Gulf of Thailand, there are three islands called Koh Phangon, Koh Yao Yai, and Koh Chang. The three of them comprise Santhiya Resorts & Spas. And the natural beauty of the islands can’t be overstated—the perfect beaches, the perfect views, the perfect jungles. You’ll feel like you’re in an Alex Garland novel—only with sunrise yoga, farm-to-table meals, Ayurvana facials, and your own private villa overlooking maybe the entire ocean. The resort is an eco-luxe resort, which means that your bed may be made of reclaimed wood, but your sheets will have very high thread counts.

What sets this spa apart is its range: People come looking for help with sexual health, long-term cognitive ability, better skin—and somehow SHA does it all. SHA was established to put guests on the road to optimal well-being. The founder rebounded from chronic health problems after aligning diet, natural therapies, and contemporary medicine, and the marriage of all three remains part of SHA’s core philosophy.

Dr. Joshi's clinic is one of our first ports of (detox) call in London. In addition to colonics, Dr. Joshi also offers a pretty in-depth list of other wellness-centric services including personal training, massage, Endermologie, and his signature twenty-one-day nutritional plan, which are all designed to help detox. The clinic also offers a spectacular Moroccan riad retreat for the weary.

Cal-a-Vie was designed to look like a rural French village—and it does a pretty convincing job. This wellness resort on the northern side of San Diego is made up of a collection of villas with terra-cotta tiled roofs, citrus groves, lavender fields, and hundreds of acres of quiet. The focus here is on wellness—and visits are organized into three-, four-, and seven-day packages. In addition to hiking, tennis, yoga, and an incredibly comprehensive, seasonal food and nutrition program, the spa has over 150 treatments—some of which you’d expect (detox wraps, rejuvenating facials) and some of which you couldn’t possibly (Hydrorider, say, or Piloxing). However long you stay, you’re basically guaranteed to leave feeling better than you did when you arrived.

We’ve heard great things about this recently revamped spa, which comes complete with onsite Japanese gardens: If possible, you'll want to check-in for a full week, and accordingly, a full reset, thanks to a daily menu of exercise and spa treatments. Styled after a Japanese “ryokan” or inn, the rooms here all resemble traditional Japanese houses—with an impressive collection of art and antiques from the 18th century to match. The decorations are simple, with sliding doors, dark wood, and Asian-influenced accents. While weight loss isn’t necessarily the goal of a stay, bring running shoes, as there’s a packed schedule of hikes, yoga, and fitness classes to choose from. The Golden Door is meant to be place for detoxing both mind and body, and the food is accordingly local, organic, and healthy—so much so, that you may even spend time in the vegetable garden picking your own greens.

Chill out surrounded by lush, tropical gardens at this historic Maui compound and learn to live Aloha for a while. Here you can practice mindfulness, learn to meditate, take an aromatherapy class–or learn about the land through their horticulture programs. The beauty and serenity of the island attracts yogis of all disciplines and from all over the world to practice, so check the calendar for upcoming retreats and workshops. You'll leave feeling completely refreshed.

A week-long holistic retreat on the beach, The Pearl offers guests a luxurious way to detox and decompress with daily hikes, yoga, and restorative massage, as well as introductions to new practices like Tai Chi or chakra balancing. After a week of clean eating, days full of exercise, quality time in nature, and lots of sleep, you'll leave here feeling lighter in every sense of the word.

When Larry Ellison bought the Hawaiian island of Lanai—the red clay, mountains, mist, palms, and Cook pines make it unlike anywhere else in Hawaii—he partnered with doctor and biomedical researcher David Agus to turn the island’s inland Four Seasonsinto a spectacular destination spa, Sensei.

Less is more when it comes to this detox program in Desert Hot Springs, California. Check in for three, six, eight, or more days and prepare for many, many beverages (green drinks, fresh juices, hot tea, soups, detox drinks, and water), along with colonics and massages every day. Read a book or relax by the pool while your body cleanses and recalibrates. There are yoga classes, sound baths, Reiki, nutrition classes, and more on the roster. And if you'd like, you can add a bit of therapeutic pampering to your stay with a mud wrap or lymphatic stimulation. Though there's also nothing wrong with just taking a lot of naps and hanging out in the infrared sauna.

