Pick your Bali yoga retreat: Ubud, the coast or teacher training

Start early in Ubud and the day falls into an easy order: yoga on a terrace above the rice paddies, a healthy breakfast, then a walk into town past women carrying piles of fruit offerings to the temple. On the coast the same practice moves to a platform above the ocean, often at sunrise. Bali holds both, plus a quieter west among gardens and greenery. Which one you pick shapes the week more than the style printed on the timetable.

Yes. Bali has a strong retreat culture, with numerous multi-day yoga retreats and drop-in classes in the busy towns. Its volcanic mountains, terraced rice fields and beaches suit the open-air shala, a roofed hall with open sides where most classes here happen.

The range of classes is the draw. Hatha holds postures at a steady pace and is the usual first door for beginners. Vinyasa links postures to the breath in a flowing sequence. Yin holds passive postures for minutes, and Ashtanga is a set series practised in the same order every time. The Yoga Barn in Ubud alone runs more than 100 classes a week across six studios, including Ayurveda, breathwork and healing sessions, according to Indonesia Travel, the national tourism site. Drop-in classes are priced well below northern European rates, so topping up a retreat with an extra class is easy.

The island also gives the practice a setting. The local philosophy of Tri Hita Karana, harmony between people, nature and the spiritual, gives a class here a cultural depth that is hard to find elsewhere. Hiking trails close to the shalas make a good active rest day. Bali suits a yogi who wants to practise daily with a culture around the mat. The catch is the heat, which makes an outdoor session feel close to hot yoga. Traffic in popular areas such as Ubud can also stretch a short ride to class.

Base yourself in Ubud for the jungle and the most classes, on the coast for the sea and a social evening, or in the quiet west for silence. Pick one, because Bali's traffic makes it hard to commute between them. Our page on yoga in Bali is the place to compare stays once you have chosen.

Ubud sits in the central part of Bali, and its name comes from the Balinese word ubad, medicine, after the medicinal plants that grow here. It is the island's focal point for yoga, with numerous retreats and classes in Hatha, Vinyasa and Yin. Rest days write themselves: the Tegalalang rice terraces in the morning, the Campuhan Ridge walk when the afternoon cools, a swim at Tegenungan Waterfall or an hour in the Ubud Art Market. The town is small and hilly, so walk it or hire a bicycle, and stay outside the centre if you want to wake to the sound of the fields.

For a retreat stay, Fivelements Retreat Bali, Ubud in Abiansemal is rated 9.0 / 10 by guests. COMO Shambhala Estate in Payangan is a 5 star estate rated 9.7 / 10. Ubud suits a first retreat, and a solo yogi who wants a full timetable and company at every class.

The coast trades rice paddies for the ocean and cliffside terraces. Canggu stretches between Kerobokan and Echo Beach, with beach bars, black sand and surf at Berawa and Echo Beach for anyone in the group who wants waves after class. Serenity Yoga on Nelayan Street teaches power and aerial yoga, Samadi Bali specialises in Ashtanga, and the Samadi Sunday Market near Echo Beach sells organic produce and baked goods. In Seminyak, Prana Spa Bali runs daily Sivananda, Hatha and Vinyasa Flow classes in air-conditioned, mosquito-free studios, and in Sanur, Power of Now Oasis has an ocean-view studio with free classes.

In Canggu, La Reserve 1785 Canggu is adults only and rated 9.9 / 10 from 193 reviews. Kalapa Resort and Yoga retreat is a yoga resort in its own right. On the Nusa Dua coast, Paradisus by Meliá Bali is a 5 star resort. The coast suits friends and couples who want sunsets, cafes and an evening out after the last class.

Inland and to the west, the days get quieter. Gokul Yoga Bali sits inside Shanti Toya Asram in Mengwi, surrounded by greenery, and runs retreats, individual classes and teacher training courses. In Tabanan, Ulaman Eco Luxury Resort is a 5 star resort rated 8.9 / 10 from 512 reviews. This side suits a couple or a yogi who wants silence and long sits more than a busy timetable.

Book a retreat holiday if you want to practise and rest, and a teacher training if you want to teach. The days look nothing alike. A retreat holiday mixes daily yoga with meditation and wellness. It leaves time for the Campuhan walk or a waterfall swim. Drop-in classes in Ubud and Canggu let you add a style your retreat does not teach. A holiday suits beginners, couples and friends at mixed levels, since nobody is graded.

A teacher training is study. Yoga Alliance, the membership body that registers yoga teachers and schools, describes its RYT 200 (Registered Yoga Teacher) as the foundational 200 hour training in techniques, philosophy, anatomy and ethics, and says most new teachers begin there. The RYT 500 is a 500 hour training that goes deeper into teaching method, sequencing and advanced practice, and the E in E-RYT marks teachers who have met extra teaching requirements. Every one of these trainings runs at a Registered Yoga School (RYS).

In Bali, Gokul Yoga Bali in Mengwi holds Yoga Alliance registrations at 200 and 300 hours, according to Indonesia Travel. The Yoga Barn in Ubud keeps three of its six studios for retreats and trainings. A training suits a yogi with a steady practice who wants to teach or to study the method properly. Before you commit, look the school up in Yoga Alliance's school directory and ask how the hours are split between practice, anatomy and philosophy.

The best time for a yoga retreat in Bali is the dry season, April to October, when outdoor shalas stay usable and the most retreats run.

Bali's best months for a yoga retreat are April to October, the dry season named by Indonesia Travel and the island's peak retreat season, with the widest choice of programmes and fewer interruptions to outdoor practice. The wet season covers November to March: humidity rises, heavy rain can turn paths to mud and fewer retreats run, though the quieter atmosphere suits a yogi who wants space. Temperatures barely move through the year. In the Open-Meteo record for 2016 to 2025, average daily highs stay between 26.8 °C in July and 29.3 °C in November, and lows between 21.0 °C and 22.9 °C. Rain is the difference: December averages 28.5 days with some rain and June 20.8, so even the driest month brings showers. Indonesia Travel adds that a warming climate has made the seasons less predictable, so a covered shala and a morning timetable matter in any month.

The table below gives theKlub's month-by-month climate for Bali: the average daily high and low and the days with rain.

Two dates move a plan. Nyepi, the Balinese Day of Silence and New Year, falls on 8 March 2027: for 24 hours nobody goes out, transport stops and the airport closes, so do not plan to fly that day. Treat it as a day of stillness in your room, with the wifi still on. The BaliSpirit Festival, a celebration of yoga, dance, music and healing in Ubud, runs 22 to 25 April 2027, opening with a community day and a free party.

The dry months suit a first retreat and anyone set on outdoor practice. The wet months suit a yogi who likes the island green and quiet, with an indoor studio as the backup for sudden showers.

Check your passport, visa, arrival card and Bali's tourist levy before you fly, then your retreat's small print. For British passport holders, the UK government's travel advice sets out the rules:

Then the mat. Book retreats months ahead for the dry season, when spaces fill quickly, and ask whether mats and props are provided, since some studios expect you to bring your own. Choose morning classes while the air is coolest, and leave time for the traffic in Ubud and other popular areas.

For a retreat in Europe, read our guide to yoga in the Algarve.

Sri Lanka is the other big name for yoga in Asia: read our guide to a yoga retreat in Sri Lanka.

A good week in Bali comes down to three choices made in order: the base, the kind of retreat, the month. Ubud gives you the most classes, the coast the sea, the west the silence; a holiday lets you rest, a training asks you to study. For more places to practise, see the other yoga holidays with theKlub. Start by picking your base and your month on our Bali yoga destination page, then shortlist two retreats there.