To quote the late, great Carrie Fisher: “Take your broken heart, make it into art”. But if you’ve just gone through a painful breakup, you might be less inclined to reach for the watercolours and more motivated to flee across the sea.
Travelling after tragedy can be liberating, so we’ve compiled a collection of 10 destinations to match your post-relationship mood – from anger and loneliness to laughter and light. If you need to get over it then it will help to get away from it. At the very least, escaping to one of these places will mean crying somewhere with a more interesting view than the Tube.
Mood: It’s the end of the world
Destination: The Atacama Desert, Chile
What better metaphor for a broken relationship than the driest desert on the planet? With stretches of wind-carved sand dunes, gaping craters and bottomless cracks that split parched soil, Chile’s Atacama is the place to go to wallow in some end-of-the-world-style remorse. Check into the newly renovated hotel Explore Atacama and get reflective on a sunrise balloon ride; it’s the travel equivalent of listening to Adele’s "Someone Like You" on repeat.
Photo: Via @exploratravel
Mood: All by myself
Destination: Colombia
What to do when you’re newly single and your friends have filled up their annual leave with their significant others? Sign up to a South American adventure with El Camino Travel, an organisation that creates bespoke itineraries and rounds up solo adventurers in match-made groups of 14. Try their Colombia trip on for size – it’s a nine-day whistle-stop tour around Medellín and colourful Cartagena on the Caribbean coast. There’s even a professional group photographer included, so you can avoid the awkwardness of asking one of your new friends to orchestrate a smug post-breakup Instagram post.
Photo: Courtesy of El Camino Travel
Mood: I need a laugh
Destination: Museum of Broken Relationships, Zagreb, Croatia
Sometimes you’ve got to find a funny side. In the Croatian capital there’s a whole museum dedicated to lost love, which houses an eclectic exhibit of mementos donated by people who have had their hearts broken. Items range from the predictable – teddy bears, fluffy handcuffs, engagement rings – to the obscure – an airsickness bag and an axe. Donate something that reminds you of your ex – a T-shirt, a ticket stub, their overpriced watch that you forgot to give back – and turn the joke on them.
Photo: Via @brokenships
Mood: Crew love
Destination: Mykonos, Greece
What are friends for if not to escort you to Mykonos in your hour of need? This Greek island packs a serious punch when it comes to nightlife, and attracts party people from around the world with its line-up of DJs and dynamic views. Spend a weekend enjoying late-night dinners and partying into the small hours at ASTRA or ODE, then relocate to the sun-scorched streets and black sand beaches of Santorini for some R&R.
Photo: Via @despinaa____
Mood: Hit reboot
Destination: Zanzibar
Don’t fall into the cliché of drowning in a tub of Häagen-Dazs while watching re-runs of The Notebook; there’s no better time to get your ass in shape than after a breakup. Rather than risking awkward encounters with your ex at the gym, book into a Wildfitness retreat in Zanzibar where you’ll do warm-up runs on the beach followed by boxing sessions and cool-down swims in the sea. Closer to home you can also find Wildfitness boot camps based in London parks and the Scottish highlands. Endorphins are guaranteed to lift your mood.
Photo: Via @wildfitnessofficial
Mood: Reflective
Destination: Oaxaca, Mexico
When your relationship lies in tatters, it might help to get some perspective and surround yourself with ruins from the ancient world. Monte Albán in the Mexican state of Oaxaca is an archaeological site with a mountain-top location that overlooks verdant valleys, and was built as the centre of the Zapotec world in the 6th century BC. There is a quiet magnetism about the place that calms even the most restless of hearts. A shot of mescal and a plateful of ribeye tacos from Casa Oaxaca restaurant will help you on your way, too.
Photo: Via @sam_dixza
Mood: Ridiculous
Destination: Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
There will come a time in your healing process when you experience a surge of energy after weeks/months/(years?) of feeling low. To Las Vegas then, a city of outrageous personality types that encourages you to lose yourself, find yourself and reinvent yourself 100 times over. Here, time is measured in ‘all you can eat’ buffets and bubbling neon-coloured margaritas served out of three-foot plastic ‘legs’. How long were you together for again? God knows.
Photo: Via @vegascom
Mood: Independent
Destination: Iceland
Solo holidays are one of the biggest travel trends of 2017, and taking a trip on your own can provide an opportunity for personal growth. A land of glacial lagoons, black-sand beaches and waterfalls, Iceland is the ultimate site for intrepid travel. Spend a couple of nights in Reykjavik before pushing yourself to do something you’ve never tried before – go horse riding, bathe in thermal lagoons or hike into an ice cave. Revenge is a dish best served cold.
Photo: Via @burkgnar
Mood: It’s time to move on
Destination: New York City, New York, USA
Arguably the least sympathetic city in the world, New York has no time for whining and certainly doesn’t care about your tears. It is also home to a ferociously fast-paced dating scene and is the perfect place to get back on the post-breakup bandwagon. If you can’t face being chatted up on the Metro, in line for coffee or at a spin class – (there are no shy British mannerisms here; anything can happen) – then there’s a city full of distractions at your feet.
Photo: Via @camilleschaer
Mood: I want sexual spiritual healing
Destination: Chennai, India
The thought of being alone with nothing but the ramblings of your own mind for comfort might sound terrifying, but silent meditation can in fact help you work through uncomfortable feelings and achieve a sense of release. The Dhamma Setu centre is located amid paddy fields just outside the Indian city of Chennai, and offers a free, 10-day Vipassana course, a silent meditation practice popularised by the Buddha over 2,000 years ago. No reading material, no talking and no mobile phones.
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