South Tyrol, Italy

Fifteen spa hotels have opened in the South Tyrol in the past year. The latest is the Hotel Gartner, featuring lots of wood, stone and steel - a contemporary take on the traditional Alpine chalet. Like spas the world over, the marketing blurb is utter tosh. "Turn into a dreamer, a thinker, a globetrotter, a pearl diver, an explorer, a sportsman, a loafer, a gourmet," the website says. Marketing puff aside, this is a good location with fab views and reasonably priced rooms.

· 0039 0473 923414, hotelgartner.it. Rooms from €81pp half board. Treatments start at €32 for a back massage. Suedtirol.info. Ryanair.com and thomsonfly.com fly to Verona. Then 1hr 45min drive.

Lake Puhajarv, Estonia

In a dreamy setting next to Lake Puhajarv, a 14th-century manor house has been transformed into a glassy modern spa. There are traditional treatments for joint pains and muscle problems, alongside reiki and oriental massage therapies. There's a big indoor pool, saunas and Jacuzzis that look out on to the forest and lake.

· 00 372 7665 500, pyhajarve.com. Weekend package for two inc massages plus four other treatments, B&B, one lunch and entry to the local nightclub, costs £161pp. Flights to Tallin with Easyjet.com. Then take a train to Valga.

Dalarna, Sweden

The UK's youth hostels have smartened up in recent years, but none can compete with the eco mountain station in Dalarna, among rolling mountains near Sweden's border with Norway, where Nature Travels runs spa and hiking breaks. As well as the basic rooms and dorms, the base has modern en-suite doubles and a spa with sauna, Jacuzzis, aromatherapy massages and alternative therapies. Organic herring, salmon, local elk and moose mean that meals surpass the usual hostel fare.

· 01929 463 774, naturetravels.co.uk.Four-night spa packages from £264pp, including 30min treatment and a class. Fly to Gothenburg with Ryanair.com, then take a train or bus.

Valle de Vida, Spain

This small, family-run yoga retreat and spa 30 minutes from Malaga in the mountains of Andalucía offers a range of complementary medical treatments, including osteopathy, acupuncture and deep-tissue massage. Accommodation is in a beautifully restored Andalucian finca, or in tepees. Other selling points include a steamroom beside the pool, a hydrotherapy pool and a yoga platform at the highest point of the 18-acre resort.

· 00 34 951 238 614, valledevida.com. Retreats from £380 per week full board including use of spa and classes. Fly to Malaga with Easyjet.com.

Graubünden, Switzerland

Situated in Switzerland's prettiest canton, Graubünden, with miles of mountains and lakeside scenery, the designer Hotel Schweizerhof boasts the largest hammam in the Alps, and has pared-down Scandi-style interiors with wood furniture and panelling, pine floors, thick rugs and grey blankets. All the usual spa offerings - sauna, gym, massage, ayurvedic and beauty treatments - are here.

· 0041 813 85 2525, hotelschweizerhof.com. Two nights' half board including hammam and two treatments around £400pp. Fly to Zurich.

Roman waters, Portugal

Set among rolling hills in the Serra de Monchique, this spa resort uses water from eight natural thermal springs which have been known as the Sacred Waters since Roman times. Four of the springs produce mineral water rich in bicarbonate, sodium, fluorine and silicon. Nearby, five restored buildings have been turned into accommodation.

· 00 351 282 910 910, monchiquetermas.com. Doubles from €90 a night. Treatments from €15. Fly to Faro with Thomsonfly.com.

Hvalfjordur, Iceland

Along with geysers, leftfield pop and drinking, Iceland's natural hot springs have made it an international superstar. On this spa trip to Hotel Glymur in Hvalfjordur, guests gently poach in a geothermal hot tub on a mountainside. Holistic breaks, organised by Icefusion, may include a trip to the Blue Lagoon, to a sweat lodge, and sightseeing.

· 00 354 430 3100, hotelglymur.is, icefusion.eu. Five nights £880pp, including half board, daily sightseeing and access to the spa. Fly to Reykjavik with Icelandexpress.com.

Bad Gastein, Austria

Hoteldorf Grüner Baum backs on to the Hohe Tauern national park in the Austrian Alps and is made up of five houses scattered across a 70-acre valley. This is proper Heidi territory, and the chalet is in keeping with the scene, with its cute wooden rooms and hand-painted beds. In the spa, Japanese Shiseido treatments are combined with Bad Gastein's famous healing thermal waters; plus there's a range of traditional Tyrolean treatments, such as a detoxifying roll in the Gastein hay.

· 00 43 6434 2516, hoteldorf.com. A week's half-board in summer, including three treatments, guided hiking and walking, and breakfast in the hotel's mountain cabin costs from €800pp. Fly to Salzburg with Ryanair.com.

Zell am See, Austria

A musicologist helped to design the "Blue box" at the Mavida Balance Hotel and Spa near Zell am See. You lie on a curvy space-age chair while light and vibrations bring you to the "alpha state" of relaxation. If that doesn't float your tank, there are mud packs and a purifying treatment using goat butter. Sounds a bit farmyard but it's all done in style, with cool cream interiors and a spotlit swimming pool. Outside, there's mountain hiking, summer skiing in Kaprun and swimming in Zeller See lake.

· 00 43 6542 5410, mavida.at. Rooms from €90 per night. Massage from €30. Fly to Salzburg with Ryanair.com.

Mountain retreat, Greece

A cool mum and her two arty daughters run the Vaela Pallas Cultural Resort and Spa on Pieria mountain near the town of Elatochori, with views of Mount Olympus. The 17 rooms have distinctly non-Greek themes - English, Aspen Colorado and Sixties. After horse riding, trekking or canyoning, the spa's Jacuzzi, hammam and sauna beckon. Treatments involve chocolate, honey and cream - try to avoid licking them off.

· 00 30 23510 82955. Vaelapallas.com. Doubles from €80 per night. Fly to Thessaloniki, then 1½hr drive.