Most Bali retreats are sold on the views really (infinity pools, rice terraces, a sunset from the yoga deck etc). They’re all very nice to look at but that's not why people come home changed. What actually changes you is who you spend the week with.
Firefly Retreat have been operating in Ubud since 2013 and are very much based on the concept that you arrive on your own, but you won’t be for long.
Ask someone what they remember from a retreat and the room is almost never mentioned. It's the people at the dinner table on the second night that they'll talk about. The conversation that just kept going and going. The person they still message a year on.
Most places will treat the guests as separate bookings who just happen to share a pool. At Firefly the group is the point.
Every week at Firefly it's Sunday to Saturday. Everyone comes in together and everyone leaves together. You don't have anyone walking into a group that's already bonded and you don't have anyone spending the first three days trying to work out who's who.
By Tuesday you know the names. By Thursday you've got the inside jokes. By Saturday you’re exchanging numbers.
Solo travel in Bali sounds easy until you’re actually doing it. The days are fine. The evenings are the bit that get you. Dinner for one, scrolling your phone, wondering if everyone else in the café is having a better trip than you.
At Firefly the majority of guests come on their own so no-one feels like the odd one out. You share your meals, you share your activities and there's always someone to sit with. You get the freedom of travelling solo without spending the week by yourself.
A week is 482 euros and that covers your accommodation, your food and all the activities. There’s no menu of extras to go through and no surprise bill on the final day. You book once and then you just show up.
That's more important than people realise. When you’re not going through the exercise of working out every add-on you just say yes.
A lot of the wellness retreats in Bali come with the promise of transforming your life in seven days. Firefly don't make that promise. It’s a place to slow down, to move your body, to eat well and to be around other people who are in the same place as you.
Some are there after a break up. Some are there because they’re just absolutely knackered. Some are just there because they wanted a week in Ubud and didn’t want to do it alone. All perfectly valid reasons.
If you’re after a yoga retreat in Bali where the people are as important as the place then have a look at Firefly and pick your week.
You're there on your own but you won’t be for long.