sahara goddess retreat
yoga & adventurefeb 10-18, 2024
this event is sold out!
welcome to an african desert goddess retreat like no other!
Are you ready to feel truly empowered through life-changing adventure & connection with like-minded women? Our Sahara Goddess Retreat has been designed to create the space for you to explore, expand your perspective, shift, and heal.
For the first time ever, we’ve curated a nomadic retreat experience to truly take a deep dive into the magic of the Sahara desert. Some nights will be spent glamping in the biggest dunes of the Moroccan Sahara, while other nights will be spent in gorgeous Bab Zouina retreat center outside of Marrakech. There will be the perfect combination of yoga, camel riding, shopping in the colorful markets with drinking wine under the stars, drumming with a local bedouin tribe, and meditation.
The colors, the sounds, the spices, and the vibrancy of Morocco are at your doorstep — and we’ve taken care of every little detail so you can adventure and experience in a carefree, zero-stress way. Everything has already been arranged: all meals, adventures, lodging, and transportation — up to the moment you board your plane to return home at the end of the week!
I cannot wait to show you why Morocco is one of my favorite places in the world. Get ready to soak up the flavors, landscapes, and excitement of a culture that is so different from our own — all while the smiles of this most amazing people remind us all of our shared humanity.
xoxo,
Brittany
overview
Our week will consist of a carefully curated choose-your-own-adventure schedule that blends yoga, mindfulness, and meditation, with exploring the Sahara Desert, walking through the vibrant markets of old Marrakech, and laughing around desert campfires under the stars. We’ll be offering workshops to explore and develop mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally — and you get to choose what workshops you attend/what you’d like to focus on! Every detail has been designed to create an atmosphere of support and excitement to alchemize your aha! moments into tangible and practical steps you can take toward a life of more healing and self-love.
After signing up, you’ll receive an email with a questionnaire to fill out so we can gauge your interests and design an incredibly customized retreat full of growth, breakthroughs, and love — all under the kiss of the glistening Saharan sun.
your retreat leader
Hi, I’m Brittany! I’ve been teaching yoga since 2008 and opened The Yoga Underground in 2010. I love the way that traveling gives me the opportunity to practice my yoga off the mat, as it forces me to expand my perspective and see things (and myself) in a new and different way. Traveling has also been incredibly empowering to me; each time I navigate a new airport in a new country, the world opens up to me a little more and I feel so alive! Leading retreats all over the world has become one of my favorite things to do, as I love watching retreaters’ minds open as they experience things for the first time. I’d be honored for you to trust me enough to show you some of my favorite hidden gems across the world! And let me just tell you — Morocco is one of them.
Activities & Excursions
Throughout the week, you will have the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of activities and adventures, designed to tickle all of your fancies — reconnect with your inner child as you allow yourself to explore and experience things for the first time, all in a safe and supportive group of like-minded women. Cultivate that sense of childlike wonder as we:
- practice daily yoga & meditation
- explore the largest dunes of the Moroccan Sahara
- visit a traditional nomad family in the Sahara to learn about their customs including how they cook in sand stoves
- adventure through the dunes on a sunset camel ride
- try our hand at sand dune surfing
- visit to a women’s weaving co-op
- spend time together exploring Marrakech, shopping in the market and trying street food
- take opportunity for a traditional hammam spa experience
the sahara
- The first part of our Goddess Retreat will be spent in the breathtaking Sahara Desert! Local guides will take us where most tourists are unable to venture — in 4×4 SUVs we’ll head through the Atlas Mountains into the largest dunes in the Moroccan Sahara.
- Temperatures will be mild during the day and chilly at night – perfect weather to cozy up to the campfire with a glass of wine.
