WELLNESS & ADVENTURE
day’s trekking or skiing, with windows looking out to millennia-old glacial ice. “Our guests are not only seeking a luxurious adventure, but a complete disconnect from the relentless ‘noise’ and demands of their daily lives,” says Mindy Roberts, CMO at White Desert. “Antarctica lends itself to solitude and self-reflection. Whether hiking up a nunatak mountain or wandering through a frozen sea of ice waves, this wilderness naturally transforms both body and mind.” For something closer to home but
equally icy, Responsible Travel’s Snowshoeing Holiday In Finland offers guided snowshoeing, with a base in Hossa National Park and the Kainuu region. There are daily sauna opportunities (one is by the lakeside, with the option of an ice-swim too). Where The Wild Is Travel offers a three-night Winter Weekend Wellness Break based in Sweden’s floating Arctic Bath spa hotel, with snowmobiling and snowshoe hiking excursions.
SAIL AWAY Expedition cruise ships, of course, make it easier to bring spas to remote locations, and present a way to reach
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clients looking to book a wintry adventure with world-class creature comforts. On Oceania cruise ship Marina, guests can follow a whale- spotting stop at Paradise Bay in Antarctica with a raw juice and a medi-spa treatment, such as a Caviar Firm and Lift Facial. Aurora Expeditions’ 14-day East Greenland Explorer offers rock climbing, as well as an ocean-view spa, sauna and on-deck yoga sessions. Andrea Stafford, director of trade
sales at Scenic & Emerald Cruises, says: “I would describe a ‘typical day’ on board Scenic Eclipse in the Arctic or Antarctic as follows: enjoying a morning on a Zodiac or paddleboard, before whale spotting or watching Emperor penguins from the shore. Then, go to the Senses Spa for aerial yoga, a Nordic bathing experience, an indulgent facial or simply to relax in the infrared sauna.” On Hurtigruten’s MS Fridtjof Nansen,
guests can unwind with a spa treatment or a dip in the infinity pool after a puffin-spotting hike through northern Iceland’s Grímsey. And in Norway, Havila Voyages offers an excursion in the world’s northernmost fishing village –
Skarsvaag – where clients can mix a Lapland-inspired sauna with a plunge into the Arctic Barents Sea.
ESCAPING IT ALL “We’ve seen higher demand from guests seeking wellness in remote locations, as this can offer an escape within nature and lets them recharge in ways they wouldn’t be able to achieve at home,” says Peter Shanks, Silversea’s managing director for the UK, Ireland, Middle East and Africa. “As new members of Atas [Association of Touring & Adventure Suppliers], we are committed to supporting agents specialising in adventure tourism and are keen to hear from any new agents who are yet to sell our expedition offering and want to hear more.” At the end of a bracing afternoon’s adventuring on Petermann Island with Silversea, I hop back onto the Zodiac to return to the ship as the wind begins to pick up for another storm. The idea of warming up in the sauna while watching for the flick of a passing whale’s tail, with the ice and the weather outside, feels like the ultimate treat on a journey that’s outside of my comfort zone. Adventure and wellness mix very well indeed.
travelweekly.co.uk/atas
PICTURES: Tyson Mayr
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