New Year weight loss holidays: These getaways prove the January detox doesn’t always have to be depressing

Overindulged this Christmas? Did making merry take its toll on your belly? These travel tips combine  the nations’ favourite January past times, detoxing and booking holidays, so you can look forward to getting back into shape. Whether you fancy jetting off in search of some winter sunshine, or you’d rather stay closer to home and hit the slopes, these destinations will ensure you start the New Year relaxed and in recovery. 

 

 

Go skiing in the French Alps without all the stodgy fare and chocolat chaud that goes with it this spring. This resort in Morzine has a new chef who is also a fully-qualified yoga instructor. So your meals are sure to be healthy and there’s plenty of exercise to go with it. Guests on the Stretch and Ski week from 12 to 19 April will greet the morning with a 30 minute pilates session before breakfast, and soothe those aching post-ski muscles with a 45 minute yoga session with views over the mountains.

 

 

 

It helps to be comfortable when trying to lose weight, and you don’t get much more comfortable than at Prestige. Luxurious accommodation, fastidious attention to detail and staff trained to push you all the way – it’s a proven formula when it comes to shaving off those holiday pounds. It’s not just about the scales, though. The experts at Prestige will help instil a healthier all-round perspective with workshops and talks.

 

 

 

Ulpotha has been nursing people back to spiritual health for thousands of years. A traditional eco-village in the verdant heart of Sri Lanka, it offers yoga, spa and ayurveda retreats for an all-inclusive price that covers accommodation, meals, drinks, yoga classes, consultations with the resident Ayurveda doctor and massages. The best bit? What you pay goes directly into the Ayurveda treatment centre that treats 5,000 local villagers annually.

 

 

 

Detox and get an enviable tan at the same time by travelling to Mauritius for this five day programme, run at the Lux Le Morne resort. It has teamed up with Chelsea’s SP&Co to devise an experience that combines yoga, nutrition, spa treatments and exploring wild Mauritius. This luxury break is all about combining nourishing experiences with fitness. Activities include climbing Le Morne Brabant, trail walking the Black River Gorges, swimming with dolphins and healthy cooking classes in the resort’s herb garden. Programmes will be available in January and April.

 

 

 

You can’t beat Mexico for pure relaxation. Award-winning Belmond Maroma Resort and Spa is a Yucatan temple of zen where you can learn yoga in one of central America’s most beautiful landscapes. It’s even aligned with the stars to create a “positive energy flow” while massage beds face east to symbolise new beginnings. Just the place to get going on those New Year’s resolutions. Deluxe Garden View Rooms start from £392 per night, including breakfast and taxes.

 

 

 

Get to know Estonia’s most beautiful city and shed those Christmas pounds at the same time. Elina Benenson, the resort’s spa and sport manager, leads her guests on guided running tours. If group exercise isn’t your thing, the hotel also offers downloadable digital running routes on Google Maps so you can jog on at your own pace. As Tallinn’s tallest building, Swisshotel boasts spectacular views over the Baltic Sea and the Old Town, which is renowned for its authentic Hanseatic architecture.

 

 

 

Supplement your swims in the crystal clear waters of the Indian Ocean with a range of yoga and meditation classes. Guests staying at this collection of 45 villas can set sail aboard a traditional dhoni boat to the resort’s dedicated spa island. Here, guests are soothed with Guerlain treatments in one of the six thatched villas, and a range of yoga sessions take place on the beach, including Hatha, Ashtanga, Vinyasa and Power varieties with cyclic meditation. Cheval has even devised its own Weight-Loss yoga classes to tone up post-Christmas tummies. 

 

 

Devon country retreat Yeotown takes the business of getting fit seriously with talks on nutrition, meditation classes and deep tissue massages. There’s also Tai Chi and coastal walks for those for whom closeness to nature is an indispensable part of improving well-being. There’s also Yeobaby for new parents craving a rejuvenating escape.