Yoga Holidays and Retreats
A week of morning practice, good food and nothing else to think about.
Holidays with a Passion
The best holidays often have a purpose: a week at the wheel in Tuscany, a walk across the Cotswolds, a cookery course in Sicily. Here are our guides to holidays built around what you love, with the schools, retreats and places we rate most.
Why a holiday with a passion?
Learning something new in a beautiful place is one of the most rewarding ways to travel. You meet like-minded people, see a place from the inside, and come home with a skill rather than just a tan. It also makes travelling alone easy: the group, the teacher and the shared table do the rest.
How to choose
Start with the teacher or leader, not just the venue. Check the level, the group size and how much free time there is. Think about whether a partner who doesn't share your passion will enjoy the place too. And book early: the best courses have small groups and loyal followings.
Pottery and Ceramics Holidays
There is nothing quite like the moment a lump of clay rises into a bowl under your hands.
Painting Holidays
Spend a week with a sketchbook in a beautiful place and you will see it more clearly than any tourist.
Walking and Hiking Holidays
Walking is the best way to know a place: the villages between the sights, the views you earn and the lunch that tastes better for it.
Cookery Holidays
Learn to cook a region's food where it comes from: market mornings, long afternoons in the kitchen and dinners you made yourself.
Wine Holidays
Sleep among the vines, taste with the people who make the wine and learn what makes a great vintage.
Photography Holidays
Be in the right place when the light is perfect, with a tutor beside you to help you make the most of it.
Garden Holidays
Monet's water lilies, Sissinghurst's white garden, Kyoto's moss and maples: great gardens are among the most rewarding places to travel.