What is a healthy holiday?

Most people, if they are honest, want the same thing from a holiday: to stop thinking about work, sleep properly and go home feeling like themselves again. The trouble is that most holidays do not actually deliver this.

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SUMMARY

A healthy holiday is built around climate, movement, nourishment and rest

It is distinct from a spa retreat and a bootcamp: the goal is sustainable restoration.

Research shows structured physical activity and time in natural environments measurably reduces stress hormones and improves sleep.

A stable climate, not too warm, nor too cold is a vital ingredient. Lanzarote offers such a climate due to its location in the Atlantic ocean off the coast of Africa.

Casas Heddy on Lanzarote has been designed around these principles for fifty years.

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When the first organised holidays emerged in Europe in the nineteenth century, the purpose was mainly medical. Doctors prescribed sea air, mountain climates and structured daily routines as treatments for exhaustion, respiratory illness and poor circulation. Recovery was the point and not leisure as we understand it today.

Over time that intention got lost. Holidays became about switching off completely, which often meant doing very little and returning home not much better than when you left.

What makes a holiday healthy?

A healthy holiday is not a bootcamp, a spa retreat or a medicalised programme. It is a stay with enough structure to let the body settle into a rhythm that supports recovery without pressure to perform or optimise.

The four core pillars of a healthy holiday are:

• A stable, mild climate and an environment that supports movement, rest and daily comfort.

• Gentle activity and movement adapted to your level. Intensity is not the primary goal

• Nutritious food that energises you, rather than weighs you down

• Restitution and calm, creating real peace of mind and not just stillness

When these elements align consistently over several days, the effects are measurable. A systematic review published in PubMed (2022) found that structured physical activity programmes effectively lowered cortisol levels and improved sleep quality — with statistically significant results in both measures. The improvements observed were clinically meaningful across multiple measures.

Does climate affect your health on holiday?

Where you go matters more than most people consider when booking a holiday. Warm, stable climates where temperatures stay comfortable and humidity stays low, allows the body to move freely throughout the day in a way that many popular summer destinations simply do not offer.

Joint discomfort, muscle tension and poor sleep are all directly affected by temperature and air quality. A meta-analysis of 31 studies covering 1,842 participants found that exposure to natural outdoor environments was associated with measurable reductions in salivary cortisol, blood pressure and heart rate — concrete evidence that the physical environment shapes how the body recovers. Lanzarote's dry, moderate climate, which stays stable year-round rather than spiking in July and August, makes outdoor activity feel manageable during day time, so you don’t need to get up before the rest of the world to exercise.

Is a healthy holiday physically demanding?

The most common misunderstanding is that a healthy holiday means rigid routines or demanding physical effort. 

A well-structured stay built around rhythm is what you are looking for. A typical day might look like this:

• A short movement session before breakfast

• A meal that leaves you satisfied and light

• Time outdoors walking or swimming at your own pace

• A genuine afternoon rest

• A calm evening — not overstimulating, not overscheduled

Most people notice a shift within two or three days: Sleep gets deeper. Energy stops fluctuating so much. The background noise of daily stress fades. This happens not through effort but through the simple consistency of a well-designed environment.

What is the difference between a healthy holiday and a wellness retreat?

A wellness retreat is primarily built around relaxation — treatments, stillness and short-term comfort. An active holiday prioritises physical performance. A healthy holiday sits between these and is different from both.

The goal is restoration that lasts beyond the stay, something a temporary sense of calm or a fitness boost cannot offer as it often fades by the following week. When the stay is well-designed, guests come home having reset patterns around sleep, movement and eating that carry forward.

What should you look for in a healthy holiday destination?

A good healthy holiday requires more than a hotel with a gym and a salad on the menu. It requires a place built deliberately for its purpose where the daily rhythm, the food, the activities and the climate work together rather than pulling in different directions.

The key qualities to look for are:

• A stable climate with manageable temperatures year-round

• A programme built around movement, nourishment and recovery

• Staff with genuine experience in health-focused stays

• Facilities and an environment that reduces stimulation rather than adding to it

For fifty years, Casas Heddy on Lanzarote has developed its approach around these principles: climate, movement, structure and recovery in a setting designed to support long-term wellbeing rather than short-term escape.