Sunflower Retreats Holidays

 

Casperia and its location

Casperia, situated in the heart of the Sabina mountains, is totally pedestrianised, with fewer than 350 inhabitants, and is one of the last villages of Italy untouched by mass tourism.

The medieval structure and atmosphere of the village give you a unique feeling of being in a historic place in time-gone-by. A place of natural beauty surrounded by olive groves, vineyards and forest-covered mountains, Casperia is a hilltop village where you can watch the changing scenery from every angle. The night sky is a star covered phenomenon not to be missed!

Our location in central Italy

Our location is very convenient with easy access to Rome, the capital of Italy (1 hour) and Rome airport (90 minutes) by frequent bus and train services running from Casperia. Rome is the centre of Italian culture and art offering historic sites, cafes, restaurants and fashion, as well as good transport links to the rest of the world.

Casperia is in the province of Rieti where the valley of Saint Francis of Assisi lies, with his 4 main hermitages set in the mountains. This is where the saint gave his teachings to the world. We are 2 hours from Spoleto and Assisi and 1 hour from Orvieto, famous for its wine, ceramics, architecture and art.

The Holiday

Sunflower Retreats Holidays are a truly unforgettable experience, a real retreat, a break that will allow you to unwind, relax, and physically, mentally and spiritually recharge.
Your holiday will be a unique experience where you can choose to simply relax or select from the many relaxing or active experiences on offer. We arrange excursions, treatments or activities - whether you take part is up to you.

Hatha yoga tuition and instruction on your holiday

Sunflower Retreats Holidays yoga classes are suitable for beginners as well as more practiced yogis. We practise Friday through Tuesday with some classes outdoors in spectacular surroundings.

When we choose to practice yoga indoors, we use our own professionally designed and restored 40 square metre studio, which has a wooden floor, a fresh water spring and an ancient cave as a bathroom. It has full central heating for use in the cooler months.

Our Hatha yoga classes each last 90 minutes.

For those who would like the opportunity to practice more yoga, extra classes of Hatha yoga or meditation are optionally available throughout the week, with Lucy Bremner or guest yoga teachers.

For full details please see our website

Dates and Prices

Holidays are Thursday to Wednesday(2008 Dates)
Accommodation is for a maximum of 18 people per week.
All prices are for a 6-night, one-week holiday.
Two-week holidays are available on request, for the same weekly price. Accommodation for the middle Wednesday is included, at no extra charge.

Prices include:

• Accommodation and breakfast at our lounge-café
• 1 yoga class daily (Friday through Tuesday)
• A guided mountain walk in the Sabina mountains
• All-week use of bicycles

Holiday fees do not include flights or transfers

Prices are £340 - £540 per person(single suplement £75-£100). Full details of Accommodation available

Meals

A Breakfast of local organic produce is served every morning in Sunflower Retreats Lounge Cafè Il Dopolavoro.

For lunch time or evening meals all of Sunflower Retreats accommodations are self catering and the village shops, which include an organic health food store, stock a large range of food and drinks if you would like to try some home cooking in your chosen accommodation . Full meals, and local food and traditional Italian pizza are available in local cafes, and restaurants in Casperia for those who prefer to eat in other places in Casperia.We also organise excursions to authentic Italian restaurants and folklore festivals in neighbouring hill-top villages where delicious home-cooking and traditional specialities of vegetarian or non-vegetarian dishes can be enjoyed. A small fee (per person) is charged for transport to and from these venues.

Light meals such as Tapas, and full evening meals (including Vegetarian meals) made with delicious local organic produce are available at Sunflower Retreats Lounge café Il Dopolavoro each evening and on the last night of each holiday week a vegetarian Buffet is organised of fresh local Italian cuisine.

On your Sunflower Retreats holiday you can choose to:

• Practice yoga daily and tune-in to yourself within the harmony and peaceful atmosphere of this superb location
• Spend the day revitalising your body and mind at open-air roman baths and wild hot springs
• Relax and recharge mind, body and soul by choosing from a large selection of holistic therapies
• Enjoy our sauna, created exclusively for our guests in the village of Casperia
• Enjoy the friendly and social atmosphere during meals in excellent Italian restaurants
• See the beautiful Sabina countryside on horseback
• Swim at the local pools, or discover unspoilt mountain streams where you can spend hot afternoons bathing and resting in the beauty of nature
• Relax with a good cappuccino or an afternoon tea in local village cafes
• Take a walk across the mountains or valleys, or visit other neighbouring medieval villages and stop to enjoy the local cuisine
• Cycle on panoramic country roads, discovering the area and stop for a dip in a stream
• Spend an exciting day in Rome, visiting world famous monuments or shopping in the world-class shops
• If you like to paint or take photographs, bring your own equipment and you will be inspired by the amazing variety of scenery
• Experience an Italian cookery class using local organic products
• Learn Italian; lessons can be arranged for those who want to begin to learn the Italian language or brush-up their Italian

Thermal baths

The thermal baths at nearby Viterbo are open-air and include a large pool of sulphur-rich thermal water, ideal for swimming and bathing. These baths have been used for healing purposes throughout the centuries and are great for skin care too. Suntraps and a bar are also available at the baths.

Wild hot sulphur springs

We also visit the local wild hot springs, situated in their natural environment in open fields. Here you can bathe in the sulphur-rich organic mud used in rehabilitative treatments, beauty masks and wraps.

Both the thermal baths and the hot springs are quiet, perfect places to relax, unwind and feel the tension, toxins, aches and pains being released from your body.

Please see our website for a full list of excursions, therapies and activities.

Casperia is located about 90 minutes from Rome's airports.

The cheapest and easiest way to reach Casperia is by the frequent train service from Fiumicino Airport to Poggio Mirteto Scalo station. Take either the train to Poggio Mirteto Scalo or to Orte via Poggio Mirteto Scalo. The train fare is around £3. Note: The last train from Fiumicino airport to Orte via Poggio Mirteto train station is around 8.00pm.

Ryanair and easyjet fly into Rome Ciampino aiport, but there is no direct train service from Rome Ciampino to Casperia. We can arrange to collect you at Ciampino airport. Cost £30 per person/minimum 2 people.

Car hire is available at both airports. We suggest booking Hertz, Europcar, or other leading European companies from the UK. Car hire can be useful for those guests who would like to be independent and make their own way to restaurants and local attractions.

Ethical and environmental - our holidays and the community

Sunflower Retreats founded in 1998 and the first of its kind in Italy supports the principles of eco-tourism by integrating into rather than changing, the unspoilt Sabina landscape and way of life. As one of the only yoga centres in Europe to offer holidays at a dedicated base all summer long, we have helped to revitalise the village of Casperia, by restoring houses and supporting local businesses. Easily accessed by low-cost airlines such as Ryanair and Easyjet, and by good rail links from Rome, our base offers you the opportunity to enjoy an easygoing holiday in a village where pedestrians and cyclists take priority over cars.

Guest Reviews 

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