The best wellness escapes near Johannesburg

Tonglen Mountain Retreat sits high in the misty mountains outside Dullstroom. The air is thin, the forests are quiet, and the focus is on slowing down. The set-up is simple and intentional. There is a small Dharma centre with surrounding khayas, a mountain cottage, a hand-laid labyrinth, and footpaths through grassland and forest edges. Retreats here combine yoga, meditation, breathwork and long walks in nature. It’s rustic, but in all the right ways.

Need to know: Around 3.5 to 4 hours from Joburg. A 4×4 is recommended, but the venue also runs a pre-bookable shuttle, so you don’t have to tackle the dirt road.

Rates: Rates start at around R650pppn for retreat groups and R750pppn for short private stays, with a lower rate on some cottages when booked as a retreat venue. Facilitator-led weekends add their own teaching and catering fees.

Bookings: See www.tonglenretreat.com for dates.

Hoogland has been around for decades, and it’s serious about wellness. This is not a pamper day or a massage disguised as a retreat. Here, you’ll find things much more scientific—although don’t let that fool you into thinking it's like a glorified doctor’s room.

The setting is gorgeous: bush walks, a hydrotherapy circuit with saunas, steam rooms, steam cabinets, jacuzzis, sitzbaths and heated pools. But it’s also clinical, with regular monitoring by nurses and biokineticists. The science-backed offering is designed to really help you leave your retreat feeling like you’ve made progress. They offer structured programmes for stress management, supervised fasting, movement classes and meditation. It’s one of the few places near Joburg where you can book a weekend and know your health will be taken seriously.

Need to know: Around an hour north of the city.

Rates: A 3-day visit starts at about R7,625 pp, including accommodation, hydro access, and wellness monitoring. Treatments and specialist consultations are add-ons.

Book: www.hoogland.co.za has full packages and details on what each programme includes.

Down a quiet dirt road in the bushveld near Groot Marico, Tara Rokpa Centre runs year-round themed retreats. They’re rooted in Tibetan Buddhist teachings, but open to anyone. The mix changes with the calendar, but typically you will find seated and walking meditation, mindfulness, gentle yoga, and teachings that focus on compassion, gratitude or equanimity. The surrounding hills and veld do the rest once the phones are packed away.

Need to know: Around 3 to 3.5 hours’ drive. Retreats run year-round, with different themes from compassion practice to self-care. It’s deliberately modest, so don’t go expecting glitz and glamour.

Rates: Expect R450 to R550pppn for camping or dorms, and roughly R650 to R950pppn for rooms, depending on bathroom set-up. Retreat teaching fees are additional and vary by theme and length.

Book: www.tararokpacentre.co.za lists the full schedule with retreat pages and booking links.

The Magaliesberg has more than its fair share of yoga and meditation retreats. For more than 30 years, Emoyeni has been offering some form of escape to worn-out Joburgers. The centre sits on a shoulder of the mountain with walking paths through indigenous woodland and views across farm valleys.

The retreats here are small and structured with meditation, mindful movement, shared vegetarian meals, and plenty of quiet time. It’s straightforward, affordable, and deeply calming. . For an even softer approach, you can do a ‘self retreat’ during weekdays.

Need to know: Around 1.5 to 2 hours from Joburg. There is no pool or TV. There’s no WiFi either, so your attention will be well and truly on the retreat itself.

Rates: Recent weekend pricing ranges from R2,280 to R2,740 pp, depending on room type. Weekday self-retreats are around R1000 pppn, depending on the room. Meals are included in the conducted retreats.

Book: www.emoyeni.org.za lists dates, teachers, and what to expect at each of the upcoming retreats.

If silence, yoga mats, or meditation don’t do it for you, Magalies Wellness Centre provides an intriguing alternative. Run by psychologists and therapists, the programmes at this small retreat are explicitly focused on stress and burnout recovery, grief and transition support, or relationship work. You’ll find small-group, facilitator-led workshops which might have a mixture of CBT tools, mindfulness practice, guided journalling, group therapy sessions, and nature walks.

The setting is countryside Magalies/Hartebeespoort, so you get the restorative environment but with a structured, therapeutic approach focused on the mental and emotional side of well-being and healing.

Need to know: Around 1 to 1.5 hours from Joburg. Retreats run on specific weekends with different therapeutic focuses, so check the calendar before booking. Accommodation is comfortable and clean but simple.

Rates: Retreats usually cost R4,000–R6,000 pp for a weekend, including meals, facilitation, and accommodation.

Book: Visit www.magalieswellnesscentre.com