Sustainable microcations – what to look for

A microcation (a portmanteau of “micro” and “vacation”) is one to four nights.

1.   How long is the travel time for a microcation?

A good rule of thumb is to allow 2 hours travel time. This distance will allow you to make a stress-free trip after work or early in the morning without much planning. 4 hours is acceptable if it is a comfortable train ride or an extremely worthwhile destination 🙂 Anything longer than 4 hours should only be done by night train or planned as a bike trip (keyword: the journey is the reward).

The ideas in this article are meant to inspire your next microcation. You can and should customize these ideas based on where you are and what transportation is available!

2. Choosing the right accommodation is essential – regardless of whether you are staying for a short or long period of time

A short trip (without a plane) is not the only thing that makes a microcation sustainable. As with longer vacations, your choice of accommodation also plays an important role. Sustainable Green PearlsⓇ hotels and vacation rentals rely on renewable energy, local organic food, and eco-friendly concepts such as zero waste or circular design.

3. Traveling sustainable means living sustainable

It also means making sure you use resources consciously:

• Less luggage means less emissions
• Visit local restaurants and shops instead of international chains and support the local community.
• Activities can also be sustainable – from nature experiences to eco-friendly city tours to sustainable spa options.
• For more tips on sustainable travel, check out this overview.

Microcation ideas for every taste

Whether you are looking for relaxation, new adventures, or a digital break – Here are sustainable inspirations for your next microcation:

#1 Wellness & Relaxation

Perfect for giving your body and mind a break. Sustainable wellness hotels rely on natural skin care products, environmentally friendly wellness areas (e.g. natural swimming ponds), green energy from renewable sources and advanced technology (e.g. use of waste heat). Complemented by healthy and regional (organic) cuisine.

Sustainable hotel tips:

• Birkenhof**** Spa & Genussresort (Upper Palatinate, Germany): Just want to relax and enjoy? The Birkenhof is a 5-star wellness hotel with a large natural swimming pond, several pools (indoor and outdoor) and a large sauna area. It also has a 2-star restaurant. Despite all this luxury, the hotel is fully committed to sustainability and operates its own combined heat and power plant, which significantly reduces CO2 emissions for electricity and heating.
• Hotel Klosterbräu (Seefeld, Tyrol, Austria): The Hotel Klosterbräu is also a 5-star hotel with pools and saunas, surrounded by the beautiful mountain panorama of the Alps. Built on the site of an old monastery, the hotel has a special charm with its vaulted cellars and candlelight. You will have a particularly sustainable vacation in the hotel’s nature rooms. These rooms were built with almost 95% local materials (e.g. clay plastered walls and wooden floors from the hotel’s own forest).
• SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA (Bad Herrenalb, Black Forest, Germany): Located in the climatic health resort of Bad Herrenalb, this hotel not only offers breathtaking views of the Black Forest, but also has its own mineral thermal swimming pool. It is known for its sustainable initiatives, such as hotel rooms made entirely of recyclable materials.

#2 Inner peace and strength

If swimming, sauna and relaxation are not enough for you and you are looking for something more spiritual, you can combine your microcation with guided yoga and meditation classes, forest bathing or TCM treatments.

Suitable sustainable hotels:

• LA VIMEA (Naturno, South Tyrol, Italy): Daily morning and evening yoga on the sun deck, a natural swimming pond, a saltwater pool, and 100% vegan cuisine -that’s what adults-only hotel LA VIMEA has to offer. The hotel also appeals to younger guests with its vegan focus and a special offer for Gen Z.
• Lifestyle Resort Zum Kurfürsten (Bernkastel-Kues, Mosel, Germany): Located in the Moselle region, the Lifestyle Resort is completely designed according to Feng Shui and includes a TCM center for Far Eastern treatments. You can also incorporate these into your microcation, for example with a nutritional consultation and diet based on the 5 elements.
• Klosterhof – Alpine Hideaway & Spa (Bayerisch Gmain, Berchtesgaden, Germany): Forest bathing (shinrin yoku) from Japan is said to be extremely healthy and healing. You can try it under professional guidance at Klosterhof – Alpine Hideaway & Spa. (Read more about forest bathing in our blog article). The hotel also offers singing bowl massages.
• Naturresort Gerbehof (Friedrichshafen, Lake Constance, Germany): If you are open to alternative healing methods such as biomotivation according to Viktor Philippi, you will find it at the Naturresort Gerbehof on Lake Constance.

