Fitness vacations to help you de-stress: great ways and places to relax and rejuvenate.

Pressure is a fact of executive life. But when your system goes into overload, you need a getaway. A fitness vacation may be just the solution to bring down stress levels and send you back to your desk refreshed and renewed. Here are a few suggestions on where to go and what to do to help restore your sanity. All prices are for double occupancy accommodations.

Set on 400 lush, landscaped acres complete with waterfalls is La Costa Resort and Spa (800-854-5000) in Carlsbad, Calif., where the setting alone is almost enough to take you a world away from your cares. La Costa is known as the place to nurture your mind and body through exercise, personal fitness instruction and holistic treatments. To relieve tension, enhance vitality and induce sleep, try a melisse herbal bath or sample the natural spirulina body wrap, where warm towels soaked in the herb are wrapped around you to extract toxins, replenish the skin and relax the body.

The comprehensive eight-day/seven-night Healthy Lifestyles program for stress (and weight) management is $430 per person, per night. It includes deluxe accommodations, all spa cuisine menu meals, unlimited use of spa facilities, use of robe and spa clothing, unlimited tennis and golf (with cart), lectures, cooking classes, body composition and fitness evaluations, computerized nutritional analysis and take-home menu, personal lifestyle consultation, personal training session, and seven hours of spa/salon services.

With five tournament-caliber golf courses, 19 tennis courts, nine pools, five croquet lawns, and a 26-acre lake with a private beach, the PGA National Resort and Spa (800-633-9150) in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., hosts an array of stress-buster activities in a total sports environment. Banish tension with a round of golf or a shiatsu massage, then dine at the Citrus Tree restaurant.

During the summer season, the golf/spa plan, at $149 per night, features a deluxe guest room with balcony, either a round of golf and a daily golf clinic or a day of spa activities including massage or facial, use of the fitness center and all spa facilities along with its therapeutic "Relaxing Waters of the World" mineral pools.

Over the Labor Day weekend, September 1-5, the PGA National will host the BLACK ENTERPRISE/Pepsi Golf & Tennis Challenge. It's a chance to kick back, play a few rounds of golf or sets of tennis and spend time with old and new friends. For more information or to make reservations, call 800-543-6786.

For "city slickers" who prefer a taste of adventure with their spa experience, try the Peaks at Telluride (formerly Doral Telluride Resort and Spa; 800-789-2220) in Telluride, Colo. Amid the grandeur of the San Juan mountains (where Oprah has a home), soar high above in a hot air balloon or hang glider; or explore their rugged terrain via horseback or mountain bike. Bundle up in a slicker and waterproof boots and go fly fishing, or take a half-day whitewater rafting excursion ($55) on the San Miguel, Dolores or Gunnison rivers. Take a guided one- or two-day rock climb up Ophir Wall and Crack Canyon ($300 per day).

The resort's 42,000 sq.-ft. spa features a spectacular indoor/outdoor pool with mountain views along with a Roman mineral bath and aromatherapy steam room. The spa package costs $155 per night, per person with no minimum stay, and includes accommodations, hotel transfers, breakfast or lunch, daily 50-minute spa treatments, use of exercise equipment, aerobics classes and bike rides.

If you're looking to customize your adventure experience, Jackson Hole, Wyoming (800-443-6931), just 60 miles from Yellow-stone and five minutes from Grand Teton National Park, specializes in getaways tailored to your personal sense of adventure. Enjoy a morning of horseback riding in Bridger Teton National Forest and lunch, or an afternoon of whitewater rafting on the Snake River with dinner. If you add five nights lodging at the Rusty Parrot Mountain Lodge, daily gourmet breakfasts and car rental, the tab comes to $609 per person.

Escape the world of telephones, faxes and meetings by signing on for a three- or six-day adventure on the open sea with Maine Windjammer (800-807-WIND). Ten sailing vessels, ranging from 64 to 132 feet in length, carry 20 to 44 guests along the picturesque coast of Maine. Passengers can serve as crew and hoist the sails, man the wheel, help navigate the vessel, or if they prefer, just sit on the deck and contemplate the horizon. Each day, the ship anchors in a cozy cove along the shore where you can go on land for jogging, sight-seeing or to make phone calls--just in case you can't go cold turkey. You also sleep in cabins on board ship. Packages range from $295 to $699 per person, depending upon the vessel and length of stay, and include three meals a day.

The historic Equinox Resort (800-362-4747) in Vermont's Green Mountains offers the tranquil elegance of a bygone era. Recently renovated, the resort features indoor and outdoor pools, three tennis courts, full spa facilities and a turn-of-the-century Walter Travis golf course newly renovated by Rees Jones. Hike or ride mountain bikes up Mount Equinox or go fishing in the Battenkill River. A three-day/two-night Fun and Fitness package complete with breakfast and dinner, exercise classes, nature walks, one-hour massage or salt scrub, use of tennis courts, fitness spa and mountain bikes costs a modest $410 per person.

If the tropical breezes and white sand beaches of Maui are your antidote for stress, consider the Kapalua Villas (800-545-0018). The Sports Sampler package includes seven nights in a one-bedroom ocean view villa, three rounds of golf (sample Kapalua's famed Plantation, Village and Bay courses), unlimited tennis plus a one-hour private lesson and use of a ball machine on one of 20 courts overlooking the Pacific and the island of Molokai. Also included are a picnic snorkel sail, rental car, golf and tennis balls and a Kapalua logo visor, all for $998 per person.