Bali Yoga Retreat: 8 Days of Vinyasa by the Rice Fields

You fly in and meet the group at the villa near Ubud on the first afternoon, with the first class that evening and dinner afterwards. The next six days follow the same rough shape: a 90-minute vinyasa class at 7am in the open-air shala, breakfast, then either free time or an excursion, then a quieter yin or restorative class at 6pm before dinner. There's a rest morning midweek with no class.

Classes are taught by the studio's own instructors, who teach across its Malta timetable and its teacher training courses. You get hands-on adjustments, and if you've got an arm balance or inversion you're stuck on — crow, headstand, that sort of thing — there's time to work on it in the afternoon sessions. The morning classes are physically demanding; the evening ones are not, and are mostly floor work and long holds.

The excursions are the standard Ubud ones done properly: the Tirta Empul water temple, the Tegallalang rice terraces at first light before the coach parties, and the Monkey Forest. There's also a half-day cooking class where you make a few Balinese dishes with the villa's cook — nasi campur, lawar, black rice pudding.

Food is vegetarian, cooked at the villa three times a day, with fruit and coffee out from 6.30am. The pool and the garden are yours between sessions, and the villa is a 15-minute walk from the Ubud market if you want to go into town. Some people go to a spa in the afternoon; others sit by the pool and read.

It's a yoga holiday rather than a boot camp. Nobody will mind if you skip a session, but if you come expecting to lie on a beach all day you'll be in the wrong place — Ubud is inland, in the hills, and there's no sea nearby.

What's included

- 7 nights at a private villa near Ubud - Three vegetarian meals a day at the villa - Daily vinyasa, yin and restorative yoga classes - Arm balance and inversion workshop - Tirta Empul temple excursion - Tegallalang rice terraces excursion - Balinese cooking class - Airport transfers on arrival and departure - Mats, blocks, straps and bolsters

What's not included

- International flights to Denpasar - Travel insurance - Visa on arrival fee - Spa treatments and massages - Meals outside the villa - Alcohol and soft drinks - Optional Monkey Forest entry - Personal shopping and souvenirs