#3 Adventure & Outdoors

A weekend in the mountains or on the coast – microadventures are a great way to combine sustainable travel with nature experiences. Whether hiking, biking or wildlife watching, the focus is on conscious experiences.

Recommended accommodation:

• Hotel Bella Vista Zermatt (Switzerland): A family-run boutique hotel with just 21 rooms and direct views of the Matterhorn. Located in the car-free mountain village of Zermatt, it is the perfect starting point for a short nature vacation including hiking.
• Summit Lodges Pfunds (Tyrol, Austria): If you are not traveling alone on your microcation, but rather with friends or family, the Summit Lodges are two first-class vacation homes that can accommodate up to 6 people. The log cabins have their own wood-burning fireplaces, saunas, and are surrounded by Tyrolean nature. In addition to hiking, you can go windsurfing on Lake Reschen in the summer.
• Naturhotel Outside (East Tyrol, Austria): Naturhotel Outside is located in the middle of the Hohe Tauern National Park – Austria’s largest alpine national park – around the Grossglockner and other 3,000-meter peaks. The eco-friendly hotel has a top-notch restaurant (3 Falstaff Forks) and in-house hiking guides. Microcation Tip: Look for the “Big Five” of the Alps (ibex, golden eagle, bearded vulture, chamois and marmot).

#4 Detox & Digital Detox

New content on your Instagram and TikTok accounts is the LAST thing you want on your mini-break? Then you might prefer the opposite: a digital detox. A few days without constant connectivity can work wonders. Conscious relaxation and offline activities will help you clear your head.

Tips for sustainable hotels:

• STURM (Mellrichstadt, Rhön, Germany): The redesigned (and award-winning) garden-view rooms deliberately forgo televisions. Instead, they overlook a large natural swimming pond. The Rhön Biosphere Reserve, with its rolling hills and exciting moors, is perfect for a relaxing vacation.
• Hotel Okelmann’s: (Warpe, Lower Saxony, Germany): We recently featured Warpe as a “hidden gem” on this blog. Here you can experience pure nature in a traditional family hotel with a barrel sauna and yoga classes. It’s the perfect place to unwind for a few days.
• Gut Sonnenhausen (Glonn, Bavaria, Germany): About an hour’s drive south of Munich, you’ll find Gut Sonnenhausen, surrounded by forest and farmland (managed according to the principles of permaculture). The renovated and restored former stud farm offers a relaxed atmosphere of eco-consciousness, tranquility and inspiring art.

#5 Romance & Togetherness

Rekindeling the spark in your relationship with a vacation is very popular. A microcation, where you spend some quality time together, is often all that is needed. With the right setting and accommodation, the rest will take care of itself.

Our hotel recommendations for a romantic getaway:

• Hotel Das Rübezahl (Füssen, Allgäu, Germany): Nestled among Germany’s royal castles, a forest, and a view of Neuschwanstein Castle, the setting is nothing short of magical. Hotel Das Rübezahl features a beautiful natural spa in front of the hotel, many romantic nooks and crannies, and top-notch cuisine by Erik Wendt.
• Lifestylehotel SAND (Timmendorfer Strand, Baltic Sea, Germany): The Lifestylehotel SAND, located directly on the Baltic Sea, offers romantic extras like the possibility to spend the night in a wicker beach chair on the roof of the hotel. You can read more about this in our blog post about a romantic weekend by the Baltic Sea.

