The 100 Best Affordable Vacations (68 page)

 Don’t practice on a full stomach.

 Wear comfortable, appropriate clothing during practice.

 Pay attention to your breathing during your practice.

 Invest in your own mat—it’s healthier than sharing.

Shoshoni Yoga Retreat.
Meditation, walks, breathing exercises, and hatha yoga practice are designed to help visitors allay stress during their stay at this retreat near Boulder. Guests can design retreats that start and end when they want for as many days as they want, space allowing. Each overnight of your stay includes morning and evening meditation programs, two yoga classes, and three vegetarian meals. Prices start at $95 per person for space in a single-gender dorm room, $70 if you camp out and bring your own tent. Several private-room options are offered for around $180 per night. Occasional family weekends are also offered—which might be just the antidote if you’ve got a soul-searching teen in tow. If you’re up for a splurge, sign up for an ayurvedic treatment including a facial or scrub.

Shoshoni Yoga Retreat,
P.O. Box 400, Rollinsville, CO 80474, 303-642-0116,
www.shoshoni.org
.

Colorado not convenient? Here are a few other affordable options:

 
Esalen Institute, Big Sur, California.
Weekend yoga workshops, including meals, movement classes, lodging, and use of grounds, start at $385 per person in a shared sleeping-bag room.
Esalen Institute, 831-667-3000,
www.esalen.org
.

 
Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Stockbridge, Massachusetts.
This well-known center in the Berkshire Hills offers retreat-and-renewal packages that include three meals daily, yoga classes, and outdoor activities from $160 per night in a dorm space with shared bath.
Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, 866-200-5203,
www.kripalu.org
.

 
Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, New York.
All-inclusive packages at the Omega include three vegetarian meals; daily open classes in yoga, tai chi, and meditation start at $160 for a two-night package for campers with their own gear, $244 for a dorm single for a two-night package. Longer packages and private accommodations available.
Omega Institute, 877-944-2002,
www.eomega.org
.

 
Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat, Nassau, Bahamas.
Yoga vacation programs start at $15 per day in summer, $29 per day in winter, plus an accommodations fee starting in summer at $59 if you bring your own tent, or $69 for a dorm space or tent hut. Prices are slightly higher in winter. Rates include two meals daily. Class attendance is mandatory—a factor behind some unfavorable reviews on the Internet review site TripAdvisor.
Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat, 866-446-5934,
www.sivanandabahamas.org
.

see opera outdoors

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO

Opera is credible drama now, and it costs less than going to a football match.

What have you got to lose?

—
LESLEY GARRETT (B. 1955), BRITISH SOPRANO

86 |
Summer sunsets bring two kinds of drama to the foothills of the Jemez Mountains. As the day ends, New Mexico’s sky fills with pinks and vermilions—and on most nights in July and August, the soaring notes of opera.

“You really get a feeling that’s electric,” says Oliver Prezant, a longtime lecturer and educator with the Santa Fe Opera, which has performed here for more than a half century.

If you want to be immersed in opera, Santa Fe is one of the best places to go. As generations of patrons have discovered, the art form translates beautifully to the outdoors. Although the amphitheater is covered, the wall behind the stage is left open before performances, and the side walls often are too. With the evening breeze comes a relaxed atmosphere. Some people do wear black-tie, but dressy casual clothes are fine, too.

Every summer, the celebrated company runs five operas in rotation, which might include classic works from the 1700s and world premieres. Each performance is preceded by a free lecture providing context and background for the show.

Although a trip devoted to opera doesn’t sound like an affordable vacation, it’s possible to take in performances without breaking the bank. Seated tickets begin at a reasonable $27, and each seat includes a private screen placed on the back of the seat in front of you, which provides translation of the opera in English or Spanish. Even cheaper is standing-room admission ($10), which gets you an assigned spot with a rail to lean on, and a libretto screen as well. There’s no shame in going this route, but since performances might last several hours, be sure to wear comfortable shoes.

Guests with children can take advantage of special performances designed for families. On four evenings each summer, Youth Nights provide budget tickets for the second-to-final dress rehearsal before a production begins. One adult and two youths (ages 6–22) costs $32, and two adults and three youths runs $56. Additional youth tickets are $8. Don’t try to sneak in without a kid, though. Since the tickets are underwritten by grants, the opera makes sure youths are actually attending.

But anyone can take a 9 a.m. backstage tour ($5), available daily but Sunday, from May 31 to August 28. If you go early in the season, you’ll see more activity as the company busily prepares for upcoming productions. “There’s a whole cadre of docents who get wonderful training,” Prezant says. “They can tell you which side of the yak the hair for the wig comes from.” Answer: The belly, which is more supple since it isn’t exposed to the weather.