Affordable doesn’t necessarily mean less than. When it comes to fasting retreats, part of what makes them so expensive – and they can be very expensive – is the money it takes to keep a professional staff on hand to make sure that it is done safely. Another reason they’re so expensive is because surrounding yourself in beauty and nature is a big part of a fasting retreat.
Plus…let’s face it, hungry people are angry people. You don’t want to be secluded away with a group of ‘hangry’ people for a 7 – 21 day fast without some really cushy accommodations so that no one goes postal!
At the same time, going away to a fasting retreat is encouraged for spiritual and religious people in many different cultures and faiths. What is a Billy bad-ass holistic health warrior on a budget supposed to do to take their commitment to the next level and dive into a controlled fast somewhere far from every day distractions?
Well, what we found is you’re going to have to shorten your stay and maybe do what some hardcore fasters say is cheating—fast on more than just water. But you can still find some very affordable fasting retreats around the world.
Some of the very best fasting retreats can go as high as $7,000 per person or more. We went on a search for the best of the affordable ones – somewhere between $700 and $1,000. Here are the top 8, mostly juice fasting retreats:
7 Affordable Fasting Retreats
#1. Atmanjai Wellness Spa in Thailand
The Most Affordable 3-Day Thai Fasting Retreat – Less than $150!
You get what you pay for and that is especially true when you’re searching for affordable fasting retreats. You can easily get swindled by some pretend guru charging your card for top quality accommodations but when you get there, it’s a rundown shack!
So you can understand our skepticism when we saw that there was a 3-Day “Ultra Cleanse Program” from Atmanjai Wellness Spa in Thailand for only around $137. What we found was a program so jam-packed with goodies that there had to be a catch!
The catch is you have to pay separately for your airfare to Thailand and although there is a 3-Day minimum package, some of the special treatments and program features only kick in if you choose the 5 or 7-Day package. Those packages of course cost quite a bit more than $137 or 4,345 Thai Baht—BUT what you do get in only three days far exceeds a measly $137!
You may not get the half hour of foot reflexology and Chi Ne Tsang classes or the ion cleanse but you do get a lot. You’ll live on shakes, teas, flaxseed and wheatgrass water, supplements including probiotics plus vitamins and minerals, and vegetable broth. Each day you can get a massage and take part in a guided yoga class, breathing and meditation classes, or aqua-fitness.
While you are fasting and detoxing professional staff will keep an eye on your blood pressure to make sure that your body is handling the program okay. To help you relax as you detoxify you can take an ice bath, an herbal steam bath, or a magnesium bath, and much more. For the price – as long as you can come up with the airfare to get there – you can’t beat this deal!
Atmanjai Wellness Spa – Thailand Health & Detox Resort | Address: Soi Mittrapap, Wiset Road, Rawai, Phuket, Thailand 83130 | Phone: +66 (0) 76-613-580 | E-mail: booking@atmanjai.com
#2. Santosa Detox in Phuket Thailand
A Power-Packed 5-Day Full Fasting Retreat for Less than $800
One of the reasons why you will normally find juice cleanses only for short trips that are more affordable is because a crash course in fasting, even for a few days can be dangerous. That’s why you need professionals on hand to track your blood pressure and although you won’t eat solid foods, you will usually drink smoothies, shakes, cleanses, and broths made of raw vegetables and herbs.
For less than $800, we found the fantastic 5-Day Full Fast Detox Retreat in Thailand. You get 5 days and 4 nights of guided professional fasting and detox set amid a resort island atmosphere overflowing with things to do from elephant-back riding to jet-skiing. At the Santosa Detox and Wellness Center on Phuket Island you are staying at a well-known, luxury resort that specializes in fasting detox.
This fasting retreat is not for the novice detoxer. Unlike the other short retreats on this list, you will mostly only have water-based cleanses and waters plus supplements for the five days that you are there. Sounds tough but those drinks are made to help you get through it by loading you up with energy-boosting nutrients while detoxifying and cleansing your body tissue.
