5 Best Fitness Retreats: Ibiza, Mallora & Mauritius
Ever flown home from a holiday feeling more depleted than you did when you left? Now that we can (whisper it) make travel plans with some confidence, consider booking a sunshine escape that will actually rejuvenate you, physically as well as mentally. There’s something for everyone in Vogue’s list – even the erstwhile ravers. (From the after-dinner games to the fancy dress box, there’s a party vibe at The Body Camp, even if the only thing in the champagne flutes is fizzy kombucha.) Read on for our edit of the best fitness retreats to book into in 2022.
Read more: The Best Weekend Breaks In The UK
Paola’s Bodybarre
Paola Di Lanzo is Australian, but she’s responsible for many of the well-honed limbs that occupy the booths in south west London’s ritziest brunch spots. After decamping to Britain in the late ’90s to work as a PT in Knightsbridge, Di Lanzo took up Pilates while pregnant with the first of her three children. She was so impressed with its effects it inspired what became her Paola’s BodyBarre method – now the regimen that countless similarly yummy mummies swear by.
If you’re a barre novice, why not ease yourself in by squeezing and pulsing in surroundings that are significantly more appealing than a studio? Paola’s Bodybarre has teamed up with the Maltese Tourist Board for a springtime escape to Malta’s sister island of Gozo. As well as all that toning, you’ll get to take in the stunning Blue Lagoon in Comino; tour Valletta, Malta’s pretty capital, and explore the prehistoric Ġgantija Temples – which are older than the Pyramids. Plus: there’ll be sunset picnics and wine tasting, because balance is key.
The retreat will run from 9 to 13 May and costs £2,040
The Body Camp
You could find yourself chatting to a member of All Saints over your chia breakfast bowl at The Body Camp, which is a magnet for celebrities, fashion PRs and editors in search of a pre-summer mind and body reset. Based out of a gorgeous villa in rural Sencelles, Mallorca (there’s an Ibiza outpost too), The Body Camp’s programme incorporates a genuinely delicious plant-based menu – portions will depend on whether your goal is fat loss, fitness maintenance, or muscle gain – and an eclectic timetable of workouts: you could be running laps of the estate, doing resistance work or flipping tyres from one day to the next. You’ll go offsite too, for hikes, bike rides (save some energy for the return trip to the hilltop villa), and beach swims, all in the most glorious surroundings. In the evenings, join an optional yoga session, chill by the pool, book one of the (fabulous) spa treatments, or just face-plant on the bed in your perfectly rustic room.