Our Pilates, Yoga & Cooking In Positano is designed for those wishing to boost their health, rejuvenate their souls and establish healthy eating and living practices. This Italian fitness and movement program designed by Dr. Fortunata includes a combination of pilates, yoga and deep stretching. A total fitness and healthy cooking experience in gorgeous Positano.
Join Chefs Filomena, Fortunata, Giuseppe, Carmine and Emilio for hands-on cooking in Positano’s Secret Garden on the splendid Amalfi Coast. With our chefs you will learn how to make healthy organic cuisine including regional antipasto, fresh pasta, local fish, meat, bread and pizza in the heart of Positano. This program features our Chefs’ seasonal and regional recipes based on the healthy Mediterranean diet, which has been proven to promote health & wellbeing. Not only is the Mediterranean Diet rich in fruits, vegetables, fish (including precious ‘blue’ fish), whole grains and olive oil, it is also a diet that celebrates the joy of life, following the seasons and including treats like red wine and delicious dolci. Don’t think of the Mediterranean Diet as a diet as such, but as an enjoyable way of life. Included in the program is an information presentation and talk given by our local health professional on the enormous benefits of following a Mediterranean-style diet – from antioxidants to healthy omega-three oils, and how by eating fresh, seasonal products cooked simply, you can heal the body and soul from within.
As part of your program, you will also enjoy four regenerating yoga sessions with our qualified and licensed instructor Fortunata, who will encourage you to relax, stretch and melt into your beautiful surroundings. Yoga’s therapeutic powers are now widely appreciated and provide a calming way to counteract the stresses that accumulate through everyday life. Learn to detach, concentrate on the moment and cultivate a new appreciation of your combined body and spirit.
Our program includes three hands-on cooking classes (you may always add-on more if you like) with lunch or dinner following. Our chefs learned the secrets of Italian cooking from their grandmothers and in culinary school. In each cooking class we use only fresh organic products that are seasonal. You will experience southern Italy’s cooking styles, foods and wines in this unique food lover’s program.
If you are an advanced cooker or chef, we can offer the same Yoga and Cooking with advanced cooking classes and make it a tailor made menu for you. Just let us know.
After each class, everyone enjoys eating the food that was prepared in class accompanied with a glass of red or white wine.
Cook, dine and get inspired on new healthy cooking methods with recipes that you will be able to recreate in your home kitchen.
Our charming Secret Garden™ Positano program is hosted at a villa-style Bed & Breakfast located in the center of town and overlooking the sea. Each bedroom has a private terrace and sea view and is surrounded by a flowered pergola and greenery. Cool ceramic tiles line each large bedroom, with a private bathroom and shower in each room. Additional amenities include: hairdryer, safe, refrigerator, and air conditioning. Breakfast is served each morning, and daily maid service is provided for your convenience.
The Secret Garden™ is truly a magical setting, terraced with lemon trees, and plush green gardens and set under spectacular bougainvilleas overlooking the sea. Guests can sunbath on their terrace, walk to the beach or relax at one of the cozy sidewalk cafés with a freshly squeezed lemonade. Step out your door and stroll past cafés, bookshops, and trattorias that spill onto the sidewalk. A panoramic view spans Li Galli Islands and the Amalfi Coast. The Tyrrhenian Sea is literally at your feet, and the beach is just a short walk away. As the sun sets, sit back on your terrace and watch the world-class yachts and local fishing boats ripple through the cerulean waters. Shuttle boats connect from each of Positano’s beaches and sail along the Amalfi Coast. From Positano’s port you can also take a water taxi or a private boat service to Sorrento, Ischia, Capri, Amalfi and Naples.
Mediterranean gardens and lemon groves dot the Amalfi Coast, and gardens grow almost all year long producing red cherry tomatoes, plump eggplant, zucchini and sweet oranges. Olives also grow in abundance thanks to the warm Mediterranean climate, fertile volcanic soil and salted sea breeze, all of which provide perfect growing conditions. Organic herbs of basil, sage, parsley, oregano, rosemary and mint, line gardens and fill pretty terracotta pots set on terraces. The local organic herbs that we grow in our garden are used in our cooking classes, along with our own first cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil.