#6 Cities & Culture

Are you drawn to the city? The hustle and bustle, the crowds, the museums, the cafes, the shops… The advantage of a city break is that you can usually get to your destination by train, bus or carpool in an environmentally friendly and affordable way. In the cities themselves, there is public transportation – or you can take your bike. Did you know that Paris, for example, has expanded its network of bike paths and is now a great place to explore by bike?

Hotel tips for a city trip:

• Green Spirit Hotels (Paris, France): In the heart of the centrally located 7th arrondissement, you will find three green pearls: Hotel Le Pavillon, Hotel Malar & Hotel Amelie. Hidden oases with green courtyards and organic food within walking distance of the Seine, the Eiffel Tower, the Invalides and other highlights. Read more about a stay at Hotel Le Pavillon and a guide to eco-dining in Paris here.
• Hotel Milano Scala (Milan, Italy): Milan is not only the city of the Last Supper and Milan Fashion Week. It is also home to progressive contributions to sustainable urban development, a vegan scene, and the zero-emissions Hotel Milano Scala in the city center. In this article, we have compiled tips for a sustainable weekend in Milan.
  
• Green City Hotel Vauban (Freiburg, Germany): The university city of Freiburg, near the French border, has a great atmosphere. Located in the modern Vauban district, the sustainably-run Green City Hotel Vauban offers direct access to the tram and a free ticket for public transportation. Our tip: Ideas for a sustainable and affordable weekend in Freiburg.
• Hotel Luise (Erlangen, Germany): The Franconian university town of Erlangen, with its baroque cityscape, is an ideal destination for a “second city” visit (instead of Munich or Nuremberg). In this blog post, Laura Heufelder from Hotel Luise shares some insider tips for Erlangen.
  

Getting away from it all without having to fly halfway around the world is what makes Microcations so popular. We hope that we have given you some inspiring ideas. At the moment, the hotels mentioned are mainly from Germany. If you are looking for another region, check out the Green Pearls website.

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• Almost one in three people will suffer from a mental illness requiring treatment during their lives. 
• Approximately ten percent of absenteeism among working people is due to mental illness. 
• Depression, alcohol disorders, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia are among the most common illnesses worldwide. 
• Mental illnesses have also accounted for an increasing proportion of the diagnosis and therapy range in Germany over the last ten years. Reasons for this are complex and are intensively discussed by epidemiologists at present.

These figures have risen considerably, particularly as a result of the pandemic: The cases of depression and panic attacks have increased by more than a quarter worldwide in the first Corona year. That means 52 million more people worldwide are suffering from a serious depression disorder than they would have been if there had been no pandemic.

Of course, vacations can’t cure depression—though they can ease it. Specific retreats and classes can help bring your stress levels back down. Many studies are showing that yoga and meditation can be effective in alleviating the symptoms of mental illness.

Escaping the hustle and bustle of everyday life: Relais del Maro

Our Green Pearls® Partners provide sustainable retreats for you to get a break from your daily routine and find peace of mind. “ One of the reasons our guests choose Relais del Maro is to get away from the hustle and bustle of their lives,” says Elena Scalambrin, Relais del Maro owner. Here you can get in touch with various holistic disciplines. The mindfulness services at Italy’s Albergo Diffuso have been designed together with wellness experts, and the focus is on meditation and mindfulness. 

You can get in touch with different holistic disciplines here and thus not only relax during your stay, but actively do something for your emotional well-being.

Mediation and Mindfulness Retreats at CERVO, Zermatt

CERVO Mountain Resort has many yoga classes which can help minimize your stress. There is also guided morning meditation and other forms of meditation to increase awareness and inner peace. One exceptional type of meditation is the fire meditation for inner strength and determination. In this kind of meditation, you should release your fears and tension. Several activities like writing, singing, and the fire ceremony contribute to this.

Each month, CERVO hosts three to five-day mindfulness retreats to help you restore balance to your body, mind, and spirit. You can also borrow an iPod and headphones for free at the spa and practice a guided meditation of choice on your own. Each iPod is equipped with a corresponding meditation app.

