The quest to discover the fountain of youth has inspired travellers for centuries. It motivated Dan Buettner, an American National Geographic fellow, to crisscross the globe for two decades, gathering insights from the world’s longest-living centenarians. Buettner identified five regions that stood out for having communities with remarkable longevity and vitality and coined them Blue Zones. His research spawned seven books, the most recent – The Blue Zones Secrets for Living Longer – published in 2023, as well as the 2023 hit Netflix docuseries, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones.
The Blue Zones buzz, combined with best-selling books like Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Peter Attia, cult science and longevity podcasts like Huberman Lab from Stanford University neuroscience professor Andrew Huberman, have been a boon for wellness travel. According to the Global Wellness Institute, wellness tourism reached $651 billion in 2022 and is expected to hit $1.3 trillion by 2025.
Blue Zones-inspired trips and retreats have emerged as one of the biggest travel trends of 2024. But will travelling to one of the original Blue Zones really help us live longer healthier lives? Buettner and other experts weigh in.
What is a Blue Zone?
Blue Zones are geographically defined areas where people statistically live longer without disease. This designation was originally given to five regions:
Ikaria, Greece
A tiny Aegean island where residents live eight to 10 years longer than Americans, have half the rate of heart disease and almost no dementia.
Loma Linda, California
This Southern California community of Seventh-day Adventists live as much as a decade longer than the rest of us.
Sardinia, Italy
The mountainous eastern Ogliastra and Nuoro provinces boast the greatest concentration of male centenarians in the world.
Okinawa, Japan
The oldest women in the world reside on this island.
Nicoya, Costa Rica
This 80-mile peninsula has the world’s lowest rates of middle-age mortality and the second-highest concentration of male centenarians.
“Only about 20 per cent of how long a person lives is determined by genes,” says Buettner. “The other 80 per cent is determined by lifestyle and environment. Those factors add around eight years of additional life expectancy.” Buettner’s research revealed that all five regions fall in middle latitudes with temperate climates, are geographically remote and tend to be hilly. Residents of these longevity epicentres largely share nine lifestyle habits, which he calls the Power 9. They are:
- Move naturally: The world’s longest-living people don’t own Pelotons or pump iron. They forgo mechanical conveniences for yard and housework, tend gardens, and do a lot of walking, usually uphill.
- Purpose: Having a reason to wake up every morning is worth up to seven years of extra life expectancy, says Buettner.
- Downshift: Even Blue Zone residents experience stress, but they have daily stress-busting routines ranging from happy hour (Sardinia) to praying (Loma Linda).
- 80 per cent rule: Okinawans recite a 2,500-year-old Confucian mantra before mealtimes, reminding them to stop eating when their stomach feels 80 per cent full. Dinner is the smallest meal of the day for these communities and is eaten communally in the late afternoon or early evening.
- Plant slant: Meat is a condiment and beans are a staple in meals.
- Wine at 5: With the exception of Loma Linda, all communities drink alcohol moderately and regularly with food and friends.
- Belong: All but five of the 263 centenarians Buettner and his team interviewed belonged to a faith-based community.
- Loved ones first: Keeping ageing parents or grandparents at home or nearby, committing to a life partner, and devoting time to children were priorities in all five regions.
- Right tribe: Social networks of long-lived people support healthy behaviours.
Can you travel to the Blue Zones?
You can visit the Blue Zones but Buettner cautions they haven’t all remained utopias of wellbeing. Since receiving their designations in the early aughts, many of these regions have been transformed by access to modern conveniences and the Western diet. In fact, Okinawa has since been delisted. Buettner blames the proliferation of fast food restaurants and freeways for Okinawa’s degeneration, which has led to high rates of obesity and diabetes.
Over-tourism is also a concern. On a recent trip to Costa Rica, I noticed an entire section of the airport was promoting the country’s Blue Zone and selling Blue Zone products. Costa Rica aside, Buettner notes that the comfort and convenience we often seek on vacation is typically lacking in these destinations, which will deter many travellers. “People living in these communities consider talking to their neighbours entertainment,” says Buettner. “They aren’t on cell phones and most don’t have TVs.”
The reason to travel to these communities is to immerse yourself in the slower, simpler pace of life and experience the factors that contribute to longevity, such as diet and social connection. You’ll likely learn some lessons that you can adopt back home.
Dr. Connie Tompkins, an associate professor of exercise science at the University of Vermont, took students to a longevity retreat in Ikaria last summer and plans to return with another group this July. The island has one mountainous, winding road, and it took over two hours to drive the 30 miles from the airport to the hotel, she says. There were some complaints about having to walk one mile uphill to dinner in the heat, but overall, the students had profound takeaways from witnessing the local lifestyle.
Dinner might last hours. No one was on their phone. The fish they ate was caught that day and produce was harvested from local gardens. There was a strong sense of community and connection. Upon returning to the U.S., Tompkins asked the students to reflect on the experience and they collectively said they felt a sense of peace. They never experienced the anxiousness or stress they felt back home in Ikaria.
