By Sangeeta Kocharekar Wellness 12.08.2026

"I Went on a DIY Wellness Retreat in Bali – Here's How I Did It"

Looking for a place to rest and reset at home, writer Sangeeta Kocharekar couldn't find what she was looking for – so she headed to Bali to design her own.

Like many, I found the idea of doing a wellness retreat appealing. Stepping away from your day-to-day to focus on bettering your mental and physical health, ideally bringing some of that newfound clarity and good habits back home.

Once I started researching retreats in and around Australia, though, realizing most of their costs didn’t even include getting yourself there, I became a little less keen.

So, I decided to go at it on my own. I bought return flights to Bali, booking my trip for nearly three weeks because I wanted to give myself enough time to get in shape and really reset. Then I sorted my accommodation, stuffed my activewear and bikinis in a suitcase and set off.

What came next was one of the best experiences of my life – one I’m sure I’ll remember vividly years from now. I sweated my way through Muay Thai and some of the best Reformer Pilates classes I’ve ever had. Treated myself to massages in the middle of the day. Plopped myself on the sand of beautiful beaches after ocean swims. And took myself – and usually one of the many books I finished while there – out to dinners at sunset.

If you, too, are keen to do a DIY wellness retreat in Uluwatu, Indonesia as I did – or even just like the idea of it but want to do it elsewhere – read on. Ahead, I’m breaking down exactly how I did it.

Food

Like how you’d do at a wellness retreat, I tried to eat healthy – lots of salads and veggies. It was easy to do in Uluwatu, where you’re spoiled for choice with open-air cafés run by talented chefs, serving the freshest fruits and veggies. Even at beach clubs, where I’d expected the food to be average, with the location making up for it, I had flavor-packed, interesting dishes. One standout I still think about is a grilled corn salad with cashews, feta and paprika at Sundays Beach Club.

One of my favorite places to eat, where I probably went eight or nine times, was Salad Lab (pictured), which has three locations. Other places I loved were Cashew Tree, Son of a Baker and Analog for coffee, and The Chai, La Baracca and Le Cliff for lunch. For dinner, I recommend The Cave for the truly unique experience of dining inside a naturally occurring cave. Head to La Terrazza, Lolita’s and Malini for a sunset and sea view, and Greek restaurant Avli on a Thursday when there’s table-dancing and napkin-throwing.

There are a couple of things to note about dining out in Uluwatu. The first is that you’ll see a wealth of restaurants called ‘warungs’. They’re locally-owned, usually quite affordable restaurants, serving Indonesian food, but some serve Western food too. Nasi goreng’s usually a menu staple.

The other thing to know is that the sun sets around 6:15 pm to 7 pm year-round. So if you want to dine at sunset, you’ll need to be at the restaurant early. I’d also recommend booking in advance as sunset’s the most popular time to eat.

Something to note is that a wellness retreat doesn't necessarily mean entirely cutting out sugar, carbs, caffeine and other in-moderation foods. Like I did, you'll probably want to sample the culinary delights your chosen destination has to offer, and that won't always be Açaí and Kefir.

Think about what the actual goal of your trip is. If it's to reset and take healthy habits home with you, your chances of continuing a nutritious streak will be higher if you listen to your body and discerningly indulge, rather than undergo a strict cleanse. If a full-on detox is what your body is calling for, do some pre-holiday research, or even chat to your doctor before you go.

Workouts

The workouts were easily the most important element of the ‘retreat’ for me. I wanted to come back looking and feeling better, and so I planned my days around when I’d exercise. Though that was my goal – your ‘retreat’ goal might be something else entirely. You might want to completely disconnect and do nothing. Or get clarity on a particular situation. The common thread is that the break from reality will likely be widely beneficial to life back home.

I bought a 10-pack of Muay Thai group classes from an open-air gym I found on Instagram, Bali Fit Corner, and also signed up for a private session with an instructor I liked there, which saw me learning the proper technique. I also booked reformer Pilates classes, trying a few through ClassPass and buying some studios’ three-classes intro packs.

