Yoga and Wellness Retreat at Salt Spring Centre of Yoga

The Salt Spring Centre of Yoga sits on 69 acres of forest, garden and open land on Salt Spring Island, reached by ferry from either Victoria or Vancouver. The property has been a retreat centre since 1981 and is run by the Dharma Sara Satsang Society, a non-profit organisation. Baba Hari Dass, the yogi who founded it, taught a form of classical yoga that includes asana, meditation and selfless service (karma yoga), and that combination still shapes how days are run here.

Daily life centres on a simple routine: meditation and yoga in the morning, meals taken together, and free time in the afternoon. The food is vegetarian and largely cooked from scratch, with produce coming from the centre's own garden when it's in season. Guests eat communally, which is one of the ways people get to know each other over a stay.

Programmes vary through the year. Weekend Yoga Getaways are short introductory stays. The Nature and Nurture Retreat is a themed weekend, with the 2026 edition running October 2–4 and focused on healing through yoga. Longer personal retreats let you stay for several days and join the standard schedule without a fixed programme. The centre also hosts yoga teacher training and rents its facilities to outside groups running their own retreats.

What separates this from a conventional yoga retreat is that it's a working community, not a hotel with a yoga room. Residents and volunteers live on site year-round, look after the gardens and animals, and cook the meals. Guests are invited to take part in that if they want to, but there's no obligation. The atmosphere is quiet and unpretentious — this is not a luxury resort, and the pricing reflects that.

Because the centre runs on donations and programme fees as a non-profit, the facilities are comfortable but simple. Rooms are in shared or private configurations, bathrooms are typically shared, and there are communal spaces for practice and meals. Wi-Fi is limited, which most guests treat as part of the point.

What's included

- Accommodation in shared or private rooms - Daily yoga asana classes - Daily meditation sessions - Three vegetarian meals per day - Evening satsang (chanting and discussion) - Use of the 69-acre property, gardens and trails

What's not included

- Travel to and from Salt Spring Island - Ferry fares - Travel insurance - Personal expenses and island excursions - Toiletries and personal items