Every day a massage is included in your package as well as a daily colon cleanse, yoga, several classes of your choice including Zumba and meditation, access to the gym and all three pools: the swimming pool, the sauna pool, and the ice pool.
Located right on the beach, you’ll zip through your fasting detox while chilling out in an amenities packed air-conditioned suite. Each room comes with its own kitchen (not like you’ll use it a lot except to cool your drinks!), Wi-Fi, and a private bath. Step out on your private balcony and enjoy the beauty around you on this high-powered five day fasting retreat!
Santosa Detox & Wellness Center | Address: 3 Soi Plak Che2, Patak Road, Karon, Amphoe Muang, Phuket, Thailand, 83130 | Phone: +66 (0) 76-330-600 | E-mail: andrea@santosaphuket.com
#3. Creacon Wellness Retreat in Ireland
An Irish Inn Turned Wellness Retreat’s 6-Day Juice Cleanse and Detox for Just over $700
Our standards are high. You don’t make this list just because you’re affordable. We still want our readers to know that they’re getting the best accommodations and quality fasting detox their money can buy. For Less than $730 per person, you can spend 6 days and 5 nights at Creacon Wellness Retreat in Ireland for their “6-Day Juice Cleanse and Food is Medicine Detox Retreat.”
You’ll stay in an updated and restored Irish Inn that dates back centuries turned modern wellness retreat set deep in the hills of Ireland. There you’ll enjoy access to beautifully manicured grounds while participating in art classes, lounging in the garden, or exercising in the on-site studio.
This isn’t your typical fast. You will eat solid food half of the time that you are there but between those days, you will go through a 3-Day juice fast where you will live on shots of wheatgrass and smoothies. For dinner you’ll get a super light version of vegetable soup before being guided back to a new and improved diet to take back home with you.
All of the food provided is vegetarian and vegan safe. At the end of the program, you should enjoy a new sense of balance inside, younger healthier looking skin, and a burst of new energy. In addition to the daily juice cleanses and meals, this package includes daily trips to the sauna and five nights in the inn. You will have to pay extra for massages and spa therapy as well as meditation classes and of course your airfare to Ireland.
Creacon Wellness Retreat | Address: Creacon Lower, New Ross, County Wexford, Y34 NH61, Ireland | Phone: +353 (0) 51-47-666 OR +011-353-51-447666
#4. A Real Beach-Style 4-Day Portuguese Juice Detox Retreat for a Grand
So you will have to pay for your own transportation and airfare and if you want more than one massage and one body scrub, you’ll have to pay extra for that. But what you do get is 4 days and 3 nights in deluxe accommodations in your own air conditioned suite with private patio or terrace for just over $1,000. We’re talking about the 4-Day Juice Detox from Longevity in Algarve, Portugal.
For four whole days you’ll be surrounded by gorgeous ocean views from this beachfront resort spa. Your quest for peace and relaxation is only heightened with the many beaches to explore and trails to hike while taking time to zone out and meditate. Although you’ll only be drinking juices, shakes, and soups, it’s practically all you can drink! You are allowed 5 “meals” daily.
Each juice and shake is designed to extend your lifespan by rejuvenating your entire system and detoxifying it of all of the daily toxins your body takes in. While you detox, you will learn from a nutrition consultant about maintaining a healthy lifestyle after you leave the spa.
This package includes your room and board and one massage, a wellness evaluation, a full body scrub, access to certain on-site activities as well as the gym. You have access to a heated pool, an ice fountain, steam room, infrared sauna, and more.
Longevity Cegonha Country Club | Address: Estrada de Albufeira, 8125-300 Vilamoura, Algarve - Portugal | Phone: +351-289-300-850 OR +351-967-18-244 | E-mail: reservations@longevityvilamoura.com
#5. A $1,200 Trip to a Top Rated 8-Day Juice Detox Retreat in Portugal
For just a bit more than a thousand dollars you can spend 8 days and 7 nights on the coast of Portugal at the 8-Day Juice Detox and Yoga Retreat from Moinhos Velhos. There you will spend a week secluded on a 40 acre resort in a valley enveloped by greenery and birdlife which is good because you will get hungry! You start your fast with a light vegetable soup. The rest of the week you only get some broth and three juice cleanses while giving yourself a daily enema.
