5-Day Yoga and Wellness Escape in Ubud, Bali

The day starts at 07:00 with a 90-minute vinyasa class in the shala, which has a wooden floor and looks out over the garden. Breakfast is served at 08:30 — fruit, eggs, toast, coffee and tea. The rest of the morning is yours until the 16:00 afternoon class, which is either yin, restorative or a workshop on a specific pose or breathing technique, depending on the day.

Dinner is at 18:30, cooked on site. The menu changes daily but usually includes a vegetarian main, a fish or chicken dish, rice and a vegetable side. One evening includes a Balinese cooking demonstration where guests help prepare the meal.

What separates this from the dozens of other Ubud yoga weeks is the size. The guesthouse has four rooms and the retreat takes a maximum of eight guests, so the teacher knows your name and your injuries by day two. The shala is not shared with other groups.

The lead teacher, Ayu Kartika, has been teaching since 2012 and trained in the Sivananda style in Kerala before returning to Bali. She teaches in English and Indonesian, and runs the morning vinyasa and most of the afternoon sessions herself.

Ubud itself is a 15-minute walk or a short scooter ride away, with the market, the palace and plenty of warungs. The guesthouse sits on a quiet lane off Jalan Raya Sanggingan, surrounded by rice fields. You will hear frogs at night and roosters in the morning — this is not a silent resort.

What's included

- 4 nights' accommodation - Breakfast and dinner daily - Two yoga sessions per day (morning vinyasa, afternoon yin/restorative or workshop) - One 60-minute Balinese massage - Balinese cooking demonstration and dinner on Wednesday - Use of the pool and yoga shala - Free Wi-Fi

What's not included

- International and domestic flights - Airport transfers - Lunches - Travel insurance - Additional spa treatments - Laundry - Personal expenses