Holistic Concept at HUBERTUS Mountain Refugio

The HUBERTUS Mountain Refugio also focuses on mindfulness. It is part of the holistic concept of the hotel, together with yoga and mediation.

Yoga sessions are part of the free daily active program in the mornings and evenings. These sessions are held in the yoga and meditation rooms Weitblick and Seeblick and in a separate small yoga room – EinBlick – which can be used exclusively and free of charge. If the weather is good, you can do yoga and meditate outside as well, special outdoor platforms are available for you.

Immune cure and sound messages: Okelmann’s Warpe

The Okelmann’s  in Warpe, Lower Saxony, also has a wide range to offer in terms of retreats. Here, the focus is on different aspects: An immunity cure with a yoga program or specific mindfulness yoga: you are sure to find a program that fits you.

Sonic massages complement the offer: Through the vibrations of the bowl, your tensions will be released and your self-healing abilities activated. There is also a sauna and a hot tub available, so you can fully relax during your stay at Okelmann’s.

OCÉANO Health &SPA: Focus on Health

A special vacation focusing uniquely on your health is available at the OCÉANO Health Spa Hotel in Tenerife. The Spanish hotel is not a wellness hotel, but rather a health hotel and therefore offers individual programs with different focuses. This includes nutrition and weight control, pain medicine and therapy, as well as a special program for stress management and burnout prevention. 

Food prepared especially for you, customized treatment plans and advice on how to strengthen your immune system in the long term are all part of this treatment approach. An international team of doctors is available to accompany you during your stay.

The programs of OCÉANO are carried out under the auspices of F. X. Mayr Medicine. This is fasting medicine with an emphasis on the intestines. After careful diagnosis, you are treated and guided individually in accordance with the six pillars of therapy.

The six pillars are: Protecting your intestines through the individually prescribed diet as a basis for recovery of body, mind, and soul. Cleaning of your intestines through saline sprinkling in the form of physiologically dosed Epsom salts. Education in eating habits through enjoyable chewing and stimulation of intestinal activity through manual abdominal treatment by a doctor regularly. Substituting minerals in your diet for a well-balanced acid-base balance. Exercising in moderation to stimulate your metabolism and cell renewal. Self-reflection, so you can gain new inspiration for the challenges of your everyday life.

SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA: Mindfulness-based stress Reduction

Das SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA, Bad Herrenalb provides special courses to help you cope better with stress. MBSR (Mindfulness-based stress Reduction) is the basis for this. It is a simple and highly effective training program that helps you to get inner distance from your thought patterns. 

Rather than getting lost in thoughts, evaluations, worries or fears, you will increasingly gain the freedom to act appropriately and calmly even in difficult situations, instead of just reacting and overtaxing yourself.

Resilience training, coaching, and offers of meditation supplement the range of services at the German hotel. And the comprehensive wellness offer makes sure that you can relax even further after the courses. 

Hopefully, this text has motivated you to take more care of yourself and indulge yourself once in a while. Enjoy yourselves!

If you liked this article you might also be interested in this: Relaxed and sustainable vacation

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Experience the Rhön from a bird’s eye view

Colorful mosaics of pastures, meadows, and forests. At the Biohotel Sturm you can experience a very special adventure: A flight over the Rhön Biosphere Reserve with your host Matthias Schulze Dieckhoff. The hotel owner is also a pilot and shows guests the region from a completely new perspective aboard the modern Savage Cub microlight aircraft. Don’t forget your camera! By the way, Mellrichstadt also has its own glider airfield in case you feel like doing more after your flight with the Savage Cub. 🙂

Keep reading: Hoteliers up close: Snack garden, natural swimming pond and organic cuisine at the Biohotel Sturm 

Relaxation with a view

Whether in the pool, in the tower, in the sauna or the bar: 200 meters above the Jagsttal you can enjoy a breathtakingly beautiful view over the woods at Mawell Resort. “Coming Down” is definitely possible in the infinity forest pool – here you have the feeling of swimming into the treetops. Feel free to relax, but you can also get active at these lofty heights: The roof track invites all sports enthusiasts to discover the roofscape while walking or jogging or focus on something more specific on other outdoor fitness equipment.