- Our Sahara camp (glamp!) has a beautiful yoga space (with yoga mats included) along with private or shared accommodations, and will provide delicious homemade Moroccan meals. We’ll stop on the way to grab any wine/drinks if that’s your fancy, to make sure our campfire time under the stars is unforgettable!
the retreat center
- Bab Zouina, or “beautiful door” in Moroccan Arabic, will be our home during the second half of our Goddess Retreat. Bab Zouina is the most delightful retreat center located about 45 minutes outside Marrakech, Morocco, in Northern Africa. At the entrance to the Atlas Mountains, Bab Zouina is like living in an enormous, eclectic garden of fruit trees and cacti and flowering vines, with big stone buildings full of rich colors of hand woven cushions and copper lantern lights.
- Moroccan Arabic design is known for its extremely plain exteriors: most homes are completely solid on the outside — no windows or balconies etc. Yet nearly every home in Morocco uses exquisite, horseshoe arched doorways to mark entrance to something beautiful — and Bab Zouina is no exception!
- Bab Zouina has multiple separate houses with both private and shared accommodations, as well as tennis court, two yoga shalas, and traditional Moroccan hammam spa
- Temperatures will be mild during the day and chilly at night – each room has its own wood stove heater to make sure you are cozy as you sleep!
packing list!
☐ sunscreen
☐ sunglasses
☐ shoes/sandals that are great for walking
☐ comfortable pants/skirts
☐ tanks/tees/dresses
☐ journal/pen
☐ toiletries
☐ snacks
☐ gadgets/chargers
☐ comfy travel clothes
☐ money/documents
☐ day bag/backpack
☐ water bottle
☐ light jacket/sweatshirts to layer
☐ type F plug adapter
☐ passport (valid at least 6 months beyond the date exiting the US)
☐ scarf
☐ yoga clothes
make sure to have any medicine you need! and anything else that could help make your travels more enjoyable. add a travel notice to your credit card so you can withdraw cash at an ATM in town for extra snacks, souvenirs, spa treatments, or drinks.
Sahara Goddess Retreat Itinerary
the extension
For the first time ever, we are offering an extension option! It’s been our experience that so often our Goddesses want the chance to explore more in a given location, but are unsure of how to proceed. This extension will be an additional 2 nights in Essaouira, a beautiful ancient town on the northern coast of Morocco, about a 3 hour drive from Marrakech. We will stay in a gorgeous traditional medina riad, and the extension price includes transportation to and from Marrakech, a wine pairing lunch at beautiful local vineyard, time to explore and shop in the markets of Essaouira, more yoga and meditation, and a visit to a local fromagerie! Price also includes accommodations & meals.
extension destination: Essaouria!
dates: February 18-20, 2024
what's included
literally everything but your flight — we have taken care of it all!
including:
- gorgeous traditional Moroccan accommodations
- transportation to & from the airport
- all delicious & fresh Moroccan meals
- daily excursions & yoga, including: traveling to and from the Sahara Desert, accommodations at Bab Zouina outside Marrakech, and all activities
Flight Information
- You’ll need to purchase round-trip tickets from the airport of your choice to Marrakech, Morocco (RAK) that arrives preferably by noon on Saturday, February 10
- Return Date: please select your return flight for Sunday, February 18, preferably sometime after 11am (if you are adding on our extension, please schedule your departing flight no earlier than 2pm on February 20 from RAK)
- When you arrive in Marrakech on February 10, a driver with your name on a sign will be waiting outside the airport for you to take you to our nearby hotel
- We will gather your flight information as soon as you have it, to arrange drivers etc
Required Documents
- To enter Morocco, US Citizens must have a passport valid for at least 6 months after entry
- No COVID test is required to enter, or upon re-entry into the United States
- Morocco has no vaccination requirements
The extension: additional 2 nights in Essaouira: $799
*please note that the extension is separate and not included in the retreaters club. If you have been on a retreat with us before, please add a note in your order as to what number this will be so we can add your extra retreaters club discount! Retreaters club #3, #5, #7, #9, and #10 cannot be combined with any additional discount. Limited private rooms are available for an additional $50/night. Please let us know if you’re interested in that option and we will adjust your payment plan to reflect this!
no refunds will be made after November 1, 2023
everything must be paid in full by February 1, 2024
limited financial aid available
Retreat Reviews
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