You’ll be pumped full of vitamins and other supplements to help move the poo along your digestive tract and out of your system. This package is open to a much larger group than most short trips – there’ll be 14 of you isolated together. There are a number of different rooms including private cottages and cabins or shared bedrooms.
For your money you get all seven nights paid, all of your drinks, powders, vitamins, teas, etc. It allows you to access yoga classes each day as well as daily meditation. One thing you will have to sacrifice or pay up for is the spa treatments and they offer a LOT of them! They have Reiki, cranial therapy,
Swedish and Thai massage, Shiatsu, acupuncture, and much more – but those you have to pay for – about €65 each time.
Moinhos Velhos | Address: Cotifo Box 951F, Lagos 8600-077 Portugal | Phone: +351-282-687-147 OR (351) 969-446-763 / Skype: moinhos.velhos | E-mail: detox@moinhos-velhos.com
#6. A Spiritual 6-Day Detox Cleansing Retreat in Southwest England for less than $1,000
On the southwest end of England, you’ll find the Healing Waters Sanctuary where you can enjoy a 6-day, 5-night stay at these peaceful garden surroundings for less than a thousand dollars. This western resort’s 6-Day Detox Cleansing Retreat is just what the doctor ordered for those in need of physical repair but who are short on funds.
Set high up on a rolling hill, your room looks out onto the neighboring towns of yore as you go deep into a spiritual zone. Daily juice cleanses are designed to push metallic impurities out of the body using special powders and supplements. While you fast you will receive one massage, one reflexology session, and two colonics.
One thing that you’ll only get at this retreat is a skin detox. All of your drinks and meals are included during your five night stay. All of the juices are made of fresh organic foods straight from the on-site garden when in season. After your 3 days of detox, you will be reintroduced to a vegan or vegetarian diet of your choosing.
Built as a bed and breakfast, you’ll enjoy home-like accommodations with every room decorated to accentuate your peace and calm. The full kitchen is there for you to take advantage of if you want to cook your own fresh meals. You’ll find plenty of areas in and around the property to rest and relax while taking in the magnificent scenery.
Healing Waters Sanctuary & B&B | Address: 1 The Roman Way, Glastonbury, Somerset BA6 8AB | Phone: +44 (0) 1458 835859 OR 07722089318 (Text) | E-mail: info@healing-waters.co.uk
#7. A Full Body “Semi-Fasting” Retreat in Houston, TX for about $1,000
Finally on our list we found a real rough and tumbly fasting retreat on the outskirts of Houston, Texas. At Deer Lake Lodge, there is a 3-Day Kick-Start fasting program for just over a thousand dollars. Unlike most fasting retreats you won’t be pampered to death in some fancy suite. You’ll live in what used to be a shipping container for the weekend!
Okay it’s not as gruesome as it sounds – it is a spa after all. But there aren’t a lot of frills if that’s what you’re looking for. On the other hand, you won’t have to suffer through a crash fast while you are there. You’ll actually eat soup every day that you prepare. While you detox and fast you will take part in classes that educate you on spirituality and a healthy diet.
You also have access to daily yoga classes, meditation sessions, along with optional cooking classes and cleansing methods. For your money, you will get a colonic, daily detoxes, constant water and juices, and a full regiment of supplements and teas to optimize your fast.
By the time your 3-day weekend is over, you’ll be re-energized and recalibrated like a fine tuned machine. Participants report sleeping better, having improved skin, and being much more alert after this retreat and if you are trying to kick cigarettes, coffee, or sweets, this fast has been known to help with that too!
Deer Lake Lodge | Address: 10500 Deer Lake Lodge Road, Montgomery, TX 77316| Phone: (936) 588-2778