10-Day Eat, Pray, Love Retreat: Daily Yoga, Spa & Balinese Culture

Your days settle into a rhythm quickly. Between 7:00 and 7:30 you'll be on a mat in the yoga shala for a 90-minute class — vinyasa on most mornings, with a slower hatha or restorative session every third day. Breakfast is served at 9:00, usually fruit, black rice pudding, eggs, and Balinese coffee. By 10:30 a van leaves for the day's activity: a two-hour spa session at a local wellness centre, a guided visit to Tirta Empul or Gunung Kawi, or a market tour and cooking class in Ubud. You're back by mid-afternoon, which leaves two or three hours before the evening session — a 60-minute yin or yoga nidra class at 17:30, followed by dinner at 19:00.

What separates this from other yoga retreats in Bali is that the cultural side is actually run by people from the village, not outsourced to a tour company. The temple visits are led by a member of the family that owns Sun Sang, and the spa treatments use jamu recipes that the founder's grandmother used to make. You're not watching Balinese culture from a distance — you're in it for ten days.

The lead instructor is a Balinese woman who trained in Ubud and has been teaching for over 15 years. She teaches the morning classes herself and adjusts them for whoever's in the room — if there are three beginners and one advanced practitioner, the sequences are built so everyone can work at their own level. She also leads the temple visits and can explain the meaning behind the offerings you'll see on every doorstep.

The location is the other thing that makes this work. Sun Sang sits on a quiet stretch of the Denpasar–Samsam road, about 20 minutes from Ubud and well away from the Canggu and Seminyak crowds. The property is built into a hillside above a river, with rice terraces on two sides and a small pool overlooking the valley. You'll hear frogs at night and roosters in the morning — it's that kind of place.

Most guests book this as a reset after a hard year, and the schedule is built for that. There's no pressure to do every single activity; if you want to skip the afternoon spa and stay by the pool, that's fine. But the people who get the most out of it tend to show up for everything, because the combination — daily yoga, daily bodywork, and daily contact with Balinese culture — is what makes the ten days feel different from a normal holiday.

What's included

- 9 nights accommodation at Sun Sang Eco Retreats - Daily breakfast, lunch, and dinner - Daily yoga classes (morning and evening) - 3 spa sessions (Balinese massage and treatments) - 2 guided temple visits - Balinese cooking class and market tour - Cultural walk through rice fields - All retreat activities as per itinerary

What's not included

- International and domestic flights - Airport transfers (available for an additional fee) - Travel insurance - Personal expenses (souvenirs, extra snacks, drinks) - Optional additional spa treatments - Tips for guides and staff