Escape with Stephanie Schwartz to Lake Atitlan, a magical crater lake located in the heart of Guatemala. This retreat will provide you with the perfect opportunity to invest in yourself and your health, as well as explore a remote and sacred part of the world.

What can you expect on this retreat?

Our journey begins with an overnight stay in the colonial city of Antigua, where our community will gather and connect for the first time. You'll have time to explore the unique architecture, rooftop restaurants, and boutiques of Antigua prior to meeting up for a welcome dinner that evening. We highly recommend coming in a night early, if you can, to enjoy even more time in this city! 

On day 2, we will make our way to Isla Verde, a lakefront retreat center with a relaxing bohemian vibe, and stunning views of Lake Atitlan. Once there, you will have ample opportunity to experience the Mayan culture of Lake Atitlan, connect with nature, practice yoga in community, and create your own adventure.

Our time together will include daily yoga programming with Stephanie, locally sourced meals, two included cultural and adventure-driven excursions, and plenty of time for you to relax and recharge amongst the lush grounds of Isla Verde and Lake Atitlan. Our retreat center features a lakefront hot tub, temazcal sauna, and restaurant / lounge area, all available for you to enjoy!

Outdoor lovers will have ample opportunity to partake in many activities throughout our week including: hiking, stand up paddle boarding, horseback riding, zip lining, and paragliding, to name a few. Cultural activities include local cooking and weaving classes, and coffee farm tours. Boat rides are readily available to visit neighboring Mayan villages where you can enjoy local foods, markets, and some of the best textile and arts shopping in Central America.

Come experience Guatemala with Stephanie and an amazing group of humans. This week will change your life, if you let it. ;) 

Here's how you can get started...

A $500 deposit is required to reserve your spot on this retreat. Your trip balance is due 120 days prior to departure and will be broken into monthly automatic payment installments upon registration, if desired. If you have any questions about room types or the retreat in general, please email the logistics team at SolSeed Retreats and they can help you out: info@solseedretreats.com. 

Please read on for important info on: 

What is Included, What is Not Included, Passport, Immunization & Covid-19 Entry Requirements, Our Cancellation & Refund Policy, and Required Travel Insurance. 

-7 nights / 8 days in Guatemala, including:

*6 nights, 7 days lodging at Isla Verde, located right on beautiful Lake Atitlan

*1 night's lodging, dinner and breakfast in the beautiful, colonial city of Antigua

-3 locally sourced meals daily plus unlimited tea, coffee and filtered water

-Daily yoga programming with Stephanie

-1 guided hike to San Marcos and entrance to Cerro Tzankujil Nature Reserve, where we will spend the afternoon lounging lakeside + time for town exploration.

-Visit to the cultural village of San Juan + a demonstration at a women's weaving cooperative

-Use of on-site hot tub & temazcal sauna 

-WiFi (although please don't expect it to be as reliable as back home)

-Base Gratuities for your retreat center staff, boat drivers, van drivers and included tour guides

-Round-trip transfers to and from Guatemala City (GUA)*

*Included group transportation scheduling is done at the sole discretion of SolSeed Retreats, and may result in lengthy waits at the airport. SolSeed will always help people book their own, private transfers, according to their specific travel itineraries and/or desires. Individuals will be liable for the cost of their separate transportation bookings. 

-Roundtrip airfare to GUA (Guatemala City) 

-Massages (can be booked directly at Isla Verde)

-Alcoholic Beverages

-Other optional excursions

-Required Travel Insurance

FLIGHT PARAMETERS:

Arrival Date: Saturday January 18th, 2025

Arrival Time: Arrive between 11am and 4pm Guatemala time to take part in included group transportation from the airport to our hotel in Antigua, Guatemala, where we spend the first night of the retreat.

Arrival Airport: Guatemala City International Airport (La Aurora)

Airport Code: GUA

Note: If you arrive before 11am or after 4pm, we can arrange a driver for you for an estimated cost of $55, which will be payable directly to our hotel in Antigua upon check-in. Our first scheduled event on Saturday is a group dinner in Antigua at 7pm, so please arrive by 4pm to ensure you make dinner.

Pro Tip: Antigua is a very safe, beautiful and cultural city (also a World UNESCO Heritage Site)  with lots to see and do! If you’re thinking about coming in a night or two early to have more time to explore, we highly recommend you stay in this town, versus Guatemala City. Check out this handy guide to Antigua we’ve put together to answer questions on where to stay, how to arrive, and what to do once there! SolSeed Guide to Antigua

Departure Date: Saturday January 25th, 2025

Departure Time: Please only book flights that depart AFTER 12pm as we will be making the 3 hour drive from the lake to the airport that morning.

