Finding Affordable Yoga Retreats: Tips for Budget-Friendly Travel

Finding your zen shouldn’t come at a hefty price. Yoga retreats are no longer just a luxury travel experience; with an ever-growing number of budget-friendly trips on offer across the globe, you can fine-tune your practice abroad for less than you might expect. Therefore, here are our tips on how to make sure the cost of seeking enlightenment doesn’t harsh your mellow, wherever you unroll that mat.

Look for a Good Value Destination

Step one: identify a destination where your money goes further before you narrow down the hunt to a particular retreat. Start your research with the sites of low-cost airlines, working out where they fly and the cheapest time to go. Moreover, the most popular yoga destinations in the world can come with a surcharge, so consider going somewhere a bit different instead. Set on Asia? Try Nepal or Cambodia instead of Thailand or the Maldives. Based in the US? Why not look at Texas or Colorado rather than California or Hawaii?

Embrace the Outdoors

Choose a destination that provides plenty of free or cheap outdoor activities that reconnect you with nature, such as wild swimming, coastal walks, wildlife spotting, and meditation in the wild. For instance, set in the forests of Sweden, Shambala Gatherings offers free use of bicycles, canoes, and floating saunas. The traditional lodge and the vegan kitchen run by volunteers keep you sheltered and nourished while being surrounded by nature. For more adventure, remote bases with inexpensive local transport can provide a balance between the calm of yoga and the excitement of exploration at a good price. Atlas Kasbah, a traditional Berber fortress in Morocco, offers mountain biking and hiking between yoga sessions.

Double Up with a Combo

If you’re trying a retreat for the first time or your companion isn’t keen on committing to yoga poses around the clock, consider a combo trip. Many places now offer yoga in combination with other activities, such as language learning, cooking classes, or photography workshops. This option not only serves as two trips in one but can also provide ways to learn a new skill. Moreover, this dual approach might allow discounted rates or greater availability, ensuring a variety of activities without the added costs of additional transport from your accommodation. Yoga combined with surfing, for example, is popular in destinations like Bali and Portugal.

Find Affordable Digs

There are various platforms available to discover budget accommodations. For example, BookRetreats offers an array of yoga-friendly lodging options. Additionally, consider temples with basic facilities aimed at all zen-seekers, similar to those listed on the Korean booking site Temple Stay. Local yoga, meditation, and Buddhist centers can also be found worldwide. Notably, New York is increasingly becoming a yoga hub. Moreover, regions known for backpacking, such as Byron Bay in Australia and Ubud in Bali, are hotspots for affordable retreats.

Save on Shopping

As you will primarily wear your yoga attire during the retreat, there’s no necessity to splurge on new clothes. While those new-season leggings may be tempting, you can likely manage with your existing wardrobe aside from perhaps a swimsuit for swimming between sessions and a couple of warmer layers. Additionally, when it comes to yoga equipment like mats, blocks, straps, and bolsters, seek out studios that provide everything you might need. It’s always a good idea to ask questions beforehand, as reputable organizations should be more than happy to clarify what is offered.

Get More Involved

Another way to save money while enhancing your experience is by participating in the retreat through hands-on activities. Helping with communal cooking, cleaning, gardening, and general volunteering allows you to connect deeply with the yoga philosophy of service without breaking the bank. Moreover, services such as Workaway offer opportunities to volunteer at retreats, and organizations like Eco Yoga Villages combine yoga with the work involved in organic farming and community assistance, primarily in South America.

Do-It-Yourself Retreats

Consider organizing your retreat by gathering a group together and planning the details yourself. By building a trip from scratch, you can establish a well-defined budget and potentially avoid additional marketing costs. Furthermore, the larger the group, the greater the potential savings. Visiting a yoga center for guidance can aid in your research, and delegating extra activities, such as hosting sketching sessions or leading hikes, can further reduce your expenses.

This article was first published on Oct 17, 2018, and updated on Jun 20, 2022.