Adventurous, Creative & Cultural Retreats for Female Solo Travellers – The World Is Your Oyster

Whether you’re looking for a tranquil or action-packed wellbeing break, when travelling solo the world is your oyster. The greatest luxury about solo travelling is the freedom to go wherever your heart desires.

Give yourself the gift of travel and choose a life changing experience that will lead you to new adventures and create unforgettable memories for yourself and fellow Female Solo Travellers.

Creativity

Yoga and Creativity Retreat in Japan

Join us in the land of the smiles. Our newly redesigned Japan itinerary is set for the height of cherry-blossom season in the land of the rising sun. Stay in the historic heart of the city, and enjoy cultural activities, tastings, yoga in a temple, and a Japanese spa day.

This time we’ll be accompanied by our private guide during our week and led through some of the more hidden, off-the-beaten-path experiences and sacred places in and around Kyoto. We’ll be exploring yoga combined with creativity classes – both practices designed to lead us to a closer look into the Zen mindset of simplicity, quiet inward focus, and being present.

Yoga and meditation classes will be held daily to prepare our bodies and minds, and then our travel journal creation classes, led by collaborator Julian Hyzler, will help us find news ways of seeing. Both yoga and art working together to find focus in the many layers of smells, sites, and sounds that abound in this amazing part of the world.

Come away with us for a week in the incredible and culturally-rich country of Japan. where we’ll be staying in the cultural capital of Kyoto, the city with 1600 temples. Read more.

7 Day Art Workshop At Finca Parrilla, Spain

Do you dream of painting by the Mediterranean? We offer different painting vacations with amazing and experienced painters from Scandinavia. It’s a perfect opportunity to gain inspiration and develop your painting skills in a unique and peaceful atmosphere.

Peacefully located at the foot of the Teida and Alhama Mountains, overlooking the Mediterranean sea, Finca Parrilla provides the perfect setting for tranquility. The Finca is a property, offering a combination of elegant accommodation and beautiful surroundings. It consists of two houses, lovely rooms, a swimming pool, yoga facilities and a small Maria Chapel for silence and meditation.‍

The lessons takes place in the mornings and the afternoons and during the course we will visit the villages, go on excursions and enjoy organic cuisine with local food made by our private chef. Join in and experience the magic of this painting workshop!

We invite you to a painting vacation with the visual artist Ingrid Thortveit. (b. 1986) Thortveit is a figurative artist. After working abroad for 10 years as an artist, she now lives and work in Oslo. The artist has studied and taught at the figurative art school The Florence Academy of Art in Italy, among Europe’s most prestigious art academies.

Between a number of exhibitions and assignments in Norway, she has taught at Token Studio and LARA (London Atelier of Representative Art) in London. Thortveit teaches both portrait, landscape, nude and still life, with different materials, but mainly oil.

Ingrid will guide you through a number of different topics from The Florence Academy of Art. The course consists of two parts: Classic painting course in full figure with clothes and a day of inspiring landscape painting in beautiful natural surroundings

One of the days is set for excursion for those who want to explore this beautiful region. Or maybe just spend a relaxing day on one of the small Mediterranean beaches?

Inspired by nature, our organic, plant-based cuisine is a highlight for our guests and a key component of our approach to health and wellness. With this in mind, our Spanish chef has developed Mediterranean specialties with ingredients from local organic producers in the area. Read more.

Mixed Media and Storytelling Workshop, Ibiza

In this hands-on workshop, you will explore in depth the inspirational, aesthetic and symbolic potentials of art materials, textures, images, objects and composition of all kinds.

You will uncover the metaphorical and imaginary language that lies within your choices of media and how it can jump start your imagination. You will experience how your creative process reveals itself through unconscious connections and unexpected synchronicities.

The workshop combines scrapbooking, collage, assemblage and mixed techniques on paper, on hard surface and on canvas with guided creation exercises, embodied explorations, creative writing and group sharing to inspire personal studio time. You will create 4 to 5 artworks during the workshop.

The program is aimed for adults interested in art, creativity and mindfulness. Creation times are designed to be inspiring for artists and non artists alike, no special skills or experience are needed.

Nature is the ultimate artist and the nature of Ibiza is raw, untamed and exquisitely beautiful. Guided by Roseline participants will explore hidden parts of this historic Mediterranean island and find inspiration in its pristine nature, clear waters, inspiring light and magical landscapes. Read more.

