FAQs & Travel Information

You will need a valid visa to enter India. Contact your local Indian High Commission or Embassy, complete the application form, usually available to download online, and submit it with the required fee. This can take up to ten days.

Visa requirements, and the activities a visa permits, depend on your nationality and on the category you apply for. Please check the current official guidance at indianvisaonline.gov.in and make sure your visa covers what you intend to do here. SWAN cannot give immigration advice.

Yes. Your visa application will ask for a reference in India for where you are staying. You may use:

Mr. Shivendra Kumar
SWAN Yoga Retreat, Bairo Alto, Assagao
Bardez, Goa – 403507
Mobile: +91 8007 360 677

We recommend visiting your GP, personal physician or a travel health clinic four to eight weeks before you travel. Recommended vaccinations often include hepatitis A, typhoid, tetanus and polio. Goa is not a high-risk area for malaria and the tablets can be considered controversial, we suggest you do your own research and make your own decision.

Teacher training courses. A non-refundable deposit of 30% of the course fee confirms your booking. The remaining 70% is due at least one month before the course starts. If you book less than one month before the start date, the full fee is payable at the time of booking, and that payment is non-refundable.

All other courses and retreats. A 30% advance payment confirms your booking, with the balance payable on arrival at SWAN. You are welcome to pay in full in advance if you prefer, but it is not required. The advance payment is non-refundable.

Deposits are non-refundable and non-transferable.

Full payments that are then cancelled: more than 45 days before the start of the retreat, 100% refund less the deposit; 30 to 45 days before, 50% refund less the deposit; within 30 days, no refund.

One reschedule is allowed, subject to availability and to written confirmation from us.

We accept bank transfer (RTGS / NEFT / SWIFT) and credit card. Card payments carry a 5% surcharge. Our bank details are sent with your booking confirmation, please do not send funds to any account details you have not received directly from us by email.

There is Wi-Fi across the campus, ask at reception for the code. We do discourage spending much of the day on a screen; the programme is full for a reason.

A yoga mat is not just a mat but a personal item, so for hygiene we recommend you bring your own. You can also buy one from the SWAN boutique. We do not loan mats.

Most of the following can be bought locally in Goa, and more cheaply than in the West, but you may want them with you rather than spending your first days shopping.

• Warm yoga clothes. In December and January it is hot once the sun is up, but mornings can be chilly during practice, a tracksuit or something warm helps.
• Electrical adaptors. Goa runs on 220V with the same two-pin plugs as Europe. There are power points in every cottage.
• Money. Cash and travellers cheques can be exchanged at reception, and there are ATMs within a 10–15 minute taxi ride. Have some funds on arrival; rupees may not be taken out of India.
• Beach towel or sarong. We provide room towels but ask that they stay on campus.
• Driving licence. Needed if you plan to hire a scooter or car, the best way to get around Goa. Scooters can be hired through reception.
• Torch. Power cuts are frequent in India. Ask reception if you do not have one.
• Earplugs, if you are a light sleeper.
• Mosquito repellent. The local brand Odomos is widely available and works best.
• Sunscreen, especially if you are arriving from winter.

SWAN is open from October through May each year. The monsoon months are used for maintenance and for the teachers' own practice and study.

We are in Assagao, Bardez, roughly 45 minutes from Dabolim airport and around 40 minutes from Mopa (Manohar International). Airport transfers can be arranged for approximately ₹2,200 each way in an air-conditioned car, ask when you book.

Honestly, no. The whole campus is simple and natural, ashram style, clean and spacious, in a natural and peaceful setting, but not a hotel or resort. We welcome guests who are looking for authentic, traditional teaching, discipline and practice. Guests looking for a luxurious or resort-type set-up are discouraged from booking here, and we would rather say that before you arrive.

Yes, all meals are sattvic, Ayurvedic and vegetarian, cooked fresh in our own kitchen with a good deal of the produce from our own garden. Vegan and specific dietary needs can be met if you tell us when you book.

Usually yes, on a room-and-board basis, subject to availability. Ask us at the time of enquiry and we will quote for it.