In tune with the creative self — Skyros Centre
This is a list of alternative holistic holiday and special interest vacation sites in the Mediterranean rim that share a common bond. We are all working for the same vision of a new peaceful culture of compassion, one that includes cooperation between all beings and with the planet. This would be a sustainable culture, a permaculture. This page may help you find a holistic holiday in the sun.
Networking is part of that holistic vision. We are all offering programmes and in some cases community experiences for people to try out new ways of living, working and relating. We at Kalikalos Centre do not feel any sense of competition amongst each other; rather we support each other by a free interchange of information and in some cases resources.
Each Centre has its own orientation and its own ambiance. Some programmes emphasize yoga or self development holidays, others creativity, healing or therapy, some are communities, some offer rest and retreat and others simply provide a relaxing get-away from the hustle and bustle of life in the cities with an opportunity to meet others who may share your holistic interests. Please investigate and choose the one(s) that suits your interests, inclinations and pocketbook in the moment.
The old maxim: “She or he who knows England only knows not England” is true also of alternative holiday centres. By experiencing several you learn more about each one, about the concept in general and about yourself.
A holiday in the sun practicing building a world where you can live your truth and make it count — Kalikalos Holidays
Greece
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 Kalikalos Summer School Located close to crystal clear Aegean beaches in mainland Greece on the edge of the Pilion forest, home of the legendary Centaurs, the Kalikalos Centre offers a summer programme of holistic workshops, retreats, eco-tourism and alternative holidays along with a community-building experience patterned after the Findhorn community in northern Scotland.
Deriving its inspiration from several international spiritual communities and mystery schools dedicated to personal and spiritual transformation, the workshop programme and the community life aim to provide practical experiences with new models of living, working and relating. Course offerings include Vipassaña meditation, Yoga, Painting weeks, Community Building, Hiking, Raw Food detox, Communication, Advaita Satsang, Creative Writing and Living-in-Community guest weeks. Contact: Johanna Aro-Louis, Findhorn Community, Forres IV36 3TZ. Telephone: 01309 690305, Email:
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 Spiti ton Kentavron (aka the Pelion Centre) is a summer eco-community and educational Centre devoted to exploring the core concepts of the ecovillage movement in the context of a summer holiday.
Located in the Pelion forest at the edge of the village of Anilio, the Centre offers a programme of workcamps and holistic workshops from May through October in creativity, healing, alternative technology and permaculture. Opportunities are available for internships, ecotourism and WWOOFing.
Recent programmes have included 5Rhythms dance, permaculture design, painting and drawing. The Centre also offers living-in-community weeks.
Tel +30 24260 32176. Email:
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 Iliohoos offer seminars and workshops in T’ai Chi, Qi Qong, and Hatha-yoga (Iyengar or Kripalu style), the yoga for balancing the polarities of our being. The workshops are designed to foster balance, harmony, self-healing and inner transformation. The venu is a small (10 bedroom) modern hotel a few meters from this gorgeous beach in SE Pelion.
Dr. Jorgos Pappas and Lina Pappas offer relaxing and creative vacations through healing body, breathing and attention exercises. These are complemented by dance and walks to areas filled with energy, visits to local celebrations and the opportunity to experience indigenous Greek culture. Contact: Lina Kasviki-Pappas, GR-37006, Argalasti
Pelion Greece. Tel. & Fax: 0871 218 0304, or +30 24230 55698, e-mail: info@iliohoos.gr
 West Crete Holidays offer a range of special interest and activity holidays for health and personal development. They offer a choice of therapies for restoring balance and physical, mental and spiritual harmony. It's also possible to just come and book accomodation at West Crete as a base for your own holiday.