Watercolour Painting Retreat at Salinara Art Farm, Sicily

The historic estate, “Salinara” is located in Marsala close to the Mediterranean Sea, one of the largest Marin Natural Preserve in Europe. Full of extraordinary charm and natural beauty, it is a perfect holiday hideaway with a beautiful sea view where both body and soul can regenerate, receiving positive energy.

Colourful sunset, olive groves, lined vineyards, typical historic centres of small villages, churches, fish markets, sleepy harbours, blue skies, unspoiled coastline, beautiful nature, jovial and friendly local people, traditional cuisine and great local wine.

Join watercolor artist Jeni Caruana who is an experienced tutor for all levels of artists, from beginners to advanced. She encourages everyone to challenge their boundaries and make new discoveries about their own unique expression. Whether it’s basic techniques to give a firm background, or a nudge into loosening up rigid habits, Jeni gives individual attention and inspiration to everyone in the group.

The sessions are taught in watercolour, because it is so portable and easy to use on site, but the principles of drawing and colour apply to all mediums, so artists are welcome to bring whatever they are most happy with. Or to bring something different to experiment with!

The aim of this course is to bring you surprises and joy in simply being able to spend time capturing the essence of your unique reactions to glorious Sicilian scenery to the best of your abilities – and even beyond.

Jeni will help you to see the world around you in new ways, to use different combinations of materials to spark unpredictable results and to find freedom and fun.

Focusing less on end results and more on new ways to start artworks brings exciting discoveries and fresh new work. Encouraging many ‘starts’ – different approaches to tackling subjects and media and being brave enough to ‘see what happens’ adds new skills to your toolbox and makes your artistic journey endlessly interesting.

In the evening you will enjoy dinner specially prepared for you by our chef with selected local wines at the Villa or dinner at typical resturants carefully selected by us. Read more.

Paper & Printmaking

Creative Retreat with Yoga, Paper and Printmaking in Lisbon

Above the hills of Ericeira, Alma do Paço is a magical hideaway with romantic charm. A stunning 14th century chapel is the heart-centre not only of this place but also, traditionally, of the surrounding area. There are cosy nooks to unwind and a pool to refresh body, mind and soul.

With its special light and the fresh ocean breeze, it is the perfect place to tune into a slower rhythm, away from the usual routine, rest deeply and find a creative flow, inspired by nature itself.

It is a place to come home to yourself and back to your true creative nature to then take on the world afresh.

Recharge body and mind through energising vinyasa and soothing yin yoga, breathwork and meditation, guided by our dear Lena.

Get into the creative flow with Lisboa Social Press founders Jilly and Tom during their hands-on papermaking and printmaking workshops. The next workshop takes place from the 6th – 9th May.

You will be encouraged to create intuitively, to switch off and become grounded within the creative process, completing the experience with not only a mindful approach to making but also a stack of prints and paper to take home. Read more.

Writing

Write, Travel, Transform in Tuscany

Located in central Italy, Tuscany is home to stunning landscapes, world-class food and the historic cities of Florence and Siena. It’s a place of art, delicious local dishes, Chianti wines and charming hilltop towns.

Tuscany is famous for many things, but of all its qualities, the countryside is perhaps the most remarkable. Whether you are walking the vineyard trails, or driving a winding road to one of the hilltop towns, its hills, valleys and cypress trees always seem to arrange themselves into an exquisite view. Each one more impressive than the next.

The retreat takes place at Villa I Bonsi, located 400m above sea level in the beautiful Tuscan hills, 45 minutes away from the magical city of Florence. Originally built in the fifteenth-century, the Villa estate covers hundreds of hectares filled with olive groves, vineyards and forest.

The Villa belongs to a noble Florentine family who dedicated themselves to restoring it to its original glorious state after it was occupied by Germans during WWII. Between the rolling hills, the wild white peacocks strolling free on the grounds, and the air of Florentine history, one has plenty to inspire and awaken the senses.

Olive trees on the estate produce one of the finest olive oils in the world. Grapes from the expansive vineyards are used to produce delicious organic wine. The land also produces fine raw honey, seasonal garden vegetables, and its own “Vinsanto” – a delicate white dessert wine that is traditionally aged in oak barrels for at least five years. Simply divine!

There will be a writing workshop every day except for the two days we go on all-day outings. Laura Davis will help you sharpen your powers of observation and ability to write vivid description. You will learn to record your experiences and insights with clarity and depth, facilitating a richer travel experience. We will also use writing practice, developed by Natalie Goldberg, to discover our “wild mind” and tap our deep creativity

A highlight of this experience is time shared with your new community of writers. Whether you walk in the vineyards or participate in our daily mindfulness/yoga class, you’ll have the chance to relax, rejuvenate and share with others.

