Treat Yourself: Top 5 Travel Destinations for Indulging

Every vacation is unique for each traveler. Sometimes we travel to challenge ourselves and open our minds to learning about new cultures. Sometimes we travel to push ourselves on some tough rides with the payoff of incredible views and to return home feeling we’ve accomplished something great. Sometimes when we travel, our goal is to see everything we can—from museums to landmarks and landscapes. But sometimes, the purpose of travel is to simply treat yourself. To escape from the stresses of life and relax.

Choose one of my top five travel destinations for indulging and find an unforgettable gift to yourself. Pamper yourself with the ultimate luxury travel experiences around the world, with incredible, secluded hotels, award-winning spas, and some of the best food and wine in the world.

Best Spas for Pampering

If a visit to the spa is how you indulge and treat yourself, Bordeaux is the place to go. The sheer amount of amazing chateau hotels will amaze you and make you feel like royalty. Bordeaux takes pampering to new heights of indulgence.

Visit Chateau Grand Barrail, a nineteenth-century castle surrounded by the St Emilion vineyards and a 7-acre park. Spend a day at the full-service spa to refresh the mind and body and indulge in their Cinq Mondes body treatments. Choose an a la carte treatment or experience over three hours of relaxation with the Saint-Emilion Magic package. Wind down the day at the hotel’s gourmet restaurant for some foie gras on the terrace overlooking the gardens.

If you’re a wine-lover, as most visitors to Bordeaux are, a visit to Les Sources de Caudalie is a must! Their spa offers Vinotherapie which combine natural hot spring waters with grape-based treatments. The treatments are unique and unforgettable. You can choose a single treatment, half or full day ritual experiences, or two-or-more-day cure programs. Try the honey and wine wrap, red wine bath, or crushed Cabernet scrub.

Not only can you experience the unique and unforgettable spas in Bordeaux, but you can ride among the grapes from one chateau to the next and stop to taste the bold Cabernet Sauvignon in the Médoc or a smooth and fruity Merlot in Pomerol. Or visit Chateau Cordeillan-Bages for dinner at their two-Michelin-starred restaurant and experience the gourmet stylings of my friend Chef Jean-Luc Rocha. It’s the ultimate food and wine experience. It’s the perfect destination for indulgence.

Experience these amazing spas on DuVine’s Bordeaux Bike Tour

Best Hotels for Luxury

In Mallorca, the indulgence is all about seclusion and escape. Bask in the sunshine as you cycle on the traffic-free roads along the sparkling coast, taking in dramatic ocean cliff views. Relax on secluded beaches like Formentor, indulge in the freshest seafood and Spanish cuisine—everything from tapas to gastronomic experiences. Choose restaurants and hotels overlooking the Mediterranean for stunning views all vacation long.

For me, the real seclusion in Mallorca is found in the hotel selection. This little island is famous among cyclists for its varied terrain but also its incredible spa hotels where they can recover between rides. Visit the Hotel Son Brull for a visit to the spa and the hotel’s amazing 365 Restaurant. Head to Cap Rocat, a restored nineteenth-century military fortress for a secluded retreat and enjoy massages at the spa perched on the hilltop for incredible views of the bay of Palma. And of course, indulge in the freshest dishes at the hotel’s gastronomic restaurant.

If you’re looking for the best of the best to really treat yourself—stay at Belmond La Residencia. It’s a sixteenth-century manor house with an award-winning spa and restaurant. The hotel is surrounded by orange groves, olive trees, and stunning views of the Tramuntana Mountains—the perfect tranquil spot to relax, rejuvenate, and indulge.

Visit these incredible hotels on our Mallorca Bike Tour

Best Food for Indulging

One of the best ways to pamper yourself (and one of the biggest benefits of travel, especially in Italy), is to slow down. In this fast-paced, high-tech world, sometimes it’s good to disconnect, slow down, and take in the beauty that surrounds you. I may like to ride fast, but I like to travel slow.