Over time, Positano has attracted artists, writers, and photographers who came to capture its magic. It is a little Moorish-style village that was discovered by American and British troops at the end of World War II. Positano’s small winding streets are filled with tiny cafés, terraces, and artisan shops selling ceramics, limoncello and antiques. Take a walk along the stone pathway, the one little street that leads to the beach. Visit the parish church of Santa Maria Assunta in Piazza Flavio Gioia, a Romanesque structure that was completely rebuilt in 1700. The people of Positano celebrate the town’s feast day every August 15th, when the locals carry the statue along the beach with a parade of musicians. A spectacular firework display follows.
Positano’s famous beachfront is Tre Sorelle Ristorante, and Music On The Rocks. This lively area offers great people-watching opportunities. The footpath, Via Positanesi d’America, follows the sea and connects the Spiaggia Grande with Fornillo Beach. Three Saracen towers watch its shore: the most famous ones are, La Torre Trasita, La Sponda and Torre Di Fornillo, all from the 14th century. Set in the sea just a short distance away, are the mysterious islets of Li Galli. Legend has it that they were once mermaids and now have turned to stone.
Group pick-up and transfer from Naples airport or train station to the property.
Greet Sunday morning with a relaxing yoga session. Along with our qualified instructor Fortunata, reach, stretch and uncoil under a gentle Positano sun. Gently warm up and hold each pose for just as long as you can. Bend and stretch into a series of Sun Salutations, test where your limits are then relax as you cool down after your class.
Lunch on your own. Pick out a pretty trattoria and enjoy a peaceful lunch. Or simply sip a Prosecco at a beachside Café, before strolling along the seafront and going for a swim.
In the afternoon, head into the kitchen for Cooking Class 1: your first hands-on cooking class. Tie on your apron, get your recipe notebook ready and get cooking with our expert team of Chefs. During the class, you will learn to prepare regional seasonal foods made with farm fresh local produce in the healthiest way possible. Lunch or dinner follows and everyone enjoys the foods that were prepared in class. Toast with a glass of red or white local wine, included. (Additional wines, beverages, after dinner drinks and more are available at a surcharge).
Watch the sun set over the twinkling lights of Praiano & Li Galli Islands.
Drive along the famed Amalfi Coast headed to Amalfi and the hilltop village of Ravello. Along the way, stop to visit our artisan ceramic maker. You will see old-world ceramics like table tops made of volcanic rock and hand painted in soft colors with seascapes, grapes and lemons, romantic angels and Mediterranean scenes. This family-owned producer of ceramics also ships worldwide.
The town of Amalfi is rich in culture and history. The small town, perched on the coastline, is dominated by Amalfi’s Cathedral and its main streets are lined with small shops and elegant bars. Merchants display their wares outside and nothing could be more pleasant than browsing through stalls of herbs and spices, jewelry, shoes, the beautiful handmade Amalfi paper, and local lemon specialties such lemon soap and lemon liqueurs. Suggested is a stop in at one of the oldest and most famous pastry makers in southern Italy- dating back to the 1800’s. A look inside reveals a sweet showcase of chocolate drenched eggplant flavored with pine nuts, liqueur and orange; fragrant ricotta pear tarts; candied lemon and orange dragged in dark chocolate; or festive pastries of the day! Whatever you decide to order, take a seat outside in the piazza at one of the small café tables that overlook the greatest people-watching site on the Coast.
Morning is free. Suggestions: Limoncello Making Add-On Class or relax at Fornillo Beach.
