This New Year’s Eve, Kristi Soomer won’t be sipping champagne or worrying about who she’ll kiss at midnight. She’ll be surfing in the Dominican Republic.

Soomer, a 34-year old Toronto resident, is heading south for Swell Surf Camp, a surfing and yoga retreat. It’s not the first time she’s gone to a fitness retreat specifically scheduled for the start of a new year, either; two years ago she went to a Costa Rica yoga and surf retreat that began on New Year’s Eve.

“I’m single, and over going out to clubs for New Year’s,” she said. “However, I also am not ready for those boring expensive galas that adults start to attend after 35. I wanted to do something fun and different that would be replenishing for my body, mind and spirit.“

Lots of retreats cater to people like Soomer who want healthier New Year’s celebrations, or are hoping to get a jump start on their 2015 resolutions.

Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Massachusetts, offers Jumpstart to a Healthier Life, a five-day health-focused bonanza that includes workshops, lectures and private consultations on fitness, nutrition and stress management.

“We offer this program at various times throughout the year, but find that having one around the start of the new year is always successful, as people are especially focused on adopting new habits,” said Canyon Ranch spokeswoman Meredith Ford.

Ford said the program can be used for weight loss, but it also caters to people who want to improve their overall health. And she said the fact that participants travel to Canyon Ranch and isolate themselves within the program makes change easier for them.

“Participants not only learn about the latest wellness research, they’re given the opportunity to begin practicing these strategies for healthy living,” she said.

The New Year, New You special at the Westin’s Grand Central hotel in New York City prescribes cold press juices and loans out New Balance gear to guests. Its 3,000 square-foot fitness center is also open 24 hours a day.

Colleen Senters, Westin’s Grand Central’s general manager, said the package is available through the spring, but is most popular in January: “We hope guests who book the package feel energized from the experience.”

Other retreats focus more on mental health. In the Catskills, the Tibetan meditation center Menla’s five-day New Years Eve Yoga & Meditation Retreat can teach meditation, to beginners or reinforce veterans’ existing practices.

Sharon Salzberg, one of the teachers, says the program is very popular because it’s held at the start of the new year.

“Instead of fixating on changes you feel you need to make in yourself, you can enjoy more fully just being yourself,” she said. “Out of that space of self-care and compassion, we articulate possibilities and form aspirations rather than creating the typical self-punishing resolves we may be used to. A lot of people are looking for celebrations that are meaningful, and can be both sober and filled with delight.”

Salzberg said while participants enjoy meditation, prepared meals and massages at the spa, they often form bonds with each other, partially because they’ve all chosen to spend new year’s in an unconventional way.

“A very beautiful community often forms of people who might not have known each other before but have similar values,” she said.

There are also many new year’s retreats that take participants outside the United States. Rugged travelers can join BikeHike Adventures’ Costa Rica to Coast, which involves biking, hiking, kayaking and whitewater rafting to trek from one side of Costa Rica to the other. Or travelers can go all the way to India for the Sacred Temple Vinyasa Retreat.

Sometimes checking out of the usual New Year’s Eve ritual can be harder than a traveler thinks. Last year, New York City resident James Pearson, 47, had planned to go to a friend’s party, but then it was canceled. So he booked a yoga retreat at Maya Tulum Wellness Retreat & Spa in Mexico.

“I was relaxed but spent way too much time on the phone on New Year’s Eve with people calling from New York City,” he said. “The main reason I went was to put the phone down, but the moment we landed the calls started. Great sun and the Yucatan Peninsula will change you, but I have never done that again.”

Soomer, the yoga and surfing enthusiast, was able to disconnect during her new year’s retreat in the Dominican Republic. And the trip led to an even bigger life change. She was working full-time as a management consultant while also trying to run her own business.

“Going on the retreat was an opportunity to tune into my body and learn techniques to cope with extreme stress,” she said.

When she returned from the trip, she said, “I felt empowered and in control of my emotions and stress. I knew I wanted to leave my job in 2014 to be a full-time entrepreneur, and the retreat helped me solidify that decision.”

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.