Note: If you book a flight that departs prior to 12pm, you could incur additional costs of as much as $200. 

Once you have booked your flights, please forward your itinerary to info@solseedretreats.com.

Please note that we can only run a limited number of shuttles back to Guatemala City on departure day, but we will always do our best to arrange convenient transportation times. We will also offer personal shuttle options, according to your preference, but they may incur additional fees.

Lake Atitlan is a magical, 50 square mile, crater lake located in south-east Guatemala. At its deepest point, it’s over 1,100 feet! It’s approximately a 3.5 hour drive from Guatemala City and 2 hours from the beautiful colonial city of Antigua. Surrounded by majestic volcanoes and cultural Mayan villages, Lake Atitlan is the perfect place to disconnect, explore, and open your heart and perspective to what could be.

The climate at Lake Atitlan is also perfection, and incredibly complimentary for yoga classes, as well as outdoor adventuring. From January - April, daytime highs average a comfortable 75 - 80 degrees. Evenings are cooler, with temperatures in the low 60’s / high 50’s, perfect for sleeping. At a mile high in altitude, warm days of swimming and exploring are followed by cool nights in flannels by the fire, or relaxing in the wood-fired sauna.

We rank this itinerary as Activity Level 4 - Active, however, modifications are available to make it Activity Level 3 - Moderate. The retreat center is situated on the side of a hill, and participants will need to be comfortable climbing flights of stairs throughout each day. You will also need to be comfortable getting in and out of boats. 

Activity Level 1 - Easy: Expect only short walks, and short flights of stairs.

Activity Level 2 - Relaxed: Expect short walks, slight inclines, and sustained activity for only a few hours.

Activity Level 3 - Moderate: Expect slightly longer walks, and activities that correlate to a semi-active lifestyle. Participants should be comfortable with half days of touring, and walking up and down steeper inclines.

Activity Level 4 - Active: Expect longer walks, steeper inclines, and 4 - 6 hours of sustained activities, with appropriate rests. To take advantage of all the offerings, folks should lead an active life style.

Activity Level 5 - Challenging: Expect vigorous walks, hikes, kayaking, etc. Participants should be experienced in outdoor activities, and know how to prepare for, and endeavor upon full day adventures in the wild!

If you have any questions or concerns about this itinerary's Activity Level, please contact info@solseedretreats.com for more details prior to registering. 

You must have a valid passport to travel to Guatemala. Please check your passport expiration date and make sure it is valid for the time you are on your retreat.

There are no required vaccinations to enter Guatemala. If you'd like to see what optional vaccinations the CDC recommends, please visit: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/guatemala

Note: We do not visit areas at risk of Malaria, Dengue, or Yellow Fever.

All retreats include a $500 non-refundable / non-transferable deposit, which is required to hold your spot on the trip. 

Additional balance payments made are refundable up to 120 days prior to the retreat start date. SolSeed must receive an email at info@solseedretreats.com requesting cancellation prior to 12:00AM on this date in order to secure a refund of additional balances paid. The initial $500 deposit remains non-refundable and non-transferable. All balances paid are non-refundable and non-transferable within 120 days of the retreat start date. 

SolSeed Retreats can only make an exception to these terms if:

1. The host government forbids us to visit as tourists.
2. The host government forbids our vendors from hosting us as tourists.
3. The US government forbids us to travel to the host country as tourists.

If SolSeed must further postpone or cancel the trip for any of the above reasons, all registrants will receive a refund of all deposits paid less $200.

If you refuse to comply with the entry laws of the host country, region, town, etc; SolSeed will not consider this a valid reason for receiving any refund. SolSeed will ensure to the best of their abilities that all registrants comply with all then current laws and regulations.

The purchase of travel insurance is required for this trip.

Most policies protect you against potential trip delays or cancellations due to airline issues, family emergencies, illness, injury, etc. The travel insurance will also demonstrate to the host country that you are able to pay for any emergency services which may be necessary during your stay.

SolSeed is not authorized to sell travel insurance. Any offer to purchase travel insurance that you encounter during the checkout process are third party offers. You are free to select your own policy provider. If you would like to review options in a convenient online marketplace, we like what www.insuremytrip.com has put together. We have also had great experience with Trawick International and their customer service, and heard very good things from AAA and AMEX Members who have purchased their travel insurance through those respective agencies.

We strongly encourage you to speak with a travel insurance agent to discuss your specific coverage needs, and to clear up any questions you may have relative to travel insurance coverage.

If you'd like to read more about Travel Insurance and our suggestions, please visit this blog post: https://solseedretreats.com/travel-insurance-faqs/