Six Australian Retreats and Day Spas to Explore

We chose these places for their settings, treatments and different ways to visit. Some need just an afternoon; others offer a longer stay.

Before you go, check each venue for current prices, treatment menus and availability. Here is what caught our eye.

1. Living Valley Health Retreat - Kin Kin, Noosa Hinterland (QLD)

Set across 145 acres in Kin Kin on the Sunshine Coast, Living Valley Health Retreat has been family-led since 1990.

You can ask about day visits or longer stays. Waterlily Day Spa also welcomes day guests for facials and body treatments using Australian-made skincare; the retreat has steam rooms and ice baths too.

2. Peninsula Hot Springs - Fingal, Mornington Peninsula (VIC)

Ninety minutes south of Melbourne, Peninsula Hot Springs draws geothermal mineral water from beneath the Mornington Peninsula into outdoor pools among coastal moonah trees.

Try an early hilltop soak or look at the Spa Dreaming Centre treatment menu. You can also find endota spas on the peninsula, where that brand began.

3. Gaia Retreat & Spa - Brooklet, Byron Bay Hinterland (NSW)

Set on twenty-five acres on Bundjalung Country in the Byron Shire, Gaia Retreat & Spa welcomes both overnight guests and day-spa visitors.

Treatments use skincare from the Northern Rivers. The property also grows produce in its kitchen gardens; ask about the current treatment menu when booking.

4. Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat - Tallebudgera Valley (QLD)

Overlooking the Gold Coast from a bushland plateau, Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat links to its Advanced Ecotourism certification. Its timber Sanctuary Spa sits among eucalyptus trees.

Stays bring together meals, time outdoors and optional spa treatments. Check the timetable if you want room for a slower day.

5. Injidup Spa Retreat - Yallingup, Margaret River (WA)

Above Injidup Beach near Western Australia’s Cape to Cape Track, Injidup Spa Retreat offers adults-only stays with a coastal view.

The Bodhi Spa has longer treatments using botanical oils, sea salts and mineral clays. Ask whether day-spa appointments are available if you are not staying overnight.

6. Floating Sauna Lake Derby - Derby (TAS)

The wood-fired Floating Sauna Lake Derby is moored on a former tin-mining lake in north-east Tasmania.

After the sauna, you can take a dip straight from the deck. Check the venue’s current session times and safety advice before planning a visit.