See The World's Top Treehouse Resorts

What I remember most from watching Peter Pan as a kid was one whimsical aspect—Never Never Land. The kids living up in small huts in the trees, the sounds of Macaw’s just outside the flap door and the sounds of ship horns—a reminder of human life—off in the distance.

An escape from real life was really the point of Never Never Land after all. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to say “I don’t want to be a part of civilization today. So I’ll hide up in this tree…”

As a grownup there would be repercussions for doing that too often, but that’s what paid vacations are for. So spend yours in one of these Tree House Resorts around the world.

For The Hippie In You

Cedar Creek Tree house is located just ten miles from Mount Rainier National Park. This nature retreat offers complete seclusion, with only one tree house available to guests. So be sure you go with someone you get along with because there is no one to hang out with in the Cedar Tree next store.

Within the rustic tongue and groove siding and wall-spanning windows of the cabin runs a giant tree trunk coming up through the floor and running through the roof.

You need to be craving a removal from all things Civilian, as there is no shower or television here and the Tree house runs on a small solar powered system.

Other aspects that sing of Hippie: the Stairway To Heaven, a slightly intimidating 82 foot spiral staircase that winds around the trunk of a Cedar Tree and takes you to the quirky Rainbow Bridge. Take a deep breath, pop a Valium, whatever you need to do before crossing the swinging (yikes!) plank bridge that leads you to the 100-foot high octagonal observatory. From here you can scan the Nisqually valley, some mountain goats and hikers on neighboring peaks

A Tropical Trance

If you prefer the sound of waves to Billy goats, the Costa Rica Tree House Lodge situated in the famous Punta Uva Beach in the region of Limon might be where you go for your wooded-property adventure. The Resort features 4 houses—The Tree House, Beach House, Garden House and the Beach Suite. Our focus, of course, is the Tree House.

Photo: Costaricatreehouse.com
You know those Charmin commercials with the cute bear doing “his business” in a tree trunk? You could be that bear! The toilet is actually nestled inside a 100-year old tree growing through the bathroom. You’ll find the showerhead just around the other side of the tree.

Appropriate for the property’s sustainable efforts, all houses are made from fallen trees and recyclable materials.

Mingle with the locals who meet daily at 4pm to play Volleyball on the beach or enjoy snorkeling and kayaking in the crystal clear waters. Walk into town to visit the Bribri Indigenous Reserve, the Manzanillo Wild Life Refuge or go zip-lining through the Caribbean rainforest.

Little House On The (French) Prairie

From the tropical heat of the Caribbean to the sweet countryside of Normandy, we move on to Perche Dans Le Perche Natural Park, just a 2 hour drive from Paris and from the coast of Normandy.

Photo: Claire Stickland

The only aspect that hints of a resort is the picnic basket breakfast delivered to your terrace every morning. Other than that, this Tree House lodge makes little intrusion on nature or the centuries-old Chestnut Tree that it sits in. The grand branches of the tree wrap around every corner of the house and peak in every window. From a distance, you can’t even tell this 2-story house is there. But it is, with a master bedroom upstairs, fully equipped kitchen and bathroom and second bedroom on the lower level.

You may not be entirely alone though. This precious 25-acre garden is often visited by students studying biodiversity, or artists looking to draw from the endless inspiration of the vast countryside.

Forget The Noise Machine—Sleep To The Sounds Of A Real Waterfall

If you’re looking into Tree House Resorts then you probably feel at home with furry friends (or feathered, scaled, finned). If not, you’ll get comfortable with them at the Daintree EcoLodge & Spa in Australia. This spot, tucked beneath a waterfall, boasts 135 wildlife species and 8 wildlife habitats.

Daintree is situated in the world’s oldest living rainforest. The lodges sit atop stilts and on the edge of the river at the bottom of a waterfall.

Here you’ll have access to all the modern luxuries of an urban resort—wireless internet, a jacuzzi on the micro-screened balcony, and—as the name promises—a spa.

The signature spa treatment: the Walbul-Walbul Butterfly wrap. Cloaked in soothing mud, you’ll listen to the sounds of the waterfall while being massaged with warm oil and desert salt.

There is also an Aboriginal Art Gallery onsite and Gourmet Restaurant, but come with an adventurous palate. The hotel restaurant, Julaymba, serves up true Australian Tropical Cuisine, like Smoked local Crocodile and Kangaroo in a hibiscus reduction.