Thank you for joining a Keela Yoga Farm experience! We are very excited to have you and appreciate your choice to spend your time with us. If you have booked a visit to Keela then you will receive an arrival email two weeks before the event. Otherwise please do not turn up to the farm unannounced, as we are a working farm and usually do not have anyone available to welcome you.
Arriving by Car
Google Maps will get you lost so please follow these instructions.
- Follow the directions to this pin. https://goo.gl/maps/ox9dJQVKPo3YgHnj6
- From the pin above follow directions to Keela Yoga Farm
- Please do not bring dogs as we have livestock and working dogs
- Please close any gates behind you due to the livestock
- For any issues call us on 960188968 or 960188976
If you are joining a residential course, please read below
Getting here from abroad
You can drive to us (in Mata Da Rainha) directly or take a bus or train to Fundao and then travel to us by bus or group taxi.
By air:
The nearest airports are Lisbon and Porto.
Getting to Fundao from Lisbon:
Check the train and busses to Fundao as they are both excellent and have a more comprehensive selection of times between them unless specified. You should arrive in fundao before 5 pm for a group taxi
By train
Ideally, get the fast train at 13.32 from Oriente, but you can check other train times on the link below. It is easiest to take an Uber from airport arrivals as it is only two eur more than the train. Otherwise, take the exit for the metro; escalators will take you down to the metro. Purchase a ticket from the machines, and take the red (Vm) line 3 stops to Oriente (there is only 1 line from the airport. You can’t go wrong). At Oriente station, you must check the departures board on the top floor to see which platform the train will depart from. Trains to Fundao will be displayed as Entroncamento (where you will need to change trains) or Covilha (a non-stop train). You can see if your train will stop in Entroncamento by pressing the details button next to the train time.
Buy your ticket online in advance to make it easier, save time at the station and make it cheaper if you book very early.
https://www.cp.pt/passageiros/en/train-times
By bus:
Buses go from Sete Rios or Oriente Station in Lisbon city centre. Togo to Sete Rios, you can take an uber or the metro. The closest metro to the bus station is Jardim Zoologico. From airport arrivals, take the exit for the metro; escalators will take you down to the metro. Purchase a ticket from the machines (but better to book online in advance), take the red (Vm) line 11 stops to Sao Sebastiao, and change to the blue (Az) line 2 stops to Jardim Zoologico. The bus station is about 5 minutes’ walk from the metro. Putting the station in your google maps will help you find it 🙂
https://rede-expressos.pt/en/timetables
Getting to Fundao from Porto:
By train:
There is no direct train from Porto to Fundao, and the journey is very long with stops/changes. We recommend that you take the bus if flying into Porto.
By bus:
Airport to coach station, you can take the bus or subway but we usually take an uber.
Coach station (Porto 24 de Agosto) to Fundao bus station, book tickets advance online at: http://www.rede-expressos.pt/default.aspx
International Bus
These arrive in Fundao and there are many websites that you can find them on including:
Three big towns near us you can search for: Covilha, Fundao, Castelo Branco and Penamacor. You may find coaches go there from your destinations.
Getting to Keela Yoga Farm from Fundao
- On set start days we will send a taxi to collect you all from Fundao at 5pm (for PDCs we also have one at 2pm). Depending on when you all arrive, you will need to chip in for the 30eur taxi between the other arrivals.
- Otherwise, you can take your taxi to us for 30eur which we will order for you, just let us know your pick up time.
Leaving Keela Yoga Farm
- Departure time is any time from the morning until 12 pm
- A taxi to fundao will cost 30eur; we usually try and club you together with other arrivals and departures to share costs
Arrival evening
- 5.30 pm – Welcome tea
- Sign in and Payment on arrival in cash – Note there are no ATMs nearby
- 6pm – Goto your accommodation when your bed will be made ready or set up your tent
- 7pm – Welcome dinner and talk
- Following morning we will have a tour of the farm
Emergency contact information
Please ensure you bring this with you as we will be collecting emergency contacts at registration.