Each morning before breakfast, Karen Zelin will offer an hour of meditation and yoga instruction. Whether you are new to yoga and meditation practice or you are an ongoing practitioner, the classes are designed to help you stay grounded, and to help you integrate your travel and writing experience.

You will learn the Four Foundations of Mindfulness practice, explore compassion and impermanence, and gain new skills for meeting life, on and off the travel path. Read more.

A Writer Within Retreats for Women in Tuscany

It’s not a question of whether you have a writer within, it’s how can you set her free. What could be better for your writing than getting away from the stresses of everyday life? A writing retreat, exclusively for women, held in a beautiful villa in Tuscany where all your needs are taken care of might just be the answer. All you have to do is relax and reconnect with your creative flow.

In this week-long writing retreat, led by Kathryn Kay, author of The Gilder, you will focus on finding and nurturing your unique vision while surrounded by a supportive community of like-minded women. In this safe and nurturing environment you will find there is nothing between your words and the page except unlimited inspiration.

Kathryn believes in the writer within you and is dedicated to getting you beyond your internal critic and into the creative flow. She has yet to find a student who wasn’t surprised by the writing they produced in her workshops.

Expand the boundaries of your imagination, master elements of the craft, generate new ideas, break through blocks, and write like you’ve never written before!

You will be met in Florence and driven to our villa 45 minute south of Florence where a room of your own will be waiting. Villa Castellare de Sernigi will serve as our base for this magical week in Tuscany.

The Corti family has owned this 800-year-old villa since the 1950’s and restored it to include every luxury and modern convenience, including air-conditioning and ensuite bathrooms in each bedroom. We will be the only guests at the villa and its staff will be attending exclusively to our group.

Your meals will be prepared by our talented Florentine chef who will cater to your every need, and by the end of the week you will definitely be in love with her cooking.

Following breakfast, each day will begin with a group writing session focused on the creative process and the elements of the craft.

As a reward for your hard work, you will enjoy a buffet lunch on one of the villa’s terraces. Afternoons will either be free to do as you please, relax/write/explore, or enjoy a professionally guided excursion to nearby sites of interest.

If you need a massage to vanquish the last vestiges of jet-lag this can easily be arranged. A quiet walk through the property’s olive grove is sure to quiet your mind and open it to the imagination.

Additional writing sessions will be scheduled on afternoons without excursions.  Before a three-course dinner, we will gather in the outdoor living room to enjoy an aperativo and admire the sunset.

During the week, Kathryn will schedule a private consultation with you to discuss your work. This retreat also includes a second consultation via phone with Kathryn at some point post retreat.

No matter where you are on your writing path, just starting a project, have lost your way, or simply need a new perspective, this is the perfect retreat for you. If you’re looking for something unique and luxurious…take the leap and join us in Tuscany! Read more.

Adventure

Adventure Ritual and Renewal Yoga Retreat in Iceland

In Iceland, the power of Nature is raw, powerful and uniquely accessible. Fire and ice flow form the earth as waterfalls, geysers and lava, and rainbows seem to light your path.

Join us on the new moon solar eclipse for an elemental exploration of Iceland: a celebration of spring and the new beginnings that it brings.

There is no better place than Iceland to slow down and connect with the energy of Earth, Water, Air and Fire.

When we connect with the elements, rhythms and cycles of the Earth, our energetic frequency recalibrates to that of our True Nature; we are naturally brought into health, alignment, peace and joy. This state of flow can be accessed by regularly consuming wild and high vibration teas and other medicinal plants of the Earth. We can also access it by spending time in Nature.

Join us for a perfect balance of renewal and adventure in the land of fire and ice, finding a new daily ritual routine and indulging in relaxation, while exploring stunning landscapes, pure botanicals, and extreme elements nature.

Daily yoga class, as well as a meditation time of either a ritual workshop, tea-ceremony, or just breathing in nature, will be part of each day. Adventures through Iceland’s magical wonders, healing time in the thermal waters, and time to connect will be incorporated throughout the itinerary. Guests will leave with an understanding of tea as a plant, a lifestyle and a divine beverage. They will be taught a personal tea ritual: a hand-blended tea and a daily practice to turn the mundane into meditation and tap into the bliss of the present moment. Read more.

