The All Women’s Surf Retreat

This year MI OLA received some AMAZING holiday gift suggestions for our Christmas Guide 2015. Inspired by our CEO Helena’s ‘Big Splurge’ pick, for this week’s blog, we asked her to divulge all about checking into an All Women’s Surf Retreat. Founder of MI OLA and Chief Bikini Officer Helena takes us through her journey as a lone traveler, reaping the benefits of this self-discovering adventure.

As the founder of MI OLA, I get questions all the time from friends about learning to surf, such as: “Could I learn to surf?,” “Am I fit enough to surf?,” or “Am I too old to learn to surf?” The answers are YES, probably, and no… almost no one is too old to learn to surf if they have an open mind about trying and learning something new!

Learning anything new can be intimidating. Especially learning to surf. I spent six months in Australia when I was in college…and I was too intimidated to learn. I thought I wasn’t cool enough. I was embarrassed that I’d look silly. There was a lot of machismo in the water.

I waited until I was 32. I was probably less cool then than when I was 20, and I still looked silly when I was learning! And yes, there was still a lot of machismo in the water at times. But today there are many more women ripping alongside them. Can I get a heck yes!!!

I learned to surf at an all women’s surf camp, which made learning easier. We spent a week holed up in a modest hotel in Maui with Swell Women. I surfed twice a day, did yoga and ate good food. By the time I left I knew how to catch a wave, handle my board, and I was completely hooked on surfing. It was a great experience and I left confident enough to surf on my own when I got home. Since then, some of my best friends are women I’ve met surfing. And there’s nothing like rolling up to your favorite break and seeing your favorite women getting out there! I definitely recommend a Women’s Surf Retreat.

 

What To Expect

A women’s surf retreat is a wonderful way to meet other courageous and adventurous women who value traveling, learning new things, a healthy lifestyle and having fun. The friendships that you will make in an environment like this are ones that are sure to last a lifetime.

The best part about this is you will have a whole new network of women to #GetOutThere with on your future adventures! Beginner or expert, there are endless opportunities to learn to surf or improve your game. When looking into a retreat:

1. Find a retreat created by women for women.
2. Check out what packages are on offer for surf.
3. Think YES you can! The worst thing that could happen is that you fall in love with surfing and change your life - like what happened to me.

The Rewards

1. You could get in the best shape of your life.
2. You will get more in tune with the world, and natural rhythms than ever before.
3. You will become a bit of a hippie – when you’re not charging the waves. You’ve gotten all your agro out battling the waves, and you care more about the environment because pollution and run-off directly affect you, as a surfer.
4. Your sex life will be better! Yes, I said it. You will be more in the moment, more physical and more confident than before learning to surf.
5. You could change your life… for the better. I ditched my life in NYC, working in fashion, and moved to the beach. Along the way, I fell in love, got married, had a baby, and started a company, and learned a little bit more about living Pura Vida.

Just remember learning to surf is a commitment and it can be a scary one to make. Go into it MI OLA Style… Feel the fear and do it anyway!

 

Where?

I have an endless list of awesome surf retreats I could recommend. But for this entry, I am giving it up to my local in Tamarindo Beach. One of my favorite surf retreats is Witch’s Rock Surf Camp (WRSC). It’s Costa Rica’s most popular surf camp since 2001.

WRSC really teach people to surf. In fact, they guarantee it. If you don’t learn to ride waves, they actually give you your money back. I stayed here a ridiculous amount of times, before moving down the beach from it. You can’t imagine how excited I was to hear they are launching a WRSC Women’s Surf Retreat.

This is a great place to start. I recommend this program to all women who want to surf or want to surf better. The safe environment allows you step out of your comfort zone to find the benefits of single travel far outweigh the risks. Check in with the WRSC website for upcoming female only retreat dates, package info and prices.

WRSC handle absolutely everything. From the airport transportation and lodging to the activities. And by being in Tamarindo, you can do the retreat and explore superb beaches and nature - AND great restaurants and entertaining nightlife.