Though a weekend at Canyon Ranch is arguably about exercising restraint, there’s nothing spare about this wellness retreat, which is situated in a gorgeous, fully-restored 19th-century manor nestled in the Berkshires. The understated rooms here are designed to be relaxing, and to that end, there’s not much to distract you from your weekend of centering and healthy living. That’s no problem, though, since you won’t be spending much time in them: Days at Canyon Ranch revolve around the spa, working out, and a wealth of activities, including cross-country skiing. There are about 50 classes on the roster, along with myriad pools, a full gym, and assorted extras like a ropes course and squash courts. When you’re not working out, you might be taking a cooking class or learning how to diagnose your dreams. The food is healthy, but it’s also delicious—and all-you-can-eat.

Situated on a lavish estate outside downtown Miami, the Pritikin has all the creature comforts of a luxury hotel, which is good considering you’ll likely find yourself beat after a day packed with exercise classes, lectures, nutrition demonstrations, and spa visits. The one- and two-week programs are popular choices for those looking for an intense overhaul. Meanwhile, the Family Health Camp gets the whole family involved, and the center also offers nutrition-centric programs that focus on teaching healthy cooking skills.

Shou Sugi Ban House is the kind of destination spa—on three acres of lush Hamptons woodland—that you visit to skip the socializing and reset. The programming here is relaxed: Guests bounce between thermal pools and enjoy a lengthy menu of massages, scrubs, wraps, baths, and facials. There’s a roster of wellness treatments focused on present-moment awareness and healing emotional wounds. A roster of visiting holistic experts and healers keeps the programming fresh, and the property blends so discreetly into the surrounding landscape, you can barely tell it’s there—which is entirely the point. And the restaurant is so good, we wouldn’t bat an eye if someone told us they came for the food alone.

If you’re looking for an escape to a luxury spa, you may want to look elsewhere, but if you're up for a rustic retreat that really lets you focus on resetting your well-being, Canyon Ranch in Tucson is an excellent choice. They have wonderful roster of in-house experts—from spiritual gurus, to fitness instructors—and a varied weekly schedule of group classes and events--everything from spinning, yoga, circuit training, mind-body-soul workshops, etc. Canyon Ranch has a casual atmosphere—you won’t need to bring much beyond your workout gear, and when you get there, the absence of bells and whistles is refreshing. The Arizona desert locale is vast and serene. There’s a two-mile loop of the campus, which you can walk or run (best early in the a.m. before the day heats up) that shows off the area’s incredible array of desert plants. If you want a guided nature tour, they have morning walks, hikes on the surrounding trails, and river-path bike rides. We suggest having a packed schedule so you can go to bed with that all-over, deep-good-tired feeling. While the food program isn't the most revolutionary of its kind, you won't go hungry.

The same way the spiritual vortex of Sedona draws seekers, it draws healers—and you can work with the best of them at Mii Amo. For 3, 4, 7, or 10 days—no more, no less—visitors follow personalized programs designed by a guide. Depending on a guest’s needs, a journey might include traditional spa offerings, like enzyme wraps and lymphatic facials, as well as specialty services, like shirodhara and Reiki healing. Spiritual treatments—meditation, hypnosis, past-life regression, and more—can be emotionally intense and incredibly cathartic. During downtime, you might explore intuitive watercolor, hikes in the canyon, dry sauna, or private pickleball lessons.

Forty minutes from downtown on a particularly spectacular bend in the river, Lake Austin is as amazing a day spa as it is an overnight retreat. Either way, you can use all the spa facilities, the restaurant (many ingredients come from an on-site organic garden) and participate in daily fitness activities from water yoga in the stunning, barn-enclosed warm pool, paddle boarding, and hikes to river-based workouts). There are more than 100 services on the extensive mind- and body-nourishing spa menu—everything from standard Swedish to Chinese-medical cupping treatments—with specific options for mothers-to-be, couples, and groups. The facials are particularly incredible: herbal enzyme peels, fractionated laser treatments, and luminizing vitamin C therapies, plus specific options for mothers-to-be, couples, and groups. Post-treatment, you can lounge by the series of swimming pools in the large hillside garden.

