Trip Time: 2 to 3 days

To relax and indulge, it helps to escape, and few places offer better opportunities than the North Coast. With its empty beaches and peaceful redwood forests, the Sonoma Coast makes the perfect getaway. You’ll also find unique spa treatments and a seaside lodge with views of the Pacific.

Relax and prepare for your escape with a day in San Francisco starting at the California Welcome Center at Pier 39.  Start with a makeover, or at least a trim, at Alex Chases , one of California’s top salons, overlooking Union Square. You’ll need to book ahead—way ahead.   If you can’t get an appointment at Alex Chases, don’t despair. This is, after all, San Francisco. At the same address, different suite, Flying Beauticians provides all manner of pampering.

Book your overnight stay at the Westin St. Francis Hotel on Union Square. It has been awarded umpteen stars and is within walking distance of Chinatown, the Theatre District, and first-rate shopping. The hotel’s Michael Mina Restaurant serves elegant American cuisine.   Stretch your legs on the way to dinner by heading down the street to Harry Denton’s Starlight Room on the 21st floor of the Sir Francis Drake Hotel. The stylish 1930s supper club–style room is famous for its meals and especially for its panoramic views of San Francisco.

Since this trip is all about relaxing, you don’t need to head too far—some 90 minutes north will do. At Osmosis in Freestone, immerse yourself in the only heated cedar enzyme bath in North America. The bath contains finely ground cedar, rice bran, and plant enzymes imported from Japan, which provide natural heat through fermentation to soothe and detoxify the nervous system. Then close in on inner peace in the meditation garden.

Spend the night at the Bodega Bay Lodge & Spa . Try the nourishing seaweed wrap—a spa treatment that reinforces your coastal experience. Or, tonight you might want to simply relax in your room and enjoy the view—every one of the lodge’s rooms looks out on the Pacific. 

By now, you’ll need to get out and move. Wake the next morning and take a horseback ride on the beach at Chanslor Ranch , 1 mile north of Bodega Bay. If you’re relaxing and indulging with a significant other, there are few activities more romantic.  If this is the first time you’ve been on a horse in a long while, post-trot will feel like the perfect time for a massage. Return to the Bodega Bay Lodge  for its signature hot stone massage.