Where do supermodels go on holiday? From Kylie Jenner, Gigi Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski’s Balearic breaks, to Gisele Bündchen’s Costa Rican jungle escape

Brigitte Bardot and Kate Moss helped establish Saint-Tropez as the quintessential A-list getaway in decades past, while Heidi Klum and Taylor Hill put Caribbean island St Barts on the map

China’s best-known model Liu Wen took time out on the Thai island Koh Samui, while Victoria’s Secret angel Alessandra Ambrosio prefers Phuket, and Cara Delevingne calls Parrot Cay, in the Turks and Caicos, her favourite island in the world

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Raai Laxmi catches hot-air balloons at sunrise in Cappadocia, Turkey. Photo:@iamraailaxmi/Instagram

Published: 5:45am, 9 Sep 2024Updated: 2:48pm, 9 Sep 2024

Fashion shows and photo shoots take models to an array of glamorous locations – from Milan to New York, Zanzibar and Bora Bora – but where do the catwalk queens and cover stars go when they need some downtime?

Thylane Blondeau in Saint-Tropez. Photo: @thylaneblondeau/Instagram

France’s first supermodel, Brigitte Bardot, propelled Saint-Tropez to fame in the 1950s after the film And God Created Woman was shot locally. Seven decades later, the glitzy Mediterranean resort town continues to attract beautiful people, who arrive on luxury yachts, shop in designer boutiques and party late into the night. British fashion icon Kate Moss is a frequent visitor to the French Riviera hotspot, as is former American Victoria’s Secret angel Taylor Hill. Another Saint-Trop devotee is French model and actress Thylane Blondeau, who leapt into the limelight in 2006, when, at the age of six, she was hailed as “the most beautiful girl in the world” by Vogue Enfants.

Hill is also a fan of the exclusive Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy (St Barts), which has long been a bolt-hole for celebrities and supermodel royalty. German Heidi Klum, who has strutted her stuff for the biggest names in the fashion industry, chose the French overseas territory for a holiday last month while Australian model and organic skincare company founder Miranda Kerr has been known to stay on after photo shoots.

Liu Wen on holiday in Nanning. Photo: @liuwenlw/Instagram

In an interview with Tatler Asia, China’s best-known model, Liu Wen, says she doesn’t usually have time for summer holidays, so she was pleasantly surprised when her team organised a “really special” trip to the Chinese cities of Nanning, Chongqing and Ordos. So surprised, in fact, that she didn’t know where she was going until she was presented with a ticket on arrival at the airport. Another destination that holds fond memories for Liu is Koh Samui. She enjoyed a two-week holiday on the Thai island with her parents and close friends in the 2010s.

Alessandra Ambrosio at a beach resort in Phuket, Thailand. Photo: @alessandraambrosio/Instagram

Former Victoria’s Secret angel Alessandra Ambrosio is also a Thailand convert. The surfing supermodel from Brazil “found paradise” on the island of Phuket earlier this year and took to Instagram to rave about the beaches, crashing waves and lush palm groves.

South African supermodel Candice Swanepoel poses on holiday in Brazil. Photo: @candiceswanepoel/Instagram

Talking of Brazil, another former VS angel, Candice Swanepoel, now 35, can’t get enough of the laid-back South American country she first visited aged 17. The South African, who counts ballet as one of her hobbies, considers the land of soccer and samba to be her favourite vacation nation. She gushed to Harper’s Bazaar, “I just love the Brazilian culture, the food, music, lots of happy people, beaches and palm trees.”

Fellow African Behati Prinsloo’s preferred holiday destination is the city where her modelling career took off. The wife of Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine has a deep affection for Cape Town – Prinsloo grew up between the Table Mountain city and neighbouring country of Namibia, although she now lives in Los Angeles. The global ambassador for the Save the Rhino Trust (Namibia) says of Cape Town, “I have a very special place for it in my heart and it’s gorgeous.”

In 2023, Hungarian model Barbara Palvin married Hollywood actor Dylan Sprouse in a ceremony attended by more than 100 guests. It’s no surprise she chose to tie the knot at her parents’ estate, near Budapest, having described the Hungarian capital as her favourite city in an interview with Vogue France. Another place close to Palvin’s heart is Tokyo, which she says is “like a totally different universe”, adding, “If you haven’t been you must go!”

Bianca Balti has also been wowed by Japan. A 10-day trip left a lasting impression on the Italian ramp model, renowned for her Dolce & Gabbana campaigns. She told Grazia magazine, “It was a dream. The food was amazing and it was so different to everywhere else I’ve been.” Balti plans to buy a summer house but wants to travel a lot more before deciding where, adding, “Until I’ve seen the whole world, I won’t settle down.”