More active vacation destination than full-on wellness retreat, Red Mountain Resort sits just a stone's throw from several national parks (the sweeping views of red cliffs and the surrounding wilderness from the mountain-view rooms are worth the splurge) and is ideal for anyone looking for a bit of adventure rather than an all-day spa deal. Retreat packages can be customized to address any number of needs, from boot-camp level ass-kicking, to daily gentle yoga, to consultations with a shaman. For sustenance, there’s Canyon Counter for quickie meals and room service, or Canyon Breeze restaurant, where the largely gluten-free menu is healthy but not detox-level (you’re free to have coffee at breakfast and wine with dinner). Also worth mentioning: the resort is famously welcoming to pets.

Joali Being, on its own private island in the Maldives, has a guiding philosophy of weightlessness. Here, that means letting go of your regular habits for a more intuitive way of life. It’s easier to sacrifice your attachments here, digital or otherwise, and it’s no mystery why: The island, covered in immaculate palm groves and dotted with modern Maldivian architecture, is so beautiful that you wouldn’t want to miss a moment. There’s an antigravity yoga pavilion, immersive wellness experiences, therapeutic and alternative healing therapies, an herbology center, a hydrotherapy hall that includes a sensory-deprivation room, sound therapy hall, and more.

Kamalaya, on the lush Thai island Koh Samui, combines Eastern and Western medical treatments for as full a reset as you want. When you’re not busy with past-life regression therapy, Reiki, sound baths, herbal soaks, and massages for everything (head, hands, feet, you name it), spend some time floating around the verdant grounds: You’ll find coastal yoga pavilions, cold-water plunge pools, otherworldly steam rooms, and a contemplation cave once used by Buddhist monks.

Located inside the ancient walled city, steps from the Mehrangarh Fort, this was once the home of a Rajput aristocrat. Built in the traditional Haveli style, with multiple stories constructed around a courtyard, the original carved stone panels and antique shrines of the thirty-nine suites and common areas, including a breathtaking pool, were carefully preserved during renovation. The elevated position over Jodhpur lends a panoramic view of both the old and new cities. For a complete reset, the Ila Spa at RAAS Jodhpur is an Ayurveda-centered healing retreat. Try the Ky Nye, a treatment meant to balance the five elements (earth, wind, fire, water, and ether), using five essential oils and a combination of massage and acupressure, while crystals and herbal poultices are placed along your meridian energy lines to ease tension.

A short flight from Delhi in Dehradun, India, each guest at Six Senses Vana is supported in developing their own wellness experience, incorporating aspects of yoga, sowa rigpa (traditional Tibetan medicine), Ayurveda, spa treatments, and exercise to reach a place of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual balance. A big part of one's personal program could be simply to relax—if that's the case, definitely muster up the energy to stroll through the forests, gardens, and orchards; they are gorgeous.

The entire team of wellness specialists at Ann Wigmore’s eponymous Natural Health Institute in Puerto Rico is well-trained in her revolutionary approach, which lauds the use of wheatgrass and “living foods” (strictly organic, raw, plant-based, and nutrient-rich foods) for nourishing and ultimately healing the body. While the accommodations are comfortably minimal, the beachside grounds make for an idyllic setting for the one-week intensive and two-week immersive programs—all of which are supplemented by customizable treatment plans of colonics, lymphatic massages, and more. You’re likely to feel an instant transformation but the institute’s goal is long-term education, effectively preparing graduates of the program to maintain the lifestyle back at home.

Fun and cleansing don't have to be mutually exclusive. There are plenty of activities to keep your mind off the detox process during this week-long retreat in bohemian hot spot Sayulita, Mexico. The menu for the week is planned to ease you in and out of two days of a liquid diet so it helps to have a packed schedule with yoga, massage, hiking, Pilates, Crossfit, acupuncture, and clay treatments with breaks built in for juices, snacks, and meals.

