8 Day Yoga Retreat with Faye Fenton in Thalpe, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Yoga Retreat
Relax in paradise in an incredibly beautiful beach house on the south coast of Sri Lanka. Located near a sea turtle hatchery, which you will visit during the retreat, the property is right on the seafront with a reef-protected beach outside that offers a fascinating world for those wishing to explore the rock pools for tropical fish, crabs, and shells. A short stroll to the left takes you to a swimming lagoon, and a five-minute tuk-tuk ride in the other direction finds you at the main Thalpe Beach. On this retreat, they have included a boat trip on nearby Koggala Lake where you will see lots of local wildlife and visit small islands and secret coves.
Meet the instructors
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Highlights
- Experience a full week of yoga classes
- Enjoy a full-body massage and a trip to a nearby turtle sanctuary
- Have an optional whale-watching tour on a private boat
- Daily delicious, healthy, and fresh local cuisine for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner
- Picnics prepared by a local chef for those wishing to spend the day exploring
- 7 nights accommodation
- Airport transfer
Skill level
- Beginner
- Intermediate
- Advanced
Yoga styles
Accommodation
The lovingly restored beach house has six bedrooms, extended living areas, a large pool, five wonderful staff members to attend to your every need, and the beach at the end of the garden. Furnished throughout with a blend of antiques and modern art, and furniture sourced from across Asia, the house is designed to offer stylish yet relaxed beach living.
The property consists of 2 main wings. The first has three double rooms and a twin room, all with spacious en-suite bathrooms, elegant four-poster beds, and either pool or panoramic ocean views. In the second wing is a further double bedroom, a bedroom with two double bunk beds, and a large shared bathroom featuring a freestanding bath. All bedrooms have air conditioners and overhead fans.
There is Wi-Fi throughout the house. The downstairs living area opens onto the tropical garden to make the most of the spectacular ocean views and warm Sri Lankan climate, while the expansive upstairs sitting and games area is the perfect place to retreat and watch a movie, play cards, or immerse yourself in a great book.
Program
The experienced and inspiring instructor, Faye Fenton, will guide you through an energising morning Yoga Flow class, with an emphasis on feeling good and finding freedom. You’ll wake up those tighter bits of the body, strengthen the muscles, and let go of anything that might be holding you back. The practice will focus on linking breath with movement, whilst improving flexibility and strength. The evening classes will take on more of a wind-down vibe, with gentle movement, longer-held ‘Yin’ postures, easy meditation techniques, pranayama, Yoga Nidra, and deep relaxation to ensure a restful sleep.
Included excursions
- A trip to the local Koggala lake
- A trip to a nearby turtle sanctuary
Instructors
Faye Fenton
Faye discovered yoga when she was pregnant with her first child, back in 2005, and immediately fell in love. This ancient discipline somehow felt like an incredible balm for her slightly chaotic, busy life (she was running a restaurant at the time). Fast-forward 18 years, and yoga still soothes Faye’s mind and empowers her spirit in much the same way. Faye is the founder and owner of the UK studio, Barefoot Birmingham Yoga, and mainly teaches Slow-Flow; a mindful mix of Vinyasa Flow and Hatha yoga.
Retreat location
Relax in paradise in an incredibly beautiful beach house on the South coast of Sri Lanka. Located near a sea turtle hatchery, which you will visit during the retreat, the property is right on the seafront with a reef-protected beach outside that offers a fascinating world for those wishing to explore the rock pools for tropical fish, crabs, and shells. A short stroll to the left takes you to a protected swimming lagoon, and a five-minute tuk-tuk ride in the other direction finds you at the main Thalpe Beach.
The beautiful beach house isn’t far from the train station in Thalpe. Once you have booked, Bluerise Retreats will give you the exact address and other useful information before the start of your retreat.
