Fitness Retreats Are the New Way to Vacation in Costa Rica

[Shannon Farley]

Imagine coming back from your Costa Rica vacation feeling relaxed, fit, healthy, and on fire with life.

This is what you get when you hook up with a very passionate fitness team and other highly motivated travelers on a tropical paradise beach in Costa Rica for an epic life-changing fitness retreat.

Much more exotic than your average fitness program, an “I Breathe Fitness Retreat” brings you to an outstanding location in Costa Rica for a week to train with a renowned professional fitness coach, exercise in a friendly non-competitive environment, relax, eat delicious healthy meals, and explore a new culture.

Fitness and wellness retreats are the hottest trend. Gone are the days of the “fly-and-flop” holiday. Following in the steps of yoga and surf retreats, people are looking for healthier lifestyles and ways to take their workouts to the next level … while on vacation. Starting in Bali and Thailand, now top fitness instructors and YouTube exercise stars are taking active lifestyle fans all over the world to strengthen their bodies in stunning destinations.

“There is a tendency that people don’t want to go to all-inclusive vacation resorts anymore for all-you-can-eat buffets and just lying around a pool or beach. People want an active vacation to lose weight, be fit, meet people who are like them, and go home feeling good,” said Ebonie Finley of I Breathe Fitness, based in Montreal, Canada. “The concept is basically the same as a yoga retreat or a surf retreat, but is a new trend of a fitness retreat.”

Fitness retreats are great vacations for busy people who don’t want to worry about planning every detail of their trip, and are also popular with single travelers.

“You get the luxury of not having to organize your vacation. You get to lose weight, experience a new culture, meet like-minded people, and do fun activities,” said Finley. “The point is for people to come, work out, discover Costa Rica and have a great vacation.”

The 7-day/6-night I Breath Fitness retreats are designed to accommodate any age and every level of training, even if you’re not a hardcore workout fanatic. Said Finley, you will get to experience a variety of workouts, yoga, surfing, activities, and “moments where you can just relax, enjoy the sun and what Costa Rica has to offer.” Participants are free to skip out on a training session whenever they feel like it to relax or go explore, she said.

Retreats are led by renowned fitness coaches. The first I Breathe Fitness Retreat in Costa Rica is slated for May 1 to 7, 2017 at Hotel Tropico Latino right on the beach in Santa Teresa. Only open to 18 persons, you should book now to save your spot.

The laid-back beach paradise of Playa Santa Teresa exudes a low-key, eco-friendly vibe that encourages you to be outdoorsy, fit and healthy. This small yet cosmopolitan beach town on the southwestern tip of the Pacific’s Nicoya Peninsula is known for its excellent surfing waves, yoga retreats and its picture-perfect tropical beaches.

“We really want to do fitness retreats in Santa Teresa because it has a real Costa Rican vibe. It isn’t touristy like other places,” explained Finley. “People come here for the vibe, the incredible beaches and the friendly community. The sun is always bright and the sunsets are speechless.”

Tropico Latino is one of the best hotels in Santa Teresa, rated in the top three hotels on TripAdvisor, and is award-winning. Finley said they chose Costa Rica as a destination because of the abundant affordable flights from Canada and the USA, and the country’s eco-friendly active culture.

I Breathe Fitness Retreats are all-inclusive once participants land in Costa Rica (you must fly into San Jose – SJO). In-country charter flights and ground transportation to the hotel are included, along with all meals, two fitness workouts daily, yoga classes, surf lessons, boxing classes, nutrition classes, and a much-deserved massage. Optional activities like zip lining, horseback riding, sunset SUP yoga, jungle trekking and snorkeling, are extra. There is also a community volunteer project planned.

“For our I Breathe Fitness team, it’s important to create a good karma vacation by respecting the environment and the culture wherever we offer our retreats in the world. That's why we organize a half-day voluntary activity in which we give back to the Costa Rican community,” noted Finley.

If you’re ready to take a vacation where you go home feeling refreshed and motivated to be fit, improve your nutrition, reduce stress, and create a life you love, then an I Breathe Fitness Retreat in Costa Rica is for you.