Retreats offer a chance to pause everyday life and stay somewhere away from it all. They have become the top planned wellness spend among US travellers. Retreat-booking platform BookRetreats announced that, according to its State of Retreats 2026 report, updated on 16 October, 49% of the 1,040 US travellers interested in retreat travel said they planned to spend money on a retreat in the next 12 months. That was a higher proportion than for spas and wellness treatments (45%) or supplements and vitamins (44%). The company said interest in meditation retreats had risen by 44% compared with a year earlier.
64% of respondents have already booked a retreat, but the survey only asked people interested in retreats
Before looking at the figures, it is worth considering the nature of the survey. The report was produced by a company that books retreats, combining its own search and booking data with an online survey. The survey was conducted between December 2025 and January 2026, and involved US adults aged 18 and over who were interested in retreat travel and made travel decisions for their household. These are not the views of Americans as a whole, but the responses of people already drawn to retreats; the fact that the data comes from the industry should also be borne in mind.
With that caveat, the trend is clear. 64% of respondents had already booked a retreat for this year. By generation, 73% of Generation X, 68% of Generation Z and 66% of millennials said they planned to go on a retreat in the next 12 months. Among planned wellness purchases, retreats (49%) were followed by spas and wellness treatments, then supplements. Gym and exercise studio memberships were at 36%, and psychological counselling and therapy at 34%. Wellness devices came to just 14%, and app subscriptions to 12%. More respondents planned to spend on an experience that involves going somewhere and staying there than on services accessed through a screen.
62% want to rest, 35% to recover from burnout; interest in body-based retreats has more than doubled
The report also sets out why people seek retreats. Rest and relaxation topped the list at 62%, followed by mental health and wellbeing (37%), recovery from accumulated stress and burnout (35%), and physical health and fitness (17%). A further 25% said they wanted to reconnect with nature.
Meditation is becoming central to travel. One in four US travellers said meditation was essential while travelling, and 32% said they set aside time to meditate wherever they are. Among travellers interested in meditation, 57% said that if they meditated away from home, they would choose a retreat over any other setting. In Generation Z, 59% said meditation was important when travelling.
The growth of programmes focused on the body stands out. According to the report, interest in nervous system reset retreats, which focus on calming the nervous system, has risen by 105% since 2023. Somatic therapy, which uses bodily sensations to release tension, rose by 141% over the same period, making it the fastest-growing wellness programme. Sound healing also grew by 86%. Of those looking for yoga retreats, 42% said they wanted to combine yoga with another activity, such as surfing or hiking. This suggests demand is shifting towards meditation approached through movement and sensation, rather than practices focused on controlling thoughts through the mind.
People seek silence even without a religion: numbers at US retreat centres are rising
The trend is not confined to industry reports. Last September, The Washington Post reported that leaders from traditions including Buddhism, Christianity, Jainism and Judaism had seen more people seeking silent retreats, according to a summary by Religion Watch, a religious trends newsletter from Baylor University in the US. Many of those attending did not belong to a particular religion. Leaders cited the disruption left by Covid-19, fatigue with technology and the grief of loss.
When the Drala Mountain Center, a Tibetan Buddhist retreat centre in Colorado, asked its members, 46% (108 people) said they wanted a silent retreat. At a Benedictine convent in Erie, Pennsylvania, which has held silent retreats since the 1980s, attendance rose from around 15 people to 29 in August, with more younger participants. Many welcomed the absence of internet and television. One nun said the change reflected a yearning for silence and reflection.
One in four bookings is for a climate-friendly retreat, while prices vary almost sevenfold by location
BookRetreats said that 27% of its retreat bookings in 2025 were for climate-friendly retreats, a 22% increase on 2024. 87% of respondents said sustainable travel was important, while 81% said travel with a purpose mattered to them.
There were also wide differences in cost. Among US states, Hawaii had the highest average retreat price at $3,053, while Illinois was the least expensive at $446, a difference of 6.8 times. In some places, including Wisconsin ($497) and Alabama ($591), prices were around $500. In other words, you do not have to go somewhere expensive to take a break.
A night in a mountain temple or the forest: how readers in South Korea can choose the right retreat
The experiences US travellers are paying to seek out are also close at hand in South Korea. A temple stay in a mountain monastery, forest programmes at the National Center for Forest Therapy, and multi-day intensive courses at meditation centres are all forms of retreat. As Healing News recently reported in its coverage of November temple stays and hammock meditation in the forest, there are many options that require neither a large outlay nor a long flight. The quiet of a day at a South Korean mountain temple is open to visitors from overseas too, and could help bring K-meditation to the world.
The right retreat will differ from person to person. Some find a silent retreat, putting down their phone and spending time without speaking, restful; for others, sitting for long periods is a trial. If you first want to give a mind tired of information a rest, it may be easier to start with a programme that includes physical activities such as walking meditation, yoga or forest walks. Before choosing, check how the daily schedule divides time between seated and moving meditation, what the rules are on phone use, and what experience the instructor has. Retreats offer time to care for body and mind, but are not a substitute for treatment. If depression or anxiety is making daily life difficult, seeking professional advice should come first.
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