Relax Under the alpine pine trees in the clouds

In the Creativhotel Luise in Erlangen, a green roof terrace was also designed during the renovation. Here you can make yourself comfortable with a cool drink, and if you want to go even higher, you can climb the staircase up to the viewing platform on which the alpine pine tree from the topping-out (construction competition) ceremony is enthroned – probably the tallest tree in Erlangen! – here you can enjoy the fantastic view over the Bavarian city.

Keep reading: Sustainability pioneers: Ben Förtsch from Creativhotel Luise

Take off in the Black Forest

In search of adventure and unaffected by vertigo? Then head to the SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA in Bad Herrenalb! After a relaxing night and a refreshment at the Zero-Waste breakfast buffet, you can get the adrenalin pumping: On the Wildline suspension bridge near Bad Wildbach you can enjoy the Black Forest from dizzying heights. Completely atypically for suspension bridges, the Wildline rises towards the middle – so you can’t see from one end what’s waiting for you at the other!

The “Selfness” Hotel SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA is also located in a paragliding stronghold and you too can enjoy the Black Forest from a completely new perspective during a tandem flight. During your flight, you will soar silently like a bird between the earth and sun above the treetops. You can start from the Teufelsmühle or from the Merkurberg, both of which can be reached easily from the SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA.

Keep reading: Sustainability pioneers: Stephan Bode from SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA

Rainforest from above

Instead of a night in a hotel, how about spending the night 22 meters above the ground in a treehouse in the Peruvian rainforest? The Inkaterra Canopy Tree House borders the Inkaterra Canopy Walkway at Inkaterra Reserva Amazónica, where you walk through the treetops of the Amazon rainforest. You will stroll over suspension bridges and from the towers and platforms, you will experience the fascinating natural and animal world. Keep an eye out for toucans and colorful feathered trogons and monkeys. And if you spend the night in the treehouse, you can take a night walk along the Canopy Walkway and fall asleep to the sounds of the jungle.

Keep reading: Eco-holidays for the adventurous

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Green wedding in the Black Forest

Arrive in the forest, close your eyes, listen to the noises around you and relax – we love to be in the woods. For everyone who feels the same, the SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA in Bad Herrenalb offers a special celebration for the big day: a forest wedding! You will get married in an outdoor ceremony, there will be a wood fire under the open sky and you celebrate with friends and family until late at night. If you are nervous before the ceremony, the mini-meditation will certainly help.

The SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA completely adapts to the wishes of the bridal couple: Whether winter weddings with cinnamon scent and baked apples, a glittering wedding inspired by Arabian nights, organic white beer as an alternative to champagne, pre-wedding events such as wellness timeouts and decoration made of sustainable and recycled materials – at the Selfness-Hotel in the Black Forest your wedding will not only be unique but also very sustainable. Incidentally, the hotel also compensates for the resulting CO2 emissions.

Enchanted forest wedding

Nestled amidst the woodlands of Kamala, on the Thai peninsula of Phuket, the Keemala Resort offers a spectacular setting for intimate weddings. At the “Enchanted Forest Wedding”, the staff will take care of all your wishes, so that the big day will be truly magical – including a manicure and a pedicure for the bride in the Mala Spa before the wedding and a “balance massage” for the bridal couple afterwards. Among the centuries-old trees of the natural forest, you can celebrate a fairytale wedding that does not explicitly follow Thai traditions but focuses on nature and the soon-to-be-married couple.

Wedding at the lake

Landgut Stober is picturesquely situated on the Groß Behnitzer See, the last of a glacial chain of lakes, amid a magnificent park landscape near Berlin – and exactly at this lake, you can say “yes, I do.” Summer is ideal for a wedding in the countryside and the ceremony takes place directly at the lake under ancient trees. An ecclesiastical wedding in the beautiful village church, a ceremony at the estate’s own registry office or an individual wedding ceremony in nature, everything is possible.

