Let's Go!

After more than two years of a pandemic and unprecedented rates of burnout, just thinking about a vacation can nourish your body and mind. But the thing is: Actually taking that trip is very much encouraged now too. Because travel isn't just a getaway for getaway's sake anymore. We're exploring again for all the right reasons-and each motive has the power to be truly transformational. It's time to change your life with a trip, starting with the inspiration to get going, plus tons o' recommendations and revelations to guide you along the way.

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BEGINNERS' BEST

Surfaspirations? For soft, forgiving waves, safe sandy beaches, and easy-to-access rentals and lessons, peep these locales:

Source: Keala Kennelly, pro surfer and winner of the 2020-2021 Red Bull Magnitude, an all-women big-wave surfing competition in Hawaii

Ready Or Not, Ride The Wave

When features director Kristin Canning decided to try surfing, she learned more than she expected from the mighty swells.

The ocean freaks me out. Growing up in landlocked lowa, I never learned to swim against a tide, and the sea's sheer size and ominous depth makes me uncomfortable. That fear of open water rushed into my mind when I received an invite to a retreat with SwellWomen, a female-led learn-to-surf program, in Punta de Mita, Mexico. I'd wanted to try the sport, though, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to get confident in the waves (a literal and figurative sink or-swim moment!). After some trials and wipeouts-and brutal saltwater sinus flushing-I learned to pop up and was riding waves as big as me by the end of the three-day experience.