It is difficult to imagine a city more perfect for a creative writing retreat than Merida in Mexico. This was our fourth year running a writing retreat here, and it was spectacular.
Our Creative Writing Workshops
Each morning we began our writing workshops on a glorious, colourful terrace in our lovely boutique hotel, surrounded by flowers and greenery. As the sun rose over the walls ninety minutes or so into our writing workshops, we took a break and then moved indoors to the cool interior of this converted Hacienda. Our writing workshops always include creative prompts, a range of tips and techniques, plus an opportunity for writers to share their work for feedback. The writers in attendance this year declared the workshops a huge success, all of them leaving at the end of the week with new sources of inspiration for existing projects, and multiple ideas for new ones.
A Creative Writing Community
But the success of a creative writing retreat is only in part dependent on the quality of the workshops. Equally important are the deep friendships that form between the writers who attend. This was a fabulous group of people. Throughout the week there was laughter, constant encouragement, acceptence of 
differences, celebration of connections, and a willingness to support one another. I have no doubt at the end of this magnificent week that friendships made across our writing table, in taxis, in restaurants, and during sightseeing tours, will endure for many years.
So why is Merida one of the best cities in the world to host a creative writing retreat such as ours? It comes down to the vibrant culture of this incredible city, a culture reflected in everything you see, hear and taste. The sublime Mayan and Spanish architecture. The serene and beautiful plazas. The fact that wherever you move throughout the city there is live music to be heard. The sensational foods on offer in a multitude of fabulous restaurants. And of course the art galleries, pretty little book shop, artistic cocktails, shady parks, and Mayan crafts. As the owner of our very special boutique hotel put it, in the Yucatan people are proud of where they live. I found myself asking the question again and again: what would the world be like if every community encouraged artistic endeavours the way that Merida does?
It would be full of happier people, more inclined towards peace and tolerance.
The Location of our Creative Writing Retreat in Mexico
Our fabulous boutique hotel, Luz en Yucatan, was once a Hacienda, and before that a nunnery. The high stone walls still give this special place a cloistered feel, even though it is in the centre of a bustling city. There is a pretty little pool, each room is unique, there are terraces for writers to hide away and relax, and most of all, the hotel is run by lovely people who do everything they can to make our stay incredible.
Sightseeing Trips on our Creative Writing Retreat
Half-day sightseeing trips have become a staple of our Mexico Creative Writing Retreats. We don’t run them every day, simply because there is so much to see in the city itself. However, this week our writers chose from three different trips. The first was to the Mayan ruins at Uxmal, which they declared to be even more spectacular than Chichen Itza. – and not crowded at all! The second was an adventurous trip to three hidden cenotes. ‘Cenote’ is the Mexican word for limestone caverns, often underground, where you can swim. We journeyed on carts pulled by a horse, through the jungle to each of the three cenotes. They were all spectacular in their own way, but the third was most spectacular of all, since we descended down through the roots of a gigantic tree on a ladder, reaching an underground cave filled with stalagtites and stalagmites, lit just enough to be magical. We swam around, in awe at the beauty, feeling we had fallen through a portal into another world.
The third of our three half day trips was enjoyed by the entire group, and has been a mainstay of our creative writing retreats in Mexico since the beginning. We took taxis to Celestun, a little coastal village, and then a boat out through the mangroves, to see flocks of flamingos. On the way back we were able to bathe in the Mayan way, covering our bodies in healing mud, before heading to the beach. We ate seafood at a beachfront restaurant, swam in the ocean, wandered, chatted, and watched a spectacular sunset before heading back to the city.
What is a Creative Writing Retreat, Really?
Creative writing retreats are not writing courses. Neither are they holidays in the traditional sense. Instead, they are an opportunity for like minded people to come together, build friendships and share new experiences. Creative writing retreats often attract people who travel alone, but would like to build community and friendships as they do so. More than anything else a retreat like 
this is an opportunity for people who love creative writing, or want to try their hand at creative writing, to step into a brand new identity for an extended period of time. While on the retreat, there is little talk of the identities we assume back home. We can shed whatever facets of those we wish to, at least for a while.
On a retreat like this we are all of us poets, playwrights, memoirists, novellists or simply ‘writers’, if that’s what we want to be.
If you would like to read about our upcoming creative writing retreats to Costa Rica and England, or if you would like to join us for our Mexico creative writing retreat in December 2025, you can find more information at www.centauriarts.com/retreats