Piedmont is home to the Slow Food Movement, and it’s the perfect place to slow down and indulge in some incredible local food. The Slow Food Movement is all about traditional dishes, regional cuisine, and local ingredients. It’s gastronomy at its best. Taste some of the world’s best wines—Barolo, Barbera and Barbaresco—as you indulge in some hand-made tajarin or plin pasta with local vegetables from the garden and the world-famous white truffle—the most expensive food in the world. Treat yourself at the end with a healthy scoop of gelato.

Piedmont is also home to the spa town of Acqui Terme. The little city’s name means “thermal waters,” and it’s famous for the thermal springs and spas. Visit a spa in Acqui Terme to pamper yourself by taking a dip in these thermal waters.

Cycle through some of Italy’s most prestigious cru vineyards, and stop for a visit at the Castle of Morsasco or Grinzane Cavour to find out what it’s like to live like a queen or king. And spend your days and evenings at some of the most luxurious properties in Italy, including the five-star Relais San Maurizio—a luxurious Relais and Chateaux and converted monastery. Here you can get a spa treatment at the award-winning Grotta del Sale and eat at the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant. This hotel is in a class of its own.

Indulge in handmade local delicacies in the home of the Slow Food Movement on our Piedmont Bike Tour

Best Wine for Treating Yourself

I have probably tasted some of the most expensive wines in the world on my visits to Burgundy, and they have all been worth it. If you’re a wine-love looking to treat yourself to some exquisite wine like you’ve never tasted before, this is the place to do it.

What I love about Burgundy is that it doesn’t change. The wine world will continue to change and the prices will go up, but Burgundy will always produce pinot noir and chardonnay. Going back to Burgundy is like going back to your childhood home—you remember the smells and tastes, and you can always go back to that place that doesn’t change.

Burgundy is a very wealthy wine region that’s totally understated; a winemaker may dress like a farmer but have vineyards worth millions of dollars. Burgundy doesn’t like to show off its wealth. The proof is in the bottle.

Burgundy will never produce wine that is drinkable. You have to have patience to drink a Burgundy. That’s why the region is perfect for indulging—it slows you down and forces you to immerse yourself in the beauty of the wine and the beauty of the region.

You can also relax at the luxurious spa and experience a three-Michelin-starred meal at Relais Bernard Loiseau, paired with some unforgettable Burgundy wines.

Try the incredible pinot noirs, chardonnays, and crémants on DuVine’s Burgundy Bike Tour

Best Cycling to Indulge

For a cyclist looking to indulge, Croatia is a destination that should be at the top of your list. I’ve been riding in so many of the world’s greatest cycling destinations and Croatia definitely tops the charts. The roads are some of the best—quiet and coastal with stunning views of the Adriatic Sea.

Treat yourself with private boat rides from one island to the next and cycle through miles of vineyards and the wine-producing valley of Stari Grad. Bike through lavender fields, olive groves, abandoned villages, and UNESCO World Heritage sites. Stop to visit the Diocletian’s Palace, built in the fourth century BC, for a truly royal tour, and taste Hvar’s best red wines at Tomic Wine Cellar. End a spectacular day of riding with an unforgettable dinner overlooking beautiful bays of endless blue sea, and spend your nights at the luxurious Lesic Dimitri Palace and spa.

Croatia a cyclist’s paradise with good riding and fantastic views—the perfect way to indulge in an incredible cycling destination.

Experience these incredible traffic-free roads on the islands of Croatia on DuVine’s Croatia Bike Tour

I can’t write a blog about indulgence without mentioning one of the things that, I think, is paramount to a truly relaxing, stress-free, indulgent vacation: service. For all of the hotels I have mentioned thus far—it goes without saying that these hotels offer incredible, five-star service that will blow you away. And I truly believe that one of the biggest benefits of booking a tour with DuVine is the service you receive from, not only the hotels and restaurants on tour, but your bike tour guides.

When you book a tour with DuVine, you are investing in service. Our guides welcome DuVine guests to their home regions as if they were old friends, taking care of every detail of your vacation so that you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Service is the final key to a truly indulgent experience.