Yoga Detox Retreat in the Philippines - Our Experience

"Yoga Detox retreat in the Philippines? Why the hell did you go? :) But hmmm what did you do there?" These are only a few questions we got asked after coming back from our vacation in the Philippines. With the aim to provide some answers on it and the wish to inspire you, we wrote down our thoughts and outlined our experience. 

And now for something completely different*. This time around, we decided that we would like to do something extra for our minds and bodies during our vacation, so we booked a yoga / detox retreat called Bahay Kalipay near Puerto Princesa.

* a line from an splendid show called The flying circus of Monty Python.

We had no idea, what to expect, as other than Sonja's brief yoga and healthy food stint, we haven't really committed a lot of time to that kind of lifestyle. Turns out it was quite the adventure.

One of the best things was the accommodation itself! We owned a cute bamboo house in the middle of a banana plantation with a hammock in the front! So cool! 

The food was all raw and vegan. As we don't really consume meat as it is, it was easier for us to adapt, but some guest did have some challenges with the diet. Nevertheless, the food was (at least in our humble opinion) so delicious, that I cannot really find the words to do it justice. We had a lot of different salads, cold soups (similar to gaspacho), sushi with vegetables (without fish), fruit plates, raw chocolate cakes (yummi!), green smoothies etc. 

High five to all the lovely people, who were involved in preparing it. As this was also meant to be a bit of a break from our everyday digital life, we did not carry our camera or smartphones around all the time, so we're maybe a bit short on the pictures of the actual workshops or yoga.

Our days consisted of:

1.) waking up early (sometimes even so early to catch the beautiful sunrise at the beach)

2.) oil pulling for detoxing

3.) having a morning yoga session

4.) breakfast

5.) another workshop

6.) lunch

7.) another workshop

8.) some free time plus a snack

9.) dinner 

10.) evening yoga (or yet another workshop)

11.) drinking a glass of Kombucha and Kefir for detoxing before bed

The workshops ranged from singing bowls (which are really awesome), opening chakras, inner dance, letting go to preparing coconuts :)

A special day was the so called Coconut fasting day, where you were not supposed to talk or really do anything, other than eat coconuts, take walks and meditate. It was an interesting experience and we gave it our best shot, but only made it to like noon, before the "boredom" got the best of us and we started reading books and even exchanged a word or two (don't tell anyone).

In the spare time, you can easily use WIFI (oh yes, it is available). Other than that, you can walk to the beach nearby (although not suitable for swimming), take a ride to the city, get a tattoo (a couple did it), have a massage (needs to be extra paid), read books in a cozy quiet place made just for that.. If you don't mind missing out some of the workshops, you can also do a day trip to the famous Honda Bay, Cave of Puerto Princesa etc. 

The last day was really cool as the Retreat organized a "nature trip" - to the so called Nagtabon beach, which is ca. 1 hour drive from the Yoga Detox retreat. It was a lovely afternoon, as we had the chance to spend some time on this non-touristy beach, plunge into the water, eat some delicious raw food and enjoy a romantic sunset!

For the 5-day stay, sleeping in our own bamboo cottage with all the food provided and the workshops included, we paid in total 400 EUR (plus/minus let's say). For the 3-day or 7-day stays and all other services included, please check the website of this Yoga Detox Retreat in the Philippines.

There was one thing we had a little bit of a struggle with :) In the beginning, some very spiritual people were living in this Yoga Detox retreat. Fine, nice, no worries, but it wasn't easy to have a discussion on a level we have been used to so far :) Don't get me wrong, everyone has the right to act or be as they wish but it was a bit too spiritual for us. After 2 days, some people left and some new souls came, so it became exactly the right mixture of interesting personalities, which at the end made our experience unforgettable!

Yes. We recommend it to everyone who wants to get active while vacationing. Not only that, it is good for someone who wants to calm down, relax and learn about self growth. We will definitely go again. 

What is worth mentioning here is the fact that we started to realise how cool travelling with a purpose can be! Combining trips with the aim to learn or experience something new or special has become a great added value in our lives. This time it was travelling with yoga lessons, let's see what else will come. It is a way of travelling we want to embrace in the future!

That about sums it up. We hoped you enjoyed reading and checking out the photos :)

Now, if you have another 3 minutes, check out our adventures in the Philippines, captured in a video:

Have you ever attended a yoga detox retreat? Where did you go? Let us know in the comments below!