Far from the hustle and bustle, celebrate your special day with friends and family. There is plenty of room at Landgut Stober as there are several hotel areas on the spacious grounds. The “Bio-Hotel” for example has 82 double rooms, 19 suites and of course a bridal suite with handmade organic mattresses made from coconut fibers and seagrass – sleeping like in seventh heaven.

👉 More about how a wedding can be organized sustainably and professionally and why “eco” and “luxury” are not opposites you find in this interview on marrybylen between marrybylen founder Madlen and Green Pearls® founder Stefany.

“Yes, I do” – in paradise

You prefer a white sandy beach for your wedding? Then the Zeavola Resort is the perfect place for you: On Ko Phi Phi Island in Thailand you get married in the midst of untouched nature and sunshine – and your registrar will be Zeavola’s General Manager Florian Hallermann.

The Cerf island in the Seychelles is made for lovebirds thanks to its secluded sandy beaches and crystal-clear water. According to the wishes of the bride and groom, the staff at Cerf Island Resort will organize a ceremony on the beach, on the terrace of your private villa, on a boat or in the picturesque chapel on the island.

You can find more about rites and ceremonies in the Indian Ocean in our blog post.

Get romantically married in a small Italian village at Relais del Maro or enjoy a wedding in front of the breathtaking scenery of the Allgäu mountains at HUBERTUS unplugged. Discover even more extraordinary places for a wonderful wedding on our blog.

Not only your wedding should be sustainable, also your dress? We have some advice for you. 🙂

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Walking through the snowy forest

The Black Forest becomes a winter wonderland in the cold season and the area around the SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA in Bad Herrenalb is just perfect for snowshoe hikes. Experience the silence of the woods, only interrupted by the soft crunching of the snow. You can borrow the light snowshoes in Bad Herrenalb (visit the tourist information at the town square for more information) and discover the snowy surroundings – either on your own or on a guided tour.

A special highlight around the SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA is a sleigh ride or discovering the snow-covered landscape on a slide pulled by huskies. Families should not miss the snow fun area in Bad Herrenalb – with enough snow at the Albtal Arena, a course will be set up and fun is guaranteed when curling and or the snowshoe biathlon!

Tracks in the snow

Winter in the Berchtesgadener Land is just wonderful and the snowy mountains around the Berghotel Rehlegg can also be explored off the slopes. Hikes in the Alpine National Park Berchtesgaden are beautiful in every season and especially in winter when the landscape radiates its own tranquility – and whether red deer or eagle, if you’re quiet enough you may spot a few animals. To relax after a long day outside, head to the hotel’s spa area and the heated outdoor pool with panoramic mountain views.

 
Those who prefer speed can take their sled with them on a hike: Not far from the hotel you will find the more than 2.2 kilometers long and winding “Natur-Rodelbahn Hirscheckblit“. The toboggan run overcomes 400 meters in less than 15 minutes. Of course, it takes longer uphill, but if you like take the chairlift, which also takes the sled upstairs with you.

Winter silence

At the Naturhotel Outside in East Tyrol snowshoeing also is very popular. Experience the winter silence wandering over the white glittering hills. The majestic scenery of the Tauern Mountains invites you to extended hikes and ambitious tours even in the cold season. Walk through the snow-covered winter world, past frozen waterfalls, icy shrubs, and snow-covered fir trees – leaving everyday life far behind you.

 
During the two to three guided winter tours per week, guests walk with mountain guides to the most beautiful places and explore untouched regions. An unforgettable experience is a romantic torch hike in the evening through the winter idyll of Matrei. By the way: For snowshoeing no prior knowledge is necessary and you get the equipment in the hotel – where a hot cup of tea or the Zirbenstubensauna awaits you afterwards.