Recent offerings included Alexander Technique, Neuro Linguistic Programming, Yoga, Crystal Healing, Reiki, Dance/Movement, Shiatsu and Tai Chi. Contact: (Crete) Tel: 0030 28220 31726, (UK Mobile) Tel: 07866 731 461
 Axladitsa–Avatakia is a place of learning where a local and trans-local circle of guardians are investing and engaging in a real-time inquiry of how to live in wholeness and be in right relationship with oneself, each other and the earth. The Centre is a practice ground for pioneering and cultivating new practices and patterns of natural human leadership, organising, and economic patterns, through listening to and tending land, conscious organic hosting, farming, renewable resources and ecological practices - in service of our whole world.
Axladitsa invite you to come and explore with us how tending Earth and Self simultaneously connects us more deeply to who we are, the rhythms of earth and to that which we wish to nurture now and in the future. There are also related workshops throughout the summer. Contact: Axladitsa-Avatakia, Promyri-Volou, 37006, Greece, Tel: (Mobiles) +30 6979112427
 MetaCom is situated in the quiet setting of Anidri, a small village on the southwest coast of Crete in the midst of traditionally cultivated landscape, 1km from the sea and 3.5 km from the town of Paleohora with its sandy beach and tourist facilities. MetaCom offers a space, for personal retreats, seminars and conferences, and is involved in organic farming and working toward preserving the diversity of the biosphere. The Centre intends to offer topics in creative fields such as music, crafts, dance, video and film.
MetaCom aims at being a platform for the exchange of ideas, especially in the realms of ecology, ecological building, alternative energy sources and life cycles; health, nutrition and preventive medicine; the creative arts. Contact: Mario Sommer, Anidri, 73001 Paleochora, Crete, Greece. Tel. 0030 28230 42188 or mobile 0030 697 4705426.
Travel & Do describe themselves as “a network of alternative vacation organizers.” They offer, on Naxos island, a variety of recreational cultural vacations in three broad categories: (1) Eastern Arts, (2) Expressive Arts and (3) Nature & Culture.
Included in Eastern Arts are Thai massage, Qigong and Yang style Tai Chi. In Expressive arts Travel & Do offer Tango and middle eastern belly dancing. In Nature & Culture they offer walkabouts, cycling, horse riding, sailing, diving and Greek dancing.
Travel & Do’s vacation concept is based on creative activities that lead to joy, tranquillity, harmony and meaningful transformation. The organisers aim to satisfy the natural desire of a traveller to experience the local customs and traditions, learn the history, taste local delicacies, and above all, meet Greek people and share their culture. Click to see the current programme of workshops at Travel & Do. Contact: Travel & Do Network, 96, Ilia Zervou st, 111 44 Athens, Greece Tel Mobile: +30 694 455 5696
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 Iris Holistic Centre is a big beautiful room with wooden floor right on the beach of Aegiali on the Greek island of Amorgos. Here come those who share their knowledge, teaching from their experience of personal growth, alternative therapies, meditation, yoga, art and ecology.
From mid April to the end of September, Iris offers courses in Tai Chi, Qi Qong, insight meditation, Voice, Dance therapy, and Bikram Yoga. Contact:
Vassilis Savvas, Iris Holistic Centre, Aegiali, 84008, Amorgos, Greece. Tel: 0030 2850-73545.
Mani Spirit of Life Centre lies just above the sea in the Peloponeses mountains where the ancient Greeks worshipped Asclepius who healed with a combination of diet, meditations, body therapies, and dreams allowing the deeper self or soul to be the instrument of healing.
The Spirit of Life is a holistic lifestyle programme, born out of the desire to help people live a more fulfilling life. Looking at mind, body and spirit connections, as well as the emotions. the Centre draws its inspiration from both ancient wisdom and modern therapeutic and scientific research. Courses run year round and include Dream Healing Pilgrimage: A Journey of Self Discovery, Usui Reiki, Pilates, Yoga, Meditation, Food as Medicine, Walking holidays, Zen of Beach Art, and other holistic offerings. Contact: Spirit of Life, Agios Nikolaos, Messinia, Greece T24024, Tel: (+44) 0203 2399 237 (UK) or (+30) 27210 78240 (Greece).
