Pelan Pelan Bali

Mornings start in the water, at quieter beaches on Bali's west coast rather than the busy breaks around Canggu. The coaches pick the spot each day to suit the swell and the group, and there are never more than two students per coach. Most guests are beginners or intermediates. If you've never surfed, you learn the first steps on the sand before you paddle out, and sessions are filmed so you can go through them together afterwards.

Afternoons are slower. There's yoga in a jungle-view shala, with vinyasa, hatha, yin and restorative classes, and three hour-long Balinese massages a week are part of the package. The retreat sits among rice fields, built in traditional Joglo style, with a pool to come back to.

It's a small retreat rather than a hotel, set up for solo travellers, couples and families, and the days are unhurried. Packages run from 7 to 28 nights, and many people stay two or three weeks.