This Island Nation Was Named the Most Relaxing Destination on Earth

Usually, the name of the game on vacation is to find a little peace from your day-to-day life, a spot to unwind, and time to just sit back and relax. But, simply put, some destinations are better suited than others for relaxing. If you need proof, just look to Book Retreats’ Holiday Relaxation Report.

The holiday booking site published its report that aimed to answer the question: where can travelers still find genuine peace and quiet? To find the answer, the team first created a seed list of 76 destinations, then analyzed each based on their “safety, solitude, serenity, nature, and wellness.” The rankings, it added, “drew from nine individual data points, including percentage of protected area, forest coverage, crowd density, noise and light pollution, peacefulness, and total wellness experiences.” It then gave each destination a score of one to 100, which then unveiled the 25 most relaxing holiday destinations to visit in 2025.

After putting in all this work, the team named Australia its top spot for chilling out.

“Australia leads this change, topping the index at 73.8 out of 100,” the report revealed. “As the most relaxing vacation spot for 2025, Australia offers what crowded European destinations have lost: space to breathe.” 

As the report noted, Australia has escaped much of the over-tourism experienced by other destinations, ensuring plenty of space for everyone.

“While Italy struggles with tourism overflow, Australia hosts 50 million fewer annual visitors across an area 25 times larger,” it stated. “Adding in locals, this translates to just 3.4 people per square kilometer, compared to 198.3 in Italy and 626 in Mauritius — the most crowded destination in the report.” 

The study also highlighted Australia’s spectacular natural spaces, which are also well-protected, so travelers can continue to enjoy them for generations to come.

“Australia, New Zealand, Austria, and Botswana all preserve nearly 30 percent of their country, including numerous national parks, wetlands, marine areas, and forests,” it noted. 

As for other top spots to make the list, Book Retreats named Canada as its No. 2 most relaxing destination thanks to its plentiful space, noting there are just 3.9 people per square kilometer. Canada is also North America’s only destination to make the top 25. It was followed by Iceland, Finland, New Zealand, Austria, Sweden, Estonia, Norway, and Portugal, rounding out the top 10.

See more about all the relaxing destinations at bookretreats.com.