What a spectacular creative writing retreat this has been.
This year, we had a brand new location for our writing retreat in Costa Rica: a lovely boutique hotel located on the edge of rainforest just outside the town of Quepos. We brought together 10 wonderful writers, two of them with partners who joined our group for sightseeing in the afternoons.
This new location was more perfect than we could have imagined. A lovely pool, a pretty breakfast bar, views of Scarlet Macaws nesting halfway up the hillside, and three well-equipped cottages which were occupied by our writers. Morning writing workshops took place on the rainforest-view patio belonging to the largest of three cottages, and if it became hot as the morning wore on, we were able to move inside to a very large dining room table. In our morning workshops we explored everything from ways to plan creative nonfiction, novels, and short stories to unstructured forms of writing using surrealist prompts.
Each afternoon, our writers chose beautiful spots around the hotel grounds in which to work on their writing projects: by the pool, in the bar, or at seating areas with views down over the rainforest to the sea. The cottage situation worked out so well that one night we even made a communal meal, sharing it in the largest of the three cottages and spending our time chatting together. Being in cottages rather than hotel rooms did wonders for the community of the group.
The afternoon sightseeing options were also enjoyed by all. On one afternoon we walked together to a secluded beach only accessible on foot, while on another day we inverted sightseeing and workshops, setting off at first light for Manuel Antonio National Park. Our writers saw monkeys, toucans, sloths and more. Some of us even took a sailboat trip one afternoon, snorkelling in a beautiful bay, and watching dolphins leap around the boat.
Our final outing was to Rainmaker, a private conservation area filled with hanging bridges and gorgeous waterfalls. Many of the waterfalls had pools at the base of them which were perfect for swimming.
In the evenings we discovered new places to eat, one of the group favourites being a small traditional restaurant in Quepos town.
So many friendships were forged during the trip, and many writers began all worked on writing projects, so there was a real feel of immersion to the week.
After I said goodbye to all our writers at the end of the week, I went to visit Arenal Observatory Lodge, where we will be holding a retreat next year. This place is equally spectacular, so we should have two back-to-back opportunities for writers in 2026, one being our beach retreat in Quepos and the other being a remote and gorgeous rainforest lodge close to La Fortuna.
If you are interested in joining us for our 2026 Costa Rica writing retreats, check our website in a week or two, and the information package will be available for you to see. Alternately, complete the form to get on our mail list and you will receive the information as soon as booking opens.
Pura Vida!
