They say laughter is the best medicine, but we’d argue that a little rest and relaxation gives it some stiff competition. After all, who doesn’t feel better after a week of beach lounging, spa pampering, and sipping sunset cocktails by the pool? But if your relaxation plans involve Greece’s islands or Italy’s Amalfi Coast, you might as well never have left home. Australia has just been named the most relaxing destination in the world, outranking travel hotspots like Canada, Iceland, Sweden and Spain.
This relaxation ranking comes from a fresh report by BookRetreats.Com, the global leader in (you guessed it) retreat bookings. To determine the world’s top 25 relaxing destinations, they analysed 76 popular countries on key relaxation criteria, including peacefulness, crowd density, noise pollution, traffic, protected areas and the number of wellness experiences.
Aussies have a global reputation for being a laid-back bunch, and perhaps that’s because we can so easily retire into holiday mode. A day at any of our beautiful beaches (well, maybe not Bondi) is proof enough that Australia is the most peaceful place on the planet. However, this fact is now backed by solid data, too.
Unlike Europe’s bustling capitals, Australia welcomes 7.19 million annual visitors – with more than 50,000 kilometres of coastline for them to kick back and unwind. Our landmass is a staggering 25 times larger than Italy’s, yet we host 50 million fewer annual visitors (that's almost double the size of our entire population).
If you do the quick maths, it equates to far fewer crowds –with just 3.4 people per kilometre, compared to Italy’s 198 people per kilometre.
We didn’t exactly need the hard data to confirm it, but Australia is also one of the best destinations for nature. From verdant national parks to roaring waterfalls and colourful coral reefs, our scenery has a magical way of making stress melt away. We’re also pretty proud to discover that more than a third of our land is protected, and with 704 national parks, we’ve got more than any other country in the rankings.
On top of that, Australia offers visitors and locals easy access to some pretty epic relaxation stations. The research uncovered 4,700 wellness experiences across the nation – think luxurious eco-lodges, secluded hot springs and lavish day spas – with our breathtaking beaches and tranquil forests setting the scene for a calming (and free) self-guided yoga or meditation session.
Need to zen out? A little rest and relaxation await at Australia’s most calming holiday spots.
These are the world’s 10 most relaxing destinations:
- Australia
- Canada
- Iceland
- Finland
- New Zealand
- Austria
- Sweden
- Estonia
- Norway
- Portugal