This Yoga Retreat is vegetarian-friendly
Click to see more vegetarian-friendly Yoga Retreats
Food
The quality of the food on this retreat is very important to them. You will enjoy delicious, healthy Sri Lankan meals lovingly prepared with fresh local ingredients by the wonderful chef to complement the retreat perfectly. The food will be mostly vegetarian or vegan, but you can opt for meat or fresh locally caught fish if you so desire. They use organic and local produce where possible.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Snacks
- Drinks
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Organic
- Other dietary requirements on request
Things to do (optional)
For those wanting to explore, there is plenty to discover. You can hire a bike and cycle through the local paddy fields and rainforests, visiting temples and tea plantations. There are boat trips on nearby Koggala Lake to visit small islands and secret coves. And the UNESCO World Heritage site of Galle Fort is only a twenty-minute tuk-tuk ride away. Losing yourself in the Fort’s labyrinth of old streets is a wonderful way to spend a day.
For the more adventurous, there is the option of booking a day on safari (leaving very early in the morning as it is a long drive, but well worth it). There is also surfing and scuba diving, all nearby.
Optional extras, Bluerise Retreats can help you to organize inexpensively while you are on the retreat:
- Surfing
- Bike hire
- Scuba diving
- Safari
- Whale watching
Spa treatments
A full-body massage is included in this retreat.
What's included
- A full week of yoga classes (check the retreat schedule for detailed info)
- A trip to the local Koggala lake
- A trip to a nearby turtle sanctuary
- A full-body massage
- Picnics prepared by the local chef for those wishing to spend the day exploring
- 7 nights accommodation in a beautifully restored Sri Lankan beach house
- Delicious local cuisine: Breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinner
- Fresh healthy juices every afternoon
- Transfers to and from Colombo airport to the retreat center
What's not included
- Airfare
- Additional activities
How to get there
Recommended Airports
Bandaranaike International Airport
138 km
Transfer included
Arrival by airplane
The closest airport to the retreat center in Thalpe (or Talpe) is Colombo. Locally known as Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB). There are plenty of flights to and from Colombo / Bandaranaike. It is recommended that you sign up with Scott’s Cheap Flights for free for info on last-minute deals and cheap mistake fares to Colombo and lots of other airports around the world. Once in Colombo, you’ll find yourself in a regular-looking and decent-sized airport that is not hard to navigate. From Colombo, it is possible to get to Thalpe by train, bus, or tuk-tuk/taxi.
Arrival by train
If you would like to make your holiday an adventure, traveling through Europe and Asia by train is an incredible experience. There are various options, one being the Trans-Siberian railway. Connecting you to other train lines on the Silk Road. This way, it is possible to get the train to southern India and a ferry to Sri Lanka.
Check out the Boat Mail Express, once the Indo-Ceylon Express, for a combined train and steamer ferry service between India and Sri Lanka (once Ceylon). Connecting Chennai and Colombo, passengers can buy a single ticket for this rail-to-sea-to-rail operation. You can get a bus, tuk-tuk/taxi, or train from Colombo to the retreat center.
From Colombo to Thalpe
Getting the bus to Colombo Fort Station and getting on a train from there to Thalpe is recommended. The whole trip will take three to four hours. The bus depot is situated just outside the airport, across the road and to the left. The bus is hard to miss as it is conspicuously parked with taxis and has a sign on top of its windshield that reads “Colombo Fort.”
Please double-check with the driver/conductor that this bus takes the expressway. If it doesn’t, skip it. The buses are frequent (30 minutes), saving you an hour of travel time. Once settled in your seat, the conductor will walk up the aisle to take the fare, around 120 Sri Lankan Rupees (LKR) – which is around 50p. The journey to Colombo Fort Station is less than an hour. Having arrived at Colombo Fort Station bus depot, it’s a 5-minute walk, just across the main road and right, to the railway (check a map or ask for directions if you can’t see a sign).
There are trains every couple of hours from Colombo Fort Station to Thalpe, which costs less than 1 GBP (and takes 2.5 – 3 hours). You can check the timetables here.
Arrival by taxi
- Alternatively, you can take a taxi from the airport to Thalpe. This is the quickest but most expensive way – it should take just over 2 hours and cost 40 - 60 GBP.
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 100% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
For this organizer you can guarantee your booking through BookYogaRetreats.com. All major credit cards supported.