Costa Rica’s Talamanca Mountains are home to two-toed sloths, vibrant pink hummingbirds, and hill after hill of coffee farms—and Auberge resort Hacienda AltaGracia. You could, if you wanted to, come here just to hang in the spacious casitas and enjoy the resort’s leafy, vivid-green surroundings. But we’d argue the real magic happens at the destination-worthy spa, The Well.

The only advice we have to those seeking to push themselves through the original back-to-basics boot camp? Stick it out. The seven days of crazy-long hikes, intense workouts, and a cleansing, vegetarian diet will be hard work, but it will also whip you into shape. Not for the faint of heart (or the fussy), this no-frills, no-excuses program is no less grueling (or cushy) than at its original location in Calabasas, California—but the fact that it's in Mallorca definitely makes it more palatable.

From the outside, this massive Swiss chateau looks pretty storybook, but inside, there's serious healing going on. The in-house doctors and therapists customize every wellness program—points of focus include everything from basic stress relief to careful post-op care—to revolve around taking in its prized, anti-inflammatory thermal spring waters—by way of pools, steam rooms, and saunas. They're pumped in from an ancient gorge and are said to ease everything from arthritis pain to eczema.

Step back in time and settle into a restored Byzantine mansion on an eighteen-acre estate perched overlooking the castle rock of Monemvasia in East Peloponnese, Greece. Log some serious hours in the Ottoman-style Hammam and try treatments that incorporate local olive oil, honey, and ingredients derived from grapes or fill your schedule with activities like hiking, biking, and wine tasting—depending on the time of year, you can even join the grape or olive harvest efforts. Or, there's also the very appealing idea of just doing nothing at all.

Leaning heavily on founder F.X. Mayr’s theories that diseases stem from imbalances in the digestive system, the custom tailored wellness programs at this SciFi-looking forest compound in Austria, all marry modern medicine with time-honored holistic methods, and center around intense detoxification (colon cleansing, lymphatic draining, even light psychotherapy). If it all sounds like serious business, that’s because it is—but so are the results: the programs are said to have life-changing regenerative effects. Thankfully, it’s all balanced by ample spa time for salt scrubs and massages, and custom meal plans that while skimpy, border on gourmet. In addition to the original, there’s a brand new, 70-room resort, Lanserhof Tagernsee, on Lake Tegern in Germany and a city outpost in Hamburg called Lans Medicum.

At Lanserhof, guests embark on an intensely challenging, doctor-guided protocol for cleansing the digestive system. It goes like this: You fast, drinking only tea and water. Then you detox, drinking Epsom salts to purge the system. And then you eat—at first, according to a radically restricted diet—and learn to chew properly. (Thirty to forty times for each small bite.)

People have traveled to Fiuggi for centuries just for the natural spring water, which, legend has it, is healing. At Palazzo Fiuggi, you’ll drink it, soak in it, and shower in it. But the real force behind this destination spa is the medical team, who will tailor your experience according to your goals and the health evaluation you take upon arrival. Your results inform the rest of your stay: Will you spend long mornings trekking through the countryside and afternoons in the thermal baths? Or will you spend the week detoxing, following your doctor visits with lymphatic massage and cleansing rituals in the hammam?

Beyond the perpetual unst-unst of Ibiza's club scene, at the northern tip of Cala Xarraca, there’s a destination for spiritual seekers and wellness lovers: Six Senses Ibiza, a deeply peaceful destination spa with panoramic views and gorgeous suites.

Take a breather in the name of beauty. Ila, the makers of the much-loved luxury organic skincare and spa products, teamed up with The Lakes, a new private residential estate created by Philippe Starck-led design group Yoo to create this retreat in the Cotswolds. Bunk by the lake, do yoga, hike the countryside, meditate, eat healthy, and most importantly, relax with four indulgent treatments during the four-day, three-night stay.