Hiking and Travel Writing on the Camino de Santiago, Spain 

Hike the Camino while learning to use words and sketches to create a memorable travel journal. This is primarily a hiking trip, enhanced with creative elements to enrich your travels and record your pilgrimage experience. Writing and drawing will feed and support your journey, but this trip will not provide a deep dive into either discipline.

Beginners in both writing and sketching are welcome to attend. There are no writing qualifications or benchmarks you have to pass to qualify for this trip and participate. If you enjoy writing and are open to creating a travel journal, you’re welcome to join us.

In the classes, Laura will teach you the basics of travel writing, and you will focus on honing our skills of observation and descriptive writing. She will also guide you in using writing to deepen the pilgrimage aspect of our trip by teaching you to document the thoughts, feelings, and insights that arise as we walk the Camino.

Drawing, like writing, is a practice and a craft. Some of us will be total beginners (like Laura) and others have been practicing for longer and are more skilled.

The itinerary is designed to maximise creative time, while hiking the last 100 km of the Camino, inn to inn style. Like all adventure travel trips, the itinerary may need to be altered due to weather, unforeseen circumstances, new opportunities, and group interests.

The 14-day trip will include:

• Eight days hiking the Camino de Santiago (French route) beginning at O Cebreiro Pass and ending in Santiago de Compostela, Spain
• Four days focused on writing and sketching at the beginning, middle and end of our trip
• Instruction in writing, sketching and watercolor techniques designed to be used on-the-go to capture the beauty and meaning of your journey
• A small travel watercolor sketch kit with watercolors, watercolor brush and paper
• Your own pilgrim passport, to be stamped each day along the 100 km journey, qualifying you for your Compostela Certificate, on arrival at Santiago
• Delicious foods from the Galicia region, including local cheeses and wines
• History and traditions of the Way

In summary, this is not the trip to take if your goal is to hole up to finish your novel in the next two weeks or to do a deep dive into only writing. This is adventure travel with a deep creative bent. Read more.

Photography

Botanica Intima with Laurie Tennent in Tuscany

Immerse yourself in the Tuscany landscape, enjoy food and wine from an amazing chef onsite, excursions to photograph planned through the week . All levels of photographic experience welcome. Camera rentals available.

Spend a week surrounded by the inspiration of the Tuscan landscape where we’ll dig into the origins of botanical illustration, the appearance of flowers in classical paintings, and research dynamic floral contemporary photography.

You will collect plants and flowers to experiment with back in the classroom at our private villa. Each day you’ll enjoy assignments in the field, after which you will share your images in a group critique where Laurie will provide personal advice on both the technical editing and artistic aspects of flower and plant photography, drawn from her own passion – and 30 years of experience.

Laurie Tennent is an American photographer known for her distinctive, dramatic botanical images. Laurie holds a BFA from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit and exhibits her collections in botanic gardens, galleries internationally, as well as museums – with installations both interior and as outdoor sculpture.

Her work is part of many public and private collections including, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris, The Mira Goddard Center for Photography at Ryerson University, Toronto ,The Detroit Institute of Arts, Kresge Art Foundation, Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, The Gap/Doris Fisher Collection and the Chicago Botanic Garden.

With an acute sensitivity to today’s persistent digital noise, Tennent’s collection of intimate portraits command attention by returning us to our most primitive and organic roots. Isolating delicate living structures and amplifying them on a massive scale transports the viewer to a serene space where we are encouraged to breathe and to reconnect with the simple beauty of these objects. Read more.

Culture

Luxury Yoga Retreat at Peacock Pavilions, Marrakech

This Luxury Yoga Retreat at Peacock Pavilions offers a series of mindful workshops that will guide you in the exploration of creative self-expression in your life. Expect meaningful discussions and fun activities intended to help you tap into your own inner wisdom and heartfelt desires.

Your retreat home from the 25th – 30th September is the fabulous Peacock Pavilions boutique hotel. This stylish and eco-friendly abode has been featured in worldwide publications, including National Geographic Traveler.

You will not only enjoy the grounds of Peacock Pavilions, the outdoor areas including a lovely pool, patio, private terraces, and covered yoga platform, but the retreat includes some amazing day-trips to the surrounding sites.

A guided day trip in Marrakech will lead you through an introduction to souks and visits to sites such as Ben Youssef Medrasa. A full day will be spent exploring the nearby Atlas Mountains with a base at the Kasbah Tamadot Hotel with a traditional mule trek to the nearby village of Asni followed by time at the beautiful grounds of this 5-star location overlooking the vista and tasting menu lunch.