You may want to add on the Limoncello Making Class on the villa terrace overlooking the sea. The Positano lemons used in making authentic DOP Limoncello, blossom and bloom four times per year. We start off the class with an informal discussion on the history behind the lemons and how they made their way on the Amalfi Coast. Learn our secrets on cooking with the Amalfi Coast lemons. Get peeling and watch the famous lemon liqueur come alive before your eyes. As the lemons bathe in the magic mixture, we fill your glass with an ice cold Limoncello. Tasting of limoncello included.
Afternoon Cooking Class 2: Tie on your apron and get ready for your second hands-on cooking class. Start with our antipasto, then get busy creating pasta, a main course and dessert. Lunch or dinner follows on the foods prepared in class after the cooking class. Toast with a glass of red or white local wine, and end with a sweet dessert, both included. (Additional wines, beverages, after dinner drinks and more are available at a surcharge).
Mediterranean Diet Talk. After class, enjoy a talk given by a local health professional on the enormous benefits of following a Mediterranean-style diet – from antioxidants to healthy omega-three oils, and how by eating fresh, seasonal products cooked simply, you can heal the body from within.
Enjoy the evening, walk the sands, catch the sites and listen to live Neapolitan music in Zagara as you look out over a dreamy Tyrrhenian Sea.
Greet the new morning with your second yoga session. Along with Fortunata, reach, stretch and uncoil again and follow her gentle instructions. Slowly warm up and hold each pose before bending and stretching into a series of Sun Salutations. Enjoy testing your limits then relax as you cool down after your class.
1 Total Body Therapeutic Relaxing Massage.
Suggestion on your own– Explore Sorrento the city of song, dance and the Tarantella on your own. Visit Piazza Tasso and the famous Fauno Café, walk through the cobblestone streets and see artisans make shoes, leather bags, ceramics, confetti and wedding candies. Visit the artisan soap maker who produces lemon soap from the essence of the Sorrento lemons. Visit the famous limoncello maker and see how this delicious local drink is made, complimentary tastings included. Stop at the artisan “Confetti & Agrumeti,” and watch Antonio toast the almonds and then coat them in chocolate, orange zest or lemon. Complimentary tastings of the sugarcoated almonds are available. Walk to Marina Grande in old Sorrento and visit the Church of Saint Ann – the patron saint of the marina – sip a Prosecco at the Fauno Café, or stroll along the famous Corso Italia. This is not included in the tour, and is a suggestion.
In the afternoon, enjoy your third yoga and stretching session. Along with Fortunata, reach, stretch and uncoil again and follow her gentle instructions through this early evening class.
Greet the new morning with your fourth yoga session. Along with Fortunata, reach, stretch and uncoil again and follow her gentle instructions. Slowly warm up and hold each pose before bending and stretching into a series of Sun Salutations. Enjoy testing your limits then relax as you cool down after your class.
Afternoon free to relax on the beach or pick up last minute gifts from your favorite Positano boutiques.
Seven nights accommodations, based on double occupancy in either B&B, 3-Star, 3-Star By The Piazza or 4-Star By The Piazza Accommodations.
Three hands-on cooking classes, with lunch or dinner following. Learn more about how to create healthy breakfasts, lunches and dinners following the principles of the Mediterranean Diet. A toast of local wine included, with additional wines, beverages, after-dinner liqueur and caffè available at a surcharge.
Four yoga sessions with qualified Italian yoga instructor.
Talk & discussion with local doctor/health expert on the proven benefits of the Mediterranean Diet.
Olive Oil Tastings with informal discussion & tasting.
Round trip group transfers from Naples Airport or Naples Train station to Positano.
$3,195 per person, based on double occupancy in Villa Style B&B with sea view & private bath. All taxes and Italian VAT included.
$800 starting price single supplement.
$2,850 per person, based on double occupancy with mountain view. All taxes and Italian VAT included.
$200 starting price for single supplement.
$3,195 per person, based on double occupancy in 3-Star Accommodations, with private bath. All taxes and Italian VAT included.
$895 starting price single supplement.
$4,495 per person, based on double occupancy in 4-Star by The Piazza Accommodations, with private bath. All taxes and Italian VAT included.