The Avana Resort and Spa in Bali is the perfect place to seek refuge.

Voted the “#1 Spa in the World” in 2010 by Conde Nast Traveler readers, the Ayana Resort and Spa in Bali will take your breath away. The 290-room hotel and 78 private freestanding villas are perched above the Indian Ocean on Jimbaran Bay amongst beautiful tropical gardens.

Just a few days ago, Ayana Resort and Spa was recognized for its commitment to sustainable practices and is now a certified Eco Hotel by the prestigious TUV Rheinland Germany. Apparently the resort’s eco-friendly practices have been followed for a long time: the two water recycling plants, which recycle grey and black water, are used on the gardens and ponds; a composting program is utilized; energy efficiency is of great importance and the resort uses eco-friendly detergents and other products.

There is nothing but indulgence at Ayana Resort and Spa from a “Floataway Champagne Brunch,” to a “Spa on the Rocks” treatment. But perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of Ayana Resort and Spa is the meaning of its name in Sanskrit – “a place of refuge.”

If you go: Ayana Resort and Spa offers perfume-making workshops and cooking classes. Rates start at approximately $260.00 USD per night.

Places & Spaces is a travel guide that will inspire you to carve out a vacation on your calendar. All of the gorgeous locations and accommodations in our guide share our concern for the environment. From tent glamping to lavish built environments, fair warning, you’ll feel compelled to pack your suitcase.

Since their introduction in the 1930s, Airstreams have become an iconic emblem of travel. Sleek, hip and, most importantly, functional, Airstreams are the name of the game for those looking to travel in style. But they’ve also allowed people to adventure in smarter, slower and more conscious ways, all integral parts to green travel. Let’s face it, long term travel is good for the soul, and Airstreams certainly facilitate that process, allowing travelers to establish a deeper connection to and appreciation for the places that they find themselves in.

A good friend of mine is about to take off on her own Airstream adventure, so suffice it to say, I’ve got the iconic travel mode on the brain. But committing to buying and up-keeping an Airstream isn’t for everyone. Fortunately thanks to plenty of travel options, that doesn’t mean that you have to skimp on Airstream ambiance. Here are some of our favorites.

Rooftop Trailer Park

In South Africa, the Grand Daddy Hotel offers the ultimate in trailer park class. The boutique hotel installed a rooftop trailer park with seven different Airstreams, each of them boasting a customized design by local artists.

Vintage Vacation

On the Isle of Wight in the English Channel, you can get a little taste of Americana thanks to Vintage Vacations. They’ve got seven of them turning the campground into a funky and fresh destination.

Trailer Park a la Europa

For those looking to go super retro, the Euro Trailer Park might be your best bet. In fact it’s the only retro trailer park in Europe, located in the foothills of the Pyrenees. What better way to enjoy this beautiful area of France than a funky consortium of silver bullets? There are nine Airstreams for hire, and we’re sure you’ll meet plenty of colorful characters too.

Park It Where You Want

It comes as no shock that hip and trendy Portland, Oregon would offer up an Airstream vacation, but the best part about Silver Dreams is that they’ll park the upscale hotel suite on wheels anywhere in the Portland area that you want to stay.

Enjoying the Arts

Art and travel come together at El Cosmico in Marfa, Texas. A community that aims provide a creative and sustainable space that’s welcoming to both locals and visitors.

Airstream Spa Style

Ten Thousand Waves in Santa Fe, New Mexico has combined spa services with Airstream class in their Silver Moon. The lodging has just the basics, but pair it with the destination’s spa services, including deep stone massages and Japanese organic facials, and you’ve got one luxurious but off-the-beaten-path travel destination.

Images: johnrobertsheperd, Grand Daddy Hotel, Airstream Europe, El Cosmico

Several years ago, while taking my first, halting steps towards a greener existence, I spent four days in an eco-friendly spa in upstate New York. Nestled in the gorgeous Catskill Mountains, it was a rustic place that went beyond the usual spa staples of seaweed wraps and deep tissue massage.

The spa featured intense yoga classes and beautiful hiking trails – it was also known for having a slightly wackadoo spiritual vibe and offering a “cleansing” regimen of toxin-free foods. Meals were strictly organic and much of the menu came from an on-site greenhouse. It was all a bit touchy-feely for my taste – classes were offered on the healing power of crystals, and high colonics were available for those who wanted to kick their cleansing into over-drive. But I loved the emphasis on health and sustainability and I looked forward to ridding myself of stress and pollutants.

Unfortunately, one of the forbidden toxins at this spa was caffeine – I learned this on the first day, after a wimpy cup of decaf failed to jolt me out of my early morning coma. Still, the day was pleasant and as I hiked and cleansed I was the picture of health, brimming with rosy-cheeked vigor. By the next morning, however, the bloom was off the rose as I began to feel the first ominous stirrings of a caffeine withdrawal headache.

I found a waitress with blonde dreadlocks and a sympathetic chakra and pleaded for some real coffee, but the young woman (who looked like her name should be Feather) scolded me gently and promised that my headache would abate as soon as the “poisons” left my body. Instead the pain became exponentially worse. By lunchtime I was pale and stoop shouldered as the ache in my head became a steady drum beat of torture. Consumed by pain, it took me awhile to realize I was not alone, that women everywhere were walking around with pinched looks of agony. Instead of feeling healthy and relaxed I was becoming increasingly cranky – I was, after all, paying a lot of money to feel like crap. I was also ingesting huge amounts of acetaminophen to counter the pain, leading me to wonder if all this cleansing would eventually destroy my liver.

I began to compare symptoms with the other guests – like extremely coddled prisoners of war we passed information, rumor and advice through the ranks. Finally, someone told me the staff had a special tea with a secret ingredient that would cure the headache. At dinner that night, I looked extra pathetic and begged for the tea – by now I was hoping that the mystery ingredient would turn out to be morphine. But when it arrived I saw that the secret cure was just Lipton’s tea, with caffeine. It took me no time at all to scarf it down and lick the cup clean. I stopped just short of tilting my head back and squeezing the teabag directly into my open mouth.   

Within minutes the pounding in my head began to subside. I felt the welcome rush of blood vessels opening, as the lovely familiar buzz spread through my veins.  Without the veil of pain I noticed, for the first time, how majestically the mountains rose around me. The setting sun reflected off the lake in a soft halo of light that filled me with an unfamiliar sense of well-being and peace. I took a deep breath of clean mountain air and savored the delicious irony: by polluting myself - just a bit - I had finally found my bliss.

Image: Olly L