The final full day entails a trip to the famous Bains de Marrakech, a luxurious spa facility, where guests can be pampered to their heart’s content with a full program of various treatments. What better way to wrap up a week of yoga than a day of pure relaxation. Read more.

Luxury Yoga, Culture & Self Care Retreat in Bali

We’re returning to one of our favorite locales for our annual retreat in Bali. This year we’ll be premiering a new itinerary – a fully balanced week of daily yoga and meditation, plenty of self-care and pampering, and unique cultural activities!

Along with times for self-care (spa treatments spread throughout the week) and cultural experiences which connect us to the elements:

• EARTH: enjoy a tour of a gourmet organic garden during a private cooking class with a head chef
• WATER: we’ll take a ride in a traditional jukung boat along the eastern coast to a secluded beach with luxury lunch
• FIRE: partake in a traditional fire ceremony led by a Balinese priest before a delicious tasting meal
• AIR: breathe deep in the misty morning air as we take a guided walk through the picturesque rice paddy fields
• ETHER: end the week with a special spa ritual dedicated to the full relaxation of our minds and bodies, as well as a traditional Balinese ‘melekut’ blessing.

Our time in Bali will be split between two locations so guests can experience the best of what this lovely land has to offer! We will start at a seaside town away from the hustle and bustle and really settle in to this week by the ocean! We’ll spend half of the week in beach accommodations, a relaxing way to ease into our holiday.

We will be taken care of by an award-winning boutique hotel family that will host us at both locations in Bali. The first is sumptuous, yet unassuming – an ocean-front retreat that lies in the shade of Mount Agung, held up as sacred by Balians, surrounded by opulent coconut groves.

Mid-way through the week, we’ll head into Bali’s most famous town of Ubud. We’ll be hosted in luxury accommodations – a tranquil and secluded hillside retreat that sits high up on the edge of the rich green Ayung River valley in Bali’s central foothills, in the traditional Balinese hill village of Payangan. Both hotels offer award-winning design accommodations and even one of the world’s “Top 50 Pools in the World.” Read more.

Evolveray Retreat at Casale San Pietro, Rome

Start Realising Your Dolce Vita on this retreat in a stunning part of Italy, just 1 hour South of Rome in the heart of the Italian countryside.

Casale San Pietro is a small luxury hotel nestling in 8 acres of hillside olive groves. The gardens are abundant with herbs, flowers and lavender, with many relaxing areas in which you can reflect and spend some solitary time.

All areas of the Casale have panoramic views of the olive groves and mountains beyond. There is always the sound of trickling water for relaxation.. This is a full sensory experience to enable you to switch off, sleep well, restore wellbeing, and create wonderful memories through all your senses.

You will experience a beautiful all-inclusive transformational retreat in a luxury hotel. You will be pampered with some sumptuous treatments, yoga and delicious food and wine.

You will have space to think differently. You will also enjoy some wonderful creative experiences. You will be part of a growing Evolveray community of kindred women supporting each other.

You will have development sessions to gain clarity on your vision of life, practical advice and support to steer your thinking as well as ‘deep diving’ to clear any self-doubt or obstacles that may be preventing you from achieving your Dolce Vita.

​Each day will be a fusion of creativity, development, fun, holistic modalities and pampering and will include three of the ten Roots to Evolve – movement, yoga and sadhana. We will then explore the remaining seven principles that we lead to a happy and fulfilled life over the course of the retreat. Read more.

Sole Yoga Holidays – Sublime Santorini Yoga & Lifestyle Retreat

Between the magnificent sunsets, turquoise waters and ancient vertical cliffs, you can see why Sole Yoga Holidays chose to return to this incredible location!

Our retreat takes place in several private villas in one superb complex overlooking the blue, Aegean Sea. Our location is surrounded by vineyards and farms, yet only a tehn minute walk from the nearest beach. This allows us a peaceful and tranquil setting away from the bustle of downtown Santorini.

One day we will go on our own private catamaran for a gorgeous day on the turquoise Mediterranean Sea! We will swim, marvel at the sites and enjoy a delicious, fresh lunch of local specialties on the sparkling, blue water.

One evening after yoga, we will go for a very special wine tasting/aperitivo at a stunning winery with views-to-die-for.

This view is one for the books, that is for sure! We will also head to the famous small village of Oia for an afternoon of exploring and shopping. This is the most picturesque town in Santorini with unbelievable views of the caldera and the famous cobalt domes. Read more.