Australia’s most beautiful yoga retreats

By Leah Dobihal

Yoga is a powerful way to feel calm and rejuvenated, and there's nowhere better to breathe deeply than in Australia's stunning nature. Here are a few of the country's most beautiful yoga retreats to truly unwind.

Strike a pose in Victoria’s high country

The charming town of Daylesford in Victoria’s Great Dividing Range has been a place of healing and wellness since the 1860s. Drive just 1.5 hours from Melbourne to sink into one of the town’s loveliest spas, Samadhi Retreat. Here, you'll embark on a journey to become your better self through yoga, spa treatments and organic meals. After a day of wellness, spend the night in luxury accommodation.

Retreat to the blissful Byron Bay hinterland

Byron Bay, a divine beachside locale in northern New South Wales, is considered the centre of alternative culture in Australia. Gaia Retreat & Spa is the perfect retreat if you'd like to be surrounded by green nature and easily escape to the seaside. Yoga is an integral part of the retreat packages here, with a 90-minute morning session the perfect way to begin your day. 

Breathe deeply by Western Australian waters

Yoga retreats offer many attractions, but few can match the glorious beachfront location of Western Australia’s Injidup Spa Retreat in Yallingup, a three-hour drive south of Perth. Each of the ten villas at Injidup has uninterrupted views of the Indian Ocean, along with a private plunge pool. Book in for a one-on-one yoga lesson, then practice your salute to the sun with the ocean as your background.

Stretch out at The Kangaroo Island Health Retreat

Kangaroo Island is a small patch of paradise just a 35-minute flight from South Australia’s capital, Adelaide. The wellness packages, nutrition lectures and massages at Kangaroo Island Health Retreat will have you feeling grounded, and let's not forget about the therapeutic joy of seeing kangaroos, koalas and Australian sea lions in their natural habitat.

Try the warrior pose in Tasmania

Just a 20-minute drive south of the Tasmanian capital of Hobart, the seaside suburb of Margate sits in the northern reaches of the magnificent D’Entrecasteaux Channel estuary system. Here you’ll find Harmony Hill Health Retreat, which specialises in the ancient Indian healing practice of Ayurveda. Ayurvedic treatments on offer include abhyanga (massage), shirodhara (where warm liquid is poured onto your forehead) and nasya (nasal therapy). 

Find your balance in the balmy Northern Territory

It's not just the yoga that will nourish your soul at Balance For Life retreat, a 1.5-hour drive from Darwin. Wide open spaces, glowing sunsets and empty stretches of sand all contribute to a getaway that will have you reconnected to nature and yourself. Check out yoga packages that range from single-day workshops to multi-day nature immersions.

Salute the sun on the Gold Coast

The Gold Coast might be Queensland’s most glamorous stretch of coast, but its hinterland is an altogether quieter place. Hidden away in the Tallebudgera Valley, a 40-minute drive southwest of the beaches, is one of Australia’s most famous lifestyle retreats, Gwinganna. Enjoy unspoilt bushland as you participate in a selection of classes, each focusing on a different yoga practise (including Hatha and Iyengar yoga).

Take a yoga tour in Margaret River 

The four-day Yoga Glamping Adventure from Perth is a true wellness getaway. Blending everything ‘self-care' – from yoga and glamping to gin tasting and hikes – into one deliciously rejuvenating weekend, this is the crème de a crème of well-balanced retreats. Unlike most yoga retreats, on this trip, you’ll get to practise yoga in a host of jaw-dropping locations. Think SUP yoga at the dreamy Meelup Beach, Yin Yoga in the Margaret River hills, and Hatha Yoga and meditation on the shores of the Indian Ocean.