How to Stay in a Monastery

Monasteries and convents are increasingly offering rooms to tourists and to those who need to get away from the busy din of daily life. While the rooms and facilities are spartan, a stay at a monastery is rich with an experience of inner life and a lifestyle that's removed from the fast march of the electronic age. To stay in a monastery follow these steps.

Instructions

1. Do some checking around. Monasteries all over the world offer accommodation to travelers and peace-and-quiet seekers. However, since there is no travel guide for monasteries, and the monasteries don't submit their details to the major guides, it's sometimes difficult to know if a monastery accepts guests. Do a little background checking online and by asking others about monasteries in a given area to get some information.

2. Call the monastery. Most monasteries rely on telephone and mail to conduct business. Try calling the monastery on a weekday morning, since this is the most likely time that the monastery will be accepting phone calls. If you get no response, don't give up. You just need to catch the monastery at the specific hours when the monks are answering the phone.

3. Make your reservation early. Most monasteries that accept guests prefer a month advance on reservations. Once you've made contact with a monastery you want to stay with make the booking early in order to respect the wishes of the monastery and ensure that you get one of the few rooms available.

4. Bring cash. Almost all monasteries that take guests accept cash only for the payment of services, the rooms and meals. Find out exactly how much money you will need for the stay. Plan on bringing at least that much cash so you can pay all your expenses right away.

Tips & Warnings

• Understand that monastery guest quarters are usually quite spartan. You will usually need to share bath facilities with other guests. Monasteries and convents normally have separate guest quarters for men and women, or offer shelter only to guests of the same gender as the monks or nuns.