Greece's Silver Island: sunshine and solitude on an idyllic yoga retreat Greece's Silver Island: a y

No doubt a result of Greece's economic crisis, news of hotel openings there has been scarce. But Silver Island, a fragrant pine- and olive-clad islet off the coast of Evia is just that. It is a new private-island yoga retreat, which opened this spring in the face of gloomy financial forecasts – largely as a result of the remarkable goodwill of strangers and an army of volunteers.

"When people hear you have a private island, they make assumptions," says owner Lissa Christie. "The main one being there's also a huge bank account … and that's not the case," she says with a wry smile. The island has been in the Christie family for 50 years, formerly an Onassis-era ritzy resort run by Lissa's grandparents. "The guestbook from back then is a read," she says. "There were actors … Princess Diana came once to have a look. I imagine it wasn't quite private enough for her."

Despite its starry beginnings, Silver Island had in more recent times gone to seed. The whitewashed villas, olive groves and beaches proved too much for Lissa's ageing family, who live between Greece and their adopted home of South Africa. In 2006, Lissa and her two sisters inherited the island from their father. Faced with debt and dilapidation, they took a deep breath and decided to give it a clean, green, new lease of life.

"So many people told us to sell," says Lissa, who now runs the retreat with her husband, Corne. "I spent childhood summers here, so there was never any question of selling but rather how we'd make the island sustainable." The former creative producer of Bestival, Lissa adopted a can-do festival spirit and enlisted volunteers: carpenters, plumbers, painters, gardeners, environmentalists, artists and general grafters gathered from around the world, willing to work in exchange for bed, board and a barefoot lifestyle.

"We've been overwhelmed by support," says Lissa. "It would have been impossible otherwise."

A case in point is the beautiful cliff-top yoga pavilion. This potentially expensive project ended up being the handiwork of a local engineer who, on hearing that his favourite childhood fishing spot was being revitalised, offered his services for free. The result is a yoga platform conjured out of the island's old helipad, covered with an elegant sail-like shade.

Its ingenuity is characteristic of this rustic luxury retreat, whose eclectic decor includes bits of old olive-farming equipment and colourful textiles from Africa. Water is recycled, power is part-solar, part-generator and food (sun-soaked vegetarian dishes created by Lissa and Corne) is island-grown or locally sourced. And since the olive groves are productive again, dishes come with generous servings of Silver Island's deep green oil.

My days are spent in a pretty blissful state, rising with the sun as it climbs above Evia's purple mountains. A couple of hours of yoga is followed by breakfast (homemade muesli, Greek yoghurt, local honey and fruit), then some guests pad off to the beaches, others on a round-island kayak trip: visiting the resident seal and the lighthouse that crowns the eastern headland with postcard perfection. On the island's cliff-edge meditation platform I watch fisherman come and go across the channel, book idle at my feet.

Our group, mixed in age, yoga ability and nationality, includes a 19-year-old from New York and a married couple from the Isle of Man. "I was so stressed before I arrived," says Rosie, a 29-year-old Google employee from London. "I never travel by myself and now … it's the best thing I've ever done. When do you ever have the time do this?" she says, smiling down at the hanging mobile she's making with discoveries from the beach and kit from the well-stocked art cupboard.

Now, private-island etiquette is a peculiar thing. Finding one person occupying an entire beach is a revelation anywhere. But here, on a small Greek island (0.24sq km) that I'm sharing with just nine other people, means I decide that I should go somewhere else to stretch out. The joy of having so many olive groves, coves, cliff tops, bays and secret beaches for so few is that I'm not short of choice.

Yoga, at dawn and dusk, is the perfect complement to the mounting sense of easy wellbeing. Our teacher for the week is the tattoo-swathed David Sye, son of 60s crooner Frankie Vaughan, guru to the stars and something of a yoga-wielding peacebroker, using classes to resolve conflict in communities from the Middle East to Glasgow. Sye's unique brand of bendy therapy comes with beats (soul, funk, hip-hop, dance and a distinct lack of traditional "Om"), plus the occasional chunk of chocolate as encouragement.

"We live in an age of austerity and rules. We are always being told what to do," says David, as he has us try some Sufi spinning. "I just want you to have fun." Moving in a whirl, sky merging with sea, silver olive trees with sand, this seems the most natural pursuit imaginable.

• The trip was provided by Silver Island Yoga (silverislandyoga.com) and British Airways (ba.com). Retreats run from mid-April to early October with a different yoga teacher hosting each week and a maximum group size of 12. Six nights cost from £950pp sharing, with full-board, yoga (three/four hours each day) all activities and boat transfers from the mainland. BA flies from Heathrow to Athens from £146 return

Culture and yoga, South Africa

For a more adventurous break with a touch of yoga, consider Gandhi's former home, Satyagraha House in Johannesburg. Restored in style to recreate the atmosphere of 1908-09, when he lived there, it's a museum and seven-room guesthouse, where guests are treated to vegetarian meals and an hour of yoga or meditation daily.
• From £94 per room per night, houdinismuse.com

Sailing and yoga, Croatia

A seven-day cruise along the Croatian coastline from Split to Dubrovnik, docking at islands along the way, with Sail Croatia, comes in a variety of themes. New this year is a yoga trip, including an energising wake-up class on deck each morning and a stretching class in the late afternoon sun.
• From £634 for the cruise, including en suite cabin, breakfast and lunch, plus £150 for the yoga classes. Departs 24 August, sail-croatia.com

Swimming and yoga, Portugal

At a retreat in the foothills of the Serra da Estrela mountains in central Portugal, twice-daily yoga is combined with daily swimming in natural river pools and a trip to the river Zêzere for a mud bath. Guided forest walks and a massage are also included.
• From £468 for seven nights, including all (Ayurvedic and vegetarian) meals, yoga and swimming. Retreats run most weeks in summer and early autumn, yogaatmoses.com

Riding and yoga, Spain

A restored organic farm in south-west Andalucía hosts a range of retreats, including yoga with horse riding. There is a daily ride (usually lasting 2-3 hours) through wildflower meadows and cork forests, a morning meditation session and an afternoon yoga class.
• From £895 for seven days including all meals, wine with dinner, yoga and riding. Retreat starts 28 September, fincaelmoro.com

Cycling and yoga, Italy

Golearnto's yoga retreat in a walled village in the Sabina hills, an hour north of Rome, includes 90 minutes of yoga each morning, two guided cycling tours and the use of a bike all week. Accommodation is in a medieval village house.
• From £514 for seven days, breakfast and all yoga and cycling. Retreats run most weeks in summer and autumn, golearnto.com

Rachel Dixon

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