What you to bring:
Everyone who is sleeping at Keela
- Towel
- Slippers for inside the communal space
- Shoes other than flip flops
- Clothes you don’t mind getting torn or dirty, bring your worst clothes please, we live on a farm
- Torch – ideally a head torch with spare batteries or, better, is USB rechargeable torch
- Yoga and workout clothing (we have yoga mats, but feel free to bring your own)
- Natural bio-degradable soaps and shampoo/conditioners, and sunscreen – We sell all of these at Keela Yoga Farm cheaper than in shops (mostly made locally)
- Water bottle – We sell a Keela stainless steel one at Keela Yoga Farm
- Any medical supplies
- Any special (out of season or non-local) food you like to eat, e.g. nutritional yeast, nuts, Gluten-free stuff etc. Please let us know your dietary requirements before arriving so the chef
- Gardening/building gloves – we have used ones for you or new ones you can buy.
- A musical instrument if you can play one!
- Winter Season (Nov – April)
- Sleeping Bag (November – April) for extra warmth
- Waterproof trousers and jacket (Nov – April)
- Welly boots (rubber gumboots) (Nov – April), we have some spares
- Warm clothes – it is chilly here, especially at night in winter. A good hoodie and hat are a great investment! (Nov – June)
For a Permaculture Design or Food Forest Couse
- Laptop for studying (or tablet if you do not have a laptop)
- A notepad, ideally blank pages for design drawing and note taking
- Pencils and pens for design
- A Ruler
- Stationery for design work (coloured pencils, permanent markers)
- Maps of your land or projects if you have one
Laundry
There will be a large washing machine available for use and a communal washing line, cost is 1 EUR per wash (including organic washing liquid). You can also share this with other guests
Food
We provide 3 healthy vegetarian meals a day. We will serve meat from the farm once per week on permaculture courses but not on yoga retreats. If you have any special requirements, please inform us by email before you come and remind Kimberly of your arrival. We charge an extra 5eur per week for gluten-free to cover the costs of special bread, pasta etc. If you like to snack then bring your snacks. If you like special teas or things to go with your porridge, then bring these too.
Cafe
Portugal has a cafe culture where locals meet in the cafe for coffee, beer or wine. You are free to walk, cycle there or join us when we go there for some evenings. The cafe is the hub of the community in the local village. In our village, there is Cafe Rolo, which has a shop, wifi and some of them speak English. It closes at 7pm in the winter and 8pm in the summer. Please be respectful when going to the cafe and on Sundays, please try to dress smarter if possible.
Emergencies or hospital needs
As for any destination in the world, it is recommended you have an up to date vaccines. Working on a farm can increase the risk of an injury, the most important ones are Tetanus and Hepatitis A & B.
If you are from the EU please make sure you have a health card (EHIC). It does not take long to get this online. You will need this and your passport for an appointment at the doctors if you don’t have one it can cost you over 35 EUR plus more for prescription meds, so it is really worth getting. We also suggest that you take out travel insurance.
If you are not from the EU, please make sure you have travel insurance.
You are responsible for your own medical bills and Payment of 25eur for return taxi fare to go to the hospital/doctor
Internet
We now have unlimited wifi through a wifi sim, please bring your own devices for using the internet.
Donations
Do you know how many trees you have chopped down for use for toilet paper, cardboard packaging, paper etc? How much carbon are you responsible for due to buying food, cars ad flying. If you would like to offset your carbon footprint you can help us by purchasing trees or seed trays for the nursery. Please ask us when you get here and we can pick these up from the market. You can then plant them and make your own sign to go with them in your name or for a friend.
If you want to bring us anything we need that would be amazing. We always need arts and crafts, books, paint brushes, paint, seeds, old clothes for working, essential oils, superfoods, musical instruments, mugs, crockery and art.
Contact details:
mobile +351 9601 88 968
info AT keelayogafarm.com