From a 10-day nutrition reset and Dermapen exosome facials to 10,000 daily steps, weights and nine hours of sleep, this is the Sydney wellness routine I return to after weeks of travelling.
I love travelling, but there is no pretending that long-haul travel is particularly kind to the body. Weeks of airports, fine dining and restaurant reviews, hotel breakfasts, late dinners, Champagne, disrupted sleep and changing time zones eventually show up somewhere, whether it is in my energy levels, my skin, my sleep or simply the feeling that my normal rhythm has disappeared.
So when I return to Sydney after an extended trip, I create what is effectively my own personal wellness retreat at home. I don’t disappear into a clinic for a week or embark on an extreme regime. Instead, I return to a series of habits and treatments I know work for me: clean food, no alcohol, plenty of walking, weights, early nights, serious sleep and one of my favourite skin treatments.
Having travelled through some of the world’s leading wellness destinations, I still believe Australia — and Sydney in particular — is one of the best places in the world for true wellness. The access to fresh food, outdoor exercise, highly trained skin professionals and a lifestyle that makes movement relatively easy means my post-travel reset can begin almost from the moment I arrive home.
It is the only place in the world i have found so far where at 530am, the beach (Bondi Beach) is packed with people working out, from surfers to walkers, joggers and meditators, it is a haven of trranquil wellenss and positive energy.
I Start With the 10-Day Benson Detox
The first thing I often return to is the 10-Day Benson Detox, although I think of it less as a conventional “detox” and more as a very structured nutritional reset. What appeals to me is its simplicity. For 10 days, I know exactly what I am doing, and after weeks of restaurant menus and irregular eating, there is something incredibly reassuring about that.
The program centres on whole foods and temporarily removes alcohol, caffeine, dairy, gluten, refined sugar and processed carbohydrates. It includes recipes and meal guidance, while the guided version also connects participants through a private WhatsApp group with daily support and accountability. For me the what’s app group is the highlight as I connect with people all over the world and there is real support there – photos, shared challenges and a community of authenticity and kindness.
That WhatsApp element makes a surprising difference. You are not simply handed a list of foods and left to negotiate it alone; there is a sense that you are doing the 10 days alongside other people, with questions, encouragement and practical advice available throughout the program.
For me, removing alcohol and coffee is particularly important after travelling. Within 10 days, I usually feel noticeably fresher, cleaner and more energised, and it also breaks that holiday habit of assuming every dinner requires wine or every morning needs to begin with several coffees.
Then I Repair My Travel-Weary Skin
My second post-travel ritual is a visit to Fabienne Rich at The Facial Room in Bondi Junction. Fabienne is a dermal clinician with more than 20 years in the skin and aesthetics industry, and her approach combines clinical skin treatments with a much more personal understanding of what individual skin actually needs. But more importantly, she is a beautiful person and knows and understands skin.
After flying, my skin can feel dehydrated, dull and inflamed, so one of my favourite treatments is Dermapen microneedling with DermapenWorld exosome skincare. The Facial Room offers Dermapen exosome treatments, while DermapenWorld’s professional MG-EXO-SKIN formula combines exosomes with ingredients including hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, zinc, vitamins, peptides and amino acids for use alongside professional microneedling.
I love the visible result — my skin looks brighter, more hydrated and more alive afterwards — but what keeps me returning is that the experience itself never feels purely clinical. Fabienne manages to combine a serious skin treatment with the restorative elements of a beautiful facial, including hand and back massage, so I leave feeling as if I have had a genuine pause rather than simply another appointment.
For me, that matters. Wellness is not only about chasing a result. Sometimes the hour or two not looking at a phone, answering an email or thinking about the next flight is part of the treatment too.
I Walk at Least 10,000 Steps Every Day
For the first two or three weeks after returning home, I make 10,000 steps a day a priority. It sounds almost too simple to qualify as a wellness strategy, but walking is one of the fastest ways for me to reconnect with normal life after weeks spent sitting on aircraft, trains and in cars.
Sydney makes this easy. Walking around the eastern suburbs, in Balmain, along the harbour or simply building movement into errands gives me fresh air, daylight and a reason to be outside without turning every session into a punishing workout.
I still do weight training four or five times a week, but that is not specifically part of my post-travel reset because I try to maintain it wherever I am in the world.
Most luxury hotels now have gyms that make this relatively straightforward, and keeping strength training consistent while travelling means I am not starting again every time I come home.
I Stop Drinking and Start Sleeping
This may be the least glamorous part of the routine, but it is probably one of the most important. When I return from a long trip, I stop drinking alcohol, go to bed early and aim for around nine hours of sleep.
Travel has a way of making poor sleep feel normal. Dinner runs late, a flight leaves at an absurd hour, jet lag, and before long five or six hours begins to feel acceptable. Once I am back in Sydney, I deliberately reverse that pattern.
For the first few weeks, I am happy to sacrifice late dinners and social events if I need to. There will always be another restaurant and another glass of Champagne. There is something enormously luxurious about waking naturally after a long night’s sleep and realising the body is finally operating in the correct time zone again.
Why Sydney Is My Favourite Wellness Retreat
I have experienced extraordinary spas, medical wellness programs and retreats across Europe and Asia, but coming home repeatedly reminds me how fortunate Australians are when it comes to everyday wellbeing.
Sydney has the climate and outdoor lifestyle for walking, swimming and training, outstanding fresh produce and increasingly sophisticated beauty and wellness practitioners. A destination retreat is not needed here to create a meaningful reset.
My version is deliberately uncomplicated. For 10 days I clean up my diet with the Benson Detox. I see Fabianne Rich at The Facial Room to restore my skin after flying. I walk at least 10,000 steps every day, continue weights four or five times a week, stop drinking, go to bed earlier and give myself the luxury of nine hours of sleep.
After spending so much of my life travelling through luxury hotels and wellness destinations, I have learned that the most effective wellness routines are often the ones you can actually repeat. This is mine. Every time I come home, Sydney becomes my retreat.
