How to Choose a Retreat Destination

Choose a retreat destination by matching the travel time to the length of your stay, then checking the season and climate for your dates, and looking closely at the property where you will spend most of the week. A four-night retreat works best within a few hours of home; a long-haul trip makes more sense for six nights or more.

Match the journey to the length of the stay

A short retreat far from home can leave you more tired than when you started. A useful rule is that the shorter the stay, the shorter the journey should be. For four or five nights, choose somewhere you can reach in half a day. For six nights or more, a long-haul destination becomes worth the jet lag.

For most of our guests in Europe, Portugal, Sweden and the Dolomites are a short flight and a transfer away, and our retreats there run for four to six nights. Bali is a long-haul trip for almost everyone, which is why our Ubud weeks are five and six nights and why we suggest flying in a day early.

How long does it take to reach each SOLARA destination?

• Costa Vicentina, Portugal: Lisbon airport is 2 hrs 15 min by road and Faro 2 hrs 30 min. Our shared shuttle leaves Lisbon Airport at 12:30 on arrival day, so plan to land by 11:30.
• Värmland, Sweden: Oslo Gardermoen is about 3 hrs by road and Gothenburg about 3 hrs 15 min. Most guests take the train to Arvika, where our minibus leaves at 16:00 for the 40-minute drive to the lodge.
• The Dolomites, Italy: Innsbruck airport is about 2 hrs away, and Venice or Munich 3–3.5 hrs. Our shared transfer meets the 13:00 train at Bolzano and guests at Innsbruck Airport at 14:00.
• Ubud, Bali: Denpasar airport is about 1 hr 30 min by road, after a long flight for most guests. Private transfers are included between 08:00 and 20:00, and you should arrive in Bali by 15:00 on arrival day.

Check the season and climate for your dates

Photos tend to be taken on the best day of the year. Before you book, look at what the weather is usually like on your dates and what it means for the programme. We only run retreats in each place during the months that suit it:

• Portugal, October to May: days of 15–22°C in autumn and spring and 12–17°C in winter, with cool evenings and occasional Atlantic rain. The sea stays cold all year, at around 14–18°C.
• Sweden, May to September: days of 15–24°C and cooler nights. In June the sun barely sets, and mosquitoes are common in midsummer.
• The Dolomites, late June to mid-September, when the high trails and huts are open: 18–25°C in the valley, 8–15°C on high ground and possible afternoon thunderstorms.
• Bali, April to October, the dry season: 27–31°C with high humidity, and short afternoon showers are still possible.

Think honestly about how you cope with heat, cold and long light. If you dislike humidity, Bali may not suit you in any month. If you sleep badly when it is light, pack an eye mask for a Swedish summer. If you want to swim every day, the cold Atlantic may surprise you.

Choose the landscape for what you want to do

The setting should support the programme, not just look good behind it. Hiking weeks need marked trails, huts for lunch and a base that understands walkers, which is why ours run from a family hotel in South Tyrol with a boot drying room. Rest and meditation weeks benefit from quiet and space, and our Swedish lodge sits on its own lake with almost no phone signal by the water. Yoga and writing weeks suit a mild climate and an easy walk to the sea, which is what the farmhouse on the Portuguese cliffs gives us. Longer yoga weeks suit Ubud, where morning practice is part of local life.

Look closely at the property

You will spend most of the week at the property, not in the views around it. Before you book, check:

• The practice space: is it covered, and are mats and props provided?
• The rooms: shared or private, and is the bathroom shared?
• How far it is to the beach, trail or lake
• Wi-Fi and phone signal, if you need to stay in touch
• Whether your group has the place to itself. We book Monte da Luz, Rumah Tirta and Sjövik Lodge exclusively. At Hotel Ciasa Lärch we reserve a block of rooms and the studio, so other guests may be staying

Think about access and paperwork

Some beautiful places are hard to move around. Rumah Tirta in Ubud is built on a slope, with stone steps between buildings and no step-free route to the pavilion. Hotel Ciasa Lärch has a lift and two adapted rooms with step-free showers. At Monte da Luz, four rooms have step-free access from the courtyard, and the main lodge at Sjövik has step-free access and one ground-floor room with an accessible bathroom. If you have mobility needs, talk to us before you book.

Check entry rules early, too. Portugal, Italy and Sweden are in the Schengen Area. Most visitors to Bali need a Visa on Arrival or e-VOA, must pay the Bali tourist levy and need a passport valid for at least six months.

When two places both fit

If you are still torn, choose the one that is easier to reach on your dates. A shorter journey leaves more energy for the week itself, and you can always save the long-haul trip for a longer break. If you would like a second opinion, send us your dates and what you are hoping for, and we will tell you honestly which of our destinations fits.