I did classes at Studio Fondue, Reformer+ and Grun, which was at a resort in a studio surrounded by jungle. I also tried AMI, Bluvana and 360 Move. The teachers were all incredible, and the spaces and equipment all relatively new. I’d work out in the morning, usually a Muay Thai at 9 am and a reformer class at 11 am, have lunch at a café and then have the rest of the day to do as I pleased: swim at my villa pool, visit a beach club or get a treatment done.

Wherever you choose to do your own retreat, be sure to carve out that downtime – that’s when you can start to revitalise inspiration, take stock of your life and reflect on what you’ve been doing, deciding what new habits you want to take back home.

Bambu Fitness, one of Uluwatu’s best-known gyms, I saved for my last day. My flight back to Sydney wasn’t ‘til late at night, and so once I checked out of my villa, I needed a place to store my bags and hang out. Bambu proved to be the perfect place. I bought a day pass (no gym included, but you could add it on if you wanted) and spent the day by the pool and in the sauna, ordering a smoothie and reading, showering and washing my hair before my flight.

Treatments

You can’t go to Bali without getting a massage, particularly if you’re on a ‘retreat’. I got full-body Balinese massages at Carina and Luna, and then a few specialized treatments. At Nomads Haus, I booked a madero massage, similar to a lymphatic drainage massage but with wooden tools. And at Body Studio Bali, I tried an LPG Endermologie treatment, which saw me don a full-body suit and the therapist rolling a device over me.

On one of my last days, I visited Atmos, a recovery center with guided sauna sessions, an ice bath, regular pool and fire pit. Every so often, someone would sound the gong next to the pool, and we’d file into the standalone, hut-like sauna to lie on a wooden platform and be slapped with leaves, including chamomile, sage and eucalyptus.

I was fortunate to be in Bali where treatments are readily available and extremely affordable, but if your ‘retreat’ is elsewhere where they’re not, I’d recommend pampering yourself in a way that’ll give you similar results. You could buy a body oil from a local pharmacy and take your time, slathering it on after a shower. Or you might buy a face mask or sheet mask. There’s something to be said about taking the time out of a day to tend to your body.

Accommodation

I stayed at two villas and a homestay, which is a local family-run lodging. I debated moving to another part of Bali, like Ubud or Canggu, but once I started to buy class packs for fitness studios in Uluwatu that I wanted to use in full, I decided against it. And Uluwatu had more than enough newness to explore. I’d definitely recommend staying put for your own ‘retreat’, as moving around takes time and brain power away from whatever your goal might be.

Full disclosure: I do some freelance travel writing, so was able to work with Airbnb’s PR on organizing the two villa stays for the purpose of me doing reviews. Both were two-bedroom, with their own pools that I used daily and kitchens (that I didn’t touch – too many great food options out). One of the villas cost only $230AUD a night, which, if you split with another person, works out to $115. They were both a 15-minute walk away from the nearest café, but Grab or Go-Jek rides cost just $1-3AUD, or you could rent your own scooter.

The homestay cost just $40AUD a night. I had my own room and access to a shared pool, but the room was old and wasn’t cleaned throughout my week-long stay, so I wish I’d booked somewhere slightly more elevated in the end.

The most important thing is booking accommodation that supports your goals – somewhere serene, relaxing, and ideally connected to nature.

You might not choose Uluwatu as your getaway spot (although, I can't recommend it enough!), but there are a few principles that you can apply no matter where in the world you go.

With so many beautiful places to explore, the temptation to bop around to different areas makes sense. But too much transit and not enough slowing down can make a retreat feel less like an oasis and more of a run-of-the-mill vacay. Staying put in one place gives you time to decompress and feel at home in your surroundings.

The most effective wellness routine is a series of small rituals that add up to a well-balanced picture, rather than a few lavish experiences. Centre the mind, body, and spirit – and enjoy!