We all have stressful life moments.  Some moments are more stressful than others. And some stressful moments are extreme like losing a job, losing a friend, ending a relationship, or even losing a parent or a child. Unfortunately, it’s inevitable, however we will all go through some sort of stressful moment in life. But how do we handle these tough moments?

As humans, we each deal with stressful moments in different ways. Some choose to dive into a project or into work. Some choose to surround themselves with other people. And others choose to get away and travel to a place where they can be away from others and be still.

Through challenging life moments, our brain has so many complex thought processes that it can be overwhelming to manage everything all at once.  While travel certainly can’t change the facts about the tough life situation, a new destination can temporarily give our minds much needed rest and space to begin to rebuild strength.

Travel has healing principles. It provides us the ability to physically be away from our normal environment. The everyday surroundings that we have been accustomed to seeing and experiencing. But when we travel, our eyes see a new environment that allows our mind to shift into a new space of healing and overcoming.

Travel helped me discover my higher purpose

In late 2017, I realized I had two life situations overloading me with stress. First, I had chose to remain in a long term relationship that sucked away my happiness. And second, I found myself in a very successful, 16-year career but felt overwhelmingly unfulfilled. My gut continued to tell me that it was time to leave the corporate office. And I decided to end the both around the same time.

After I ended my relationship, I googled where in the world to travel to help me heal. One month later, I traveled to the heart of Bali. Daily meditation. Daily yoga. Meandering through ancient rice terraces. Motorbiking through remote roads. Exploring the local culture. Climbing volcanoes. Rappelling down waterfalls. Balinese massages. Through holistic methods, my mind, body and soul slowly began to heal.

In fact, it was in Bali where I decided it was time to leave the corporate world to follow a lifelong passion: traveling the world. Two months later I left my job, ended my apartment lease in New York City, packed all of my belongings into a storage unit, and found myself in Antarctica. It was the beginning of a journey traveling solo around the world.

My around the world trip was the journey of a lifetime (and it is still going on) and one that helped me re-discover myself. I had chosen Bali as my healing destination, but through my travels, I have been curious about what other people think about healing destinations.  So last month, I decided to ask my social media following this question:

“If money were no object, where in the world would you travel to help you heal from a stressful moment in your life?”

Italy became the resounding top destination where people would travel to heal from a stressful moment in life. However, it seemed that many people were passionate about this question. I have compiled the list by continent and wanted to share the top two to three from each continent.

Top healing destinations by continent

Africa

  • Kenya
  • Giza, Egypt

Antarctica

Asia

  • Bali
  • Maldives
  • Dead Sea

Australia

  • Australia (East Coast)
  • New Zealand

Europe

  • Italy
  • Greek isles

North America

  • Banff, Calgary
  • Alaska
  • Maine

South America

  • Galapagos Islands
  • Chile (Patagonia)
  • Ecuador

Where is your top healing destination?

I realize this is a crowdsourced list from my large social media following. But I’m curious to know what you think.  Have you been to a location around the world that you felt could or did begin to heal you? Share a comment below with your top “healing” destination.

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Consider Pivot Trip as your first transformational travel experience as they travel to Bali October 6-12, 2019.