Dr Walter Willett, a Blue Zones advisor and chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard University School of Public Health, believes retreats rooted in Blue Zones Power 9 principles can be just as valuable as visiting the actual regions. Pioneering wellness sanctuary Kamalaya in Thailand has developed a Blue Zones retreat rooted in plant-slanted meals inspired by these regions’ traditional diets, natural movement, and other Power 9 lifestyle habits. Andaz Costa Rica Resort at Peninsula Papagayo is offering a six-day Blue Zones retreat in summer 2024 that explores the secrets of regional centenarians. And Modern Elder Academy will host retreats at its Baja California Sur, Mexico and Santa Fe, Mexico campuses this year.
Tips for visiting Blue Zones
If you do travel to a Blue Zone with hopes of gaining longevity wisdom, Buettner says you need to be willing to get off the beaten path. “The real Blue Zone effect can be found in the dusty mountain villages most tourists blow right through,” he says. “It might require talking to people in another language and going into local homes for meals.” Buettner believes the biggest takeaways are:
- Slow down.
- Put your devices away.
- Take time to have a conversation with your neighbour.
- Eat what you can grow in a garden.
- Notice how relaxed you feel walking through a Blue Zones village compared to a busy city.
- Eat more beans. Buettner considers them the single most powerful longevity food.
How to visit the Blue Zones
Here are some expert tips for visiting the Blue Zones, including dishes to seek out, suggested by Dr. Nyree Dardarian, director of the Center for Nutrition & Performance at Drexel University in Philadelphia, who recently visited Ikaria with her students.
Nicoya, Costa Rica
“The Nicoya Peninsula is the gateway destination for the Blue Zones,” says Buettner. “You can stay at a nice hotel, eat healthy food, practice yoga.” Buettner recommends travellers base themselves in the coastal town of Nosara, which is one hour away from the closest official Blue Zone villages like Hojancha and Nicoya, located in the mountains.
Dish to try: Gallo pinto (rice and beans) for breakfast.
Where to stay: Buettner recently hosted a Blue Zones retreat at newly opened Silvestre, a nine-residence, health-minded property steps from four-mile-long Playa Guiones in Nosara. He also recommends Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel in Nosara, which has a fantastic surf programme, an on-site mountain bike centre, and opportunities for custom-guided tours of nearby Blue Zone communities.
Sardinia, Italy
The first Blue Zones region ever identified consists of a cluster of villages on Sardinia's eastern side, home to ten times more centenarians per capita than the US. The village of Seulo is home to the highest concentration of centenarians. Travellers will find great hiking, climbing, and family-run restaurants featuring the catch of the day and fresh produce.
Dish to try: Minestrone soup with cannelloni beans, red and white.
Where to stay: Buettner books the 12-room, family-run Nascar Hotel located 150 feet from the beach and less than 20 miles from the nearest Blue Zone. The closest resort area, Costa Smeralda, is about two hours north and home to amenity-laden resorts such as Petra Segreta on the coast and Cortis Antigas and Stazzo Lu Ciaccaru, both two hours inland in the countryside.
Ikaria, Greece
This rocky outcropping in the Aegean has maintained a trapped-in-time feel despite being just over a two-hour ferry ride from the party island of Mykonos. Of all of the Blue Zones, this is Buettner’s personal favourite because of the welcoming people, gorgeous beaches and excellent hiking. One in three residents live to their 90s due in part to their Mediterranean diet and other habits like regular naps and domino games with neighbours.
Dish to try: Hummus, made from scratch with garbanzo beans.
Where to stay: Buettner is a regular at Thea’s Inn, a five-room family-run spot in the northwestern village of Nas, perched above one of the island’s prettiest beaches. The inn offers Blue Zones cultural immersion experiences throughout the year. He also recommends the accommodations at Karimalis Winery, another family-run location on a working vineyard that offers cooking classes.
Okinawa, Japan
Although delisted as an actual Blue Zone, Buettner still believes there are lessons to be learned from visiting Okinawa, particularly from the local diet and strong social networks. The prefecture consists of more than 150 islands, many of which are home to beautiful beaches, hiking trails and waterfalls.
Dish to try: Okinawans eat soybeans twice a day. Get your fix from edamame or tofu.
Where to stay: Buettner likes to hole up at the 17-room Fusaki Beach Resort on the island of Ishigaki. Hoshinoya Resort faces golden sand beaches on the main Okinawan island of Naha and offers a special Blue Zones package.
Loma Linda, California
Buettner suggests taking a day trip to this Seventh-day Adventist community located one hour east of Los Angeles. He credits their strict, faith-based lifestyle of 24-hour Sabbath, no drinking, no smoking and a vegetarian diet for their longevity.
Dish to try: Pop into the Loma Linda Market and order the Popeye smoothie, a combo of spinach, kale, pineapple, apple and banana, from the juice bar.
Where to stay: Palm Springs is 50 miles southeast and is part of the Blue Zones Activate initiative, which aims to make residents healthier. Base yourself at Life House Palm Springs, a mid-century desert hideaway, or just outside town at a health-focused luxury retreat, Sensei Porcupine Creek.