Summer in Santorini, Greece
Combine yoga and Greek sunshine with a holiday on Santorini, the southernmost of the Cyclades islands, staying in whitewashed houses at a boutique hotel with pool outside the village of Oia. There are two daily classes for all levels with warm, encouraging teacher Louise Gillespie-Smith, who balances creative, breath-led flow with gentle, mindful yin. An optional 10-mile hike is included, and guests are also able to enjoy sailing, sea kayaking and wine-tasting if they wish. Louise also leads holidays in the UK and French Alps.
• From £795, with breakfast and three evening meals, 29 June-6 July, adventureyogi.com
Boutique retreat, Ibiza
Splash out on a special Stillness and Alignment retreat on the White Isle with Lara Stapleton, who teaches gentle but powerful classes, designed to bring guests back to balance. Based in two villas surrounded by olive groves and pine trees, not far from Santa Gertrudis, the beautiful location is complemented by delicious, nourishing vegetarian meals. As well as twice daily yoga, massages, wellbeing workshops, guided walks and healing sound baths are also included. Other Ibiza options with Chaya Retreats include an organic detox retreat in May and a “sacred sexuality” week in September.
• From £1,331, 5-12 October, chayayogaretreats.com
Ocean views, Ireland
On the Wild Atlantic Way, the Cliffs of Moher Retreat has views of the Atlantic from the glass-fronted yoga studio, alfresco hot tubs, a sauna and great vegetarian food from its organic gardens. Options include yoga and hiking weekends, with 14km of walking along the dramatic cliffs. There are four yoga and meditation classes with teacher Michelle Moroney, as well as massages and time to explore the area. Shannon is the closest airport.
• Connect to Nature Yoga and Hiking weekends run regularly, dates include 8-10 March 2019, from €390 all-inclusive, cliffsofmoherretreat.com
Remote mountain, Portugal
Nineteenth-century manor house in the foothills of the Algarve’s Serra do Caldeirão has been converted into the brand new Wild View Retreat by yogi and nutritionist Andrew Finlay and his wife Erika. Guests can expect yoga and mindfulness classes, guided walks and nutrition talks and demos, as well as three nutritious vegetarian meals a day. Or they can opt for a juice fast and nutrition detox retreat to rest the digestive system and boost the immune system, with a juice and soup diet (plus all the usual activities). Faro is the nearest airport.
• Various dates year-round, seven nights’ from €850 in a triple room, wildviewretreat.com
Desert bolthole, Spain
On the edge of Cabo de Gata national park in Almeria and close to its wild coast, Huzur Vadisi Yoga Retreats is now hosting holidays in what was a stylish, bohemian family home. The main house is strikingly modernist while the outlying farm offers more traditional accommodation, and there are two natural swimming pools fed by springs. Among several options in 2019 is Gerry Kielty’s week of dynamic and restorative yoga (7-14 June). Expect great food too – and a dazzling landscape of mountains and semi-desert. It’s wonderfully isolated but within walking distance of a traditional village.
• Various dates, a week from £895, huzurvadisi.com
Med world, France
Practise yoga in a beautiful villa surrounded by vineyards and mountains 20 minutes from St Tropez in the south of France, with Value Your Mind. Run by former mental health nurse and wellbeing guru Nathalie Kealy, there are two yoga classes a day, plus guided walks to hilltop villages, excursions to the beach and wine-tasting sessions. Groups are small so there’s plenty of personal attention – plus there’s a swimming pool and hammocks for downtime and three healthy Mediterranean meals a day included. Weekend retreats are also offered in the UK.
• 13-17 June, from £500, valueyourmind.com
Weekend retreat, New Forest
Nova Milesko’s yoga retreats – held regularly in a converted barn on a farm near Lymington in the New Forest – offer expert tuition and value for money. Over a weekend she packs in 10 yoga, workshop and meditation sessions, with a focus on flowing vinyasa complemented by slow yin (all optional). Vegetarian meals use organic fare from the gardens. Accommodation ranges from basic dorms for four to kingsize doubles.
• Various dates, two nights from £290 in a dorm, novamilesko.com
Running and yoga, Devon
Yoga is the perfect compliment to running – stretching and strengthening key muscles – and the Yoga and Wild Running Retreat hosts three-night breaks that combine the two at beautiful locations in Devon. Stay in a secluded farmhouse on the edge of Dartmoor (1-4 February) or at the High Nature Centre on cliffs overlooking Gara Rocks near East Portlemouth (5-8 July). Expect three guided runs and two daily yoga classes, plus talks on running and training with expert Ceri Rees.
• Three night breaks from £290, wildrunning.co.uk
Ayurveda and yoga, Madeira
The Alpino Atlantico, a boutique clifftop hotel in the south of Madeira, 14km from the capital, Funchal, specialises in Ayurveda treatments and has daily yoga classes. The hotel is set amid tropical gardens and all 24 rooms (and three suites) have balconies with sea views. It is part of the Galo Resort, which has saltwater pools, watersports and a spa.
• DIY retreats can be booked through the Healthy Holiday Company, from about £625 a week for yoga, plus £250 for optional Ayurveda programme. Alternatively, Destination Yoga is running two retreats there this year with two yoga classes a day. From £995pp for a week full board, 6 August (intermediate and advanced yogis) and 13 August (all levels), destinationyoga.co.uk
Beachfront yoga, Mediterranean
Sardinia Yoga runs yoga breaks at four-star beachfront hotels in Sardinia, Croatia and Mallorca – the Hotel Mlini in Croatia has a yoga deck right on the beach. The company is based at each hotel for several weeks, so guests can arrive on any day and stay for as long as they like (minimum three nights). There are two teachers at each venue, leading gentle and more dynamic classes. A two-hour class each morning is included in the price, and there are optional afternoon classes (€10 each), but this is more of a holiday than a full-on retreat, with plenty of time to relax by the pool and in the spa, or go out exploring.
• From £330pp for three nights B&B, dates vary: Mallorca 30 March-28 May and 28 Sept-3 Nov, Sardinia 17 May-28 July and 23 Aug-29 Sept, Croatia 24 May-21 July and 23 Aug-13 Oct, sardiniayoga.com
