WHY IT RATES: Clients interested in wellness experiences can now take advantage of new options from Avanti that make it easier to find these cultural and healing opportunities. -Janeen Christoff, TravelPulse Senior Writer
Soaking in natural hot springs is not only a relaxing vacation treat but also an enjoyable way to meet locals and experience a treasured part of the culture of many countries around the world. Independent travel specialist Avanti Destinations has just announced new options that travel agents can offer to their clients who want to get into hot water in Asia, Europe or Central and South America.
Avanti sells custom-crafted multi-destination itineraries for independent travelers and custom groups exclusively through travel agents.
"It's important to understand the cultural differences when it comes to soaking in hot springs," explained Paul Barry, executive chairman of Avanti. "In Japan, for example, bathing is serious business-you shouldn't be loud or play or swim or do anything except bathe and chat quietly with the people nearby when you're in a Japanese onsen.
"The minerals found naturally in hot springs are also considered to be therapeutic. Doctors in Central Europe even prescribe specific hot springs according to your ailment. All this makes soaking in hot water in other countries fascinating-as well as a great way to unwind," added Barry.
Kinosaki Onsen-Hopping in Japan
Two and a half hours by train from Kyoto, Kinosaki Onsen is a small town that has been dedicated to onsen (hot spring bathing) for more than 1,000 years. People walk the streets from bathhouse to bath house in a robe (yakuta) supplied by the ryokans where visitors stay. Bathing is communal, in gender-separate baths, and swimsuits or other clothing are not permitted.
Avanti's new three-day/two-night onsen-hopping package includes round-trip train tickets, accommodations in an authentic ryokan, breakfasts and dinners, and a pass that provides free admission to all seven bathhouses in Kinosaki. This customizable package is available May 15, 2019-December 15, 2019.
New Options in Iceland for the Blue Lagoon
The famous Blue Lagoon in a lava field on the way from Reykjavik's airport is usually booked up far in advance, but Avanti now offers two hotels which provide premium access to the Blue Lagoon for their guests. The 62-suite Retreat at the Blue Lagoon is a new 5-star hotel that also has its own private spa and Retreat Lagoon for guest use. A 15-minute walk from the Blue Lagoon, the 35-room Silica Hotel is a 4-star property that seems to merge with the stunning lava field surrounding it.
For those who want a less-touristed hot spring soak in Iceland, Avanti offers two alternatives:
Golden Circle and Fontana Steam Bath-10.5-hour shared tour from Reykjavik takes in Thingvellir National Park, then proceeds to Lake Laugarvatn and its Fontana Geothermal Baths. Here clients can taste rye bread baked in a pot in the hot sand, as well as have a soak and a natural steam bath. The tour continues to Gullfoss waterfall and the hot spring area around Geysir and Strokkur.
Lake Myvatn-Eight-hour shared tour from Akureyri in the north of Iceland. The tour visits Godafoss waterfall, the pseudo-craters of Skutustadagigar, lava pillars of Dimmuborgir, the Krafla volcano and Viti crater, before ending at the Myvatn Nature Baths, where clients soak in natural pools of geothermal water.
Gellert and Szechenyi Thermal Spas, Budapest, Hungary
Built-in flamboyant Art Nouveau style between 1912 and 1918, the Gellert Bath complex in Budapest uses water from thermal springs first used by the Knights of St John in the 12th century and then the Ottoman Turks, who occupied Hungary for 150 years. Avanti now sells an entry pass to the bath complex, which includes saunas, plunge pools and an open-air swimming pool as well as two thermal baths.
Avanti also sells entrance plus rental of a cabin to use for changing and storing personal items to the beautiful, 100-year old Szechenyi Spa Bath, Budapest's largest bath complex, with 18 geothermal pools open 365 days a year. Like Gellert, visitors can enjoy saunas, a gym, or sign up for a massage.
For those exploring Hungary, Germany and the Czech Republic, there are hundreds of hot springs and spas to sample, not the least of which is the famous spa town of Baden-Baden, Germany.
Latin America: New hot springs options in Chile and Panama
A brand-new hot springs tour in Chile is Termas Geometricas, the highlight of a new Avanti private day trip from Pucon. Secluded in a mist-filled ravine in the forests of Villarrica Volcano National Park and a little more than 50 miles from Pucon, this complex has 16 geometrically-shaped geothermal pools and four swimming pools. It is open 365 days a year. The day trip also visits the resort town of Lican Ray.
Another new private day trip out of Boquete in Panama's Chiriqui province takes clients to soak in Caldera Hot Springs, where the water is heated by nearby Baru volcano. Lunch and a tour of the town of Caldera is included in the day trip. Clients will walk to a site where mysterious petroglyphs were carved into the rocks by indigenous people from long ago.
In addition to these two new tours in Chile and Panama, Avanti also offers a package at Tabacon Hot Springs at Arenal, Costa Rica, and a day trip in Ecuador featuring the Termas Papallacta, just outside the Cayambe-Coca Reserve and surrounded by 60 lakes, in the middle of the highest concentration of volcanoes on earth. The Tabacon package can be booked together with dinner or a hiking tour. Papallacta is just 30 miles from Quito.
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