Lane change in Bavaria

Cross-country skiing instead of rushing down the slope? This works particularly well at the HUBERTUS unplugged and is also much more nature-friendly. The ski resort of Balderschwang is one of the snowiest regions in Germany with up to twelve meters of snow per season. Here, the HUBERTUS unplugged not only offers a place for sustained wellness breaks but with “Spurwechsel” also a special offer for winter sports enthusiasts who want to come to rest doing cross-country skiing. Easy-to-learn running techniques provide safety and fun for future ventures on and off the trail.

Winter vacation with a difference

When fresh snow covers the hills and valleys in a thick white blanket, it’s the perfect time for a winter holiday at the Hotel Lamm Mitteltal, where not only numerous ski lifts await you, but also toboggan runs and winter hiking trails. Are you an experimental winter sports enthusiast? Then the Hotel Lamm Mitteltal in the Black Forest recommends curling: The old folk sport is a bit like curling and is traditionally played on frozen lakes, ponds or streams.

 
Our tip: In winter in Piedmont – simply magical!

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Therefore, like already last year, we want to inspire with ideas for anticyclical travel.

Winter at the Baltic Sea

Who says the Baltic Sea is beautiful only in the summer? Of course, the fresh sea air is a bit colder but it still has that amazing soothing effect! Strolling at the beach will clear your mind and afterwards you can warm up in the roof terrace sauna of the Lifestylehotel SAND. By the way, the hotel is also open on New Year’s Eve – and what could be more relaxing than welcoming the New Year at the hotel’s own Rooftop Bar with a cocktail in the hand while listening to the sounds of the sea?

Relaxation in front of a crackling fire

A small cottage at the lake or in the forest, with its own fireplace, a good book and a cup of tea – sounds like the perfect place to escape the pre-Christmas hustle, right? With a bit of luck, one of the little houses of Hofgut Hafnerleiten is still available this winter.

Welcome spring in the mountains

Do you only visit the mountains during ski season or in the summer holidays? Too bad, because the Alps are at least as beautiful in spring – and definitely less crowded! The Berghotel Rehlegg is located in the heart of the Alpine National Park Berchtesgaden and thus perfectly connected to a large network of hiking trails and climbing routes. Or you visit the “Mozartstadt” Salzburg only 30 minutes away by car. In any case, you can relax afterwards in the spa area or in the heated outdoor pool overlooking the mountain panorama.

Even if there’s a cold snap in spring: In the health oasis of the Genießerhotel Die Forelle on the shores of the beautiful Weissensee in Carinthia, you will be pampered in the sauna, steam bath, and massage. By the way, the food is another highlight here – it’s not called „Genießerhotel“ („Connoisseur’s hotel “) for no reason! In the restaurant, only regional, seasonal and above all slow food is being served.

Selfness in the offseason

Especially those guests who want to participate in detox and fasting regimens, visit the SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA in Bad Herrenalb in offseason. It is quieter and therefore easier for guests to focus on their own well-being with yoga, sauna, massages, meditation and forest bathing. By the way, your treatments are being supported by selfness manager Kerstin Weinbrecht as well as the two fasting managers Mr. and Mrs. Wettcke.

Snowbound in Piedmont

Spend a very special New Year’s Eve at the Sagna Rotonda in Piedmont: normally, the charming eco-village is closed in winter, but after Christmas, it opens its doors again for a short time. Since winter is very snowy here, you will be picked up by owner Giovanni down in the village with a snowmobile and brought to Sagna Rotonda. Here, beautifully snowbound, you celebrate a quiet New Year’s Eve and enjoy the view of the impressive mountains of the Maira Valley!

Off to the sun

Fly from the cold into summer – just one of the reasons why Thailand is such a popular destination in winter. However, you should give a visit in shoulder-seasons or off-season a try. Because then you not only have more of the beautiful country and nature all to yourself, but you can also enjoy the lush green nature. In addition, Thailand‘s rainy season is often not so strong and (depending on the region) it rains only one or two hours a day.

By the way: Especially for city trips, the low season is great as well. Check out these tips for your next journey:

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