Located on ten acres of olive groves the Zarka Centre lies in a quiet valley set amongst the rolling and sometimes dramatic landscape of the southern region of the Greek island of Evia. The facilities consist of a restored traditional stone house and a large circular meeting hall with adjacent swimming pool. Guests are accomodated either at the Centre or in rooms in the nearby village of Zarka.
This gentle rural setting is the venue for a wide range of activities which focus on the themes of health and creativity. Workshops include medicinal plants of Greece, creative writing, painting and drawing, dream work, holistic massage and Shiatsu.
Contact: Zarka Centre, Zarakes, 34017 Krieza, Evia, Greece. Tel.: +44 774 505 8569, or +30 6937 155 27
 Green Corfu offer an information service for alternative holidays and eco-tourism in Corfu. On their site you can find information about centres for meditation, healing holidays and alternative therapies in the north west corner of Corfu around Arillas and Ayios Stefanos: in particular Alexis Zorbas and Ouranos Club between Arillas and Agios Stefanos, and Buddha Hall in Magoulades. Green Corfu can direct you to Yoga, body-listening and other courses that are offered at Casa Lucia, in the Sgombou area near Tzavros.
Green Corfu also provide information about walking and cycling holidays in Corfu and as well as a history of the island and a brief description of the fauna and flora of Corfu. Contact: Green Corfu at: +30 2663031777 or Mobile: +30 6932648788
 The Skyros Centre, nestled at the edge of the main village on the Aegean island of Skyros, pioneered the concept of an alternative holistic holiday in 1979 and they are still going strong today. Skyros island remains less touristy than many Greek islands, probably because until fairly recently there was no commercial airport, and the island could only be reached by a combination of bus from Athens to Kimi and then ferry. The courtyard of the Centre, shaded by almond, fig and pomegranate trees, offers a panoramic view of the mountains and the sea. The courses, whether on novel writing, relationships or Greek cooking, focus on the development of the creative self.
Skyros operates a companion centre on the other side of the island at Atsitsa. The location is secluded and guests live simply in a natural environment. Courses range from wind surfing, sailing, and abseiling to dance, yoga, theatre, painting and music. Contact: Skyros Holistic holidays LTD, 9 Eastcliff Road, Shanklin, Isle of wight, PO37 6AA. Tel: +44 (0) 1983 865566.
The Limnisa Centre is located in the Eastern Peloponese at a secluded waterfront location just two hours by ferryboat from Piraes (Athens port). Courses take place on the roof terrace. From here you can see the Saronic Gulf spread out all around; with five Islands including Aegina and Angistri, and the mountains of the Eastern Peloponnese with Epidavros nestling in their foothills.
The Limnisa Centre's main focus is on creative writing and art workshops. The creative writing tutor is the well-known novelist Philip Wooderson. Art tutor is freelance exhibiting artist/illustrator
Felix Zakar. The maximum number of students is 10. The atmosphere at Limnisa is relaxed and based on the belief that calm and open space can help you in being creative. To book or for more details contact: Mariel Hacking, St. George, 18030 METHANA, Greece. Tel +44 1843 599849 or +30 22980 32386.
Tao’s Retreat and Meditation Center on Paros island is dedicated to the practice of awareness, self development and wellbeing.
This Centre offers daily activities, workshops and a Work & Study program. The weekly schedule consists of meditation, Chi Kung, Yoga, Dance, Pilates and Kids activities. The workshops include healing, yoga, Buddhist retreats, dance & movement,
women groups, and creativity seminars. Tao’s Going Green project offers ecological courses and events.
Accommodation is in family hotels in the near-by village of Ambelas, with its fishermen port, beach, tavernas & restaurants.
To book or for more details contact: Tao’s Center, P.O.B. 47936, Naoussa, Paros, 84401 Greece, Tel: +30 22840 28882.
Visit the directories and WebRings listed below where people with interests in alternative holistic holidays can meet, share experiences, find travel companions, ask about conditions at various centres and swap information.
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