Retreat Group FAQs
TRAVEL PLANS & FLIGHT RECOMMENDATIONS:
For retreat leaders: Plan to arrive into Guatemala City Aurora (GUA) International airport. From there, please keep in mind that it is still a half day journey to the lake, so be sure to arrange a flight to arrive early or a day prior to the day the retreat begins.
For retreat participants: It is best to have retreat participants to have their flights arrive before 1:30 PM ideally to get to the Lake by 6 PM, as it takes approximately 3.5 hours to get from the airport to the Lake.
IF YOU ARRIVE THE DAY BEFORE, YOU HAVE A FEW OPTIONS:
Option 1: Arrive to Antigua/ San Marcos la Laguna or Panajachel a day early and stay the night in a hotel/hostel (or contact Genevieve +502 4826 0471 the manager of Casa Colibri directly for availability the night prior)
Option 2: From the airport take a shuttle straight to Antigua Guatemala (they leave every hour) and stay in a hostel/ hotel in Antigua for the night (see recommendations below). Antigua has great restaurants, markets, night life and is a safe tourist town. From there, take a collective shuttle for the earliest departure the next morning at 9am (arrange at any travel agency the night prior - they are everywhere) and begin your journey to the lake in order to arrive by lunch time to Pana. Have a bite to eat in Pana before catching the boat to Casa Floresta/ Colibri
Arrival Day: We will arrange a private boat for you and your group any time between 2-5pm on the day of arrival from either Panajachel or San Marcos to bring you all together to Casa Floresta/ Colibri to get settled in before dinner.
Departure Day: Schedule your flight out of Guatemala either in the late afternoon/evening (after 6pm) of the last day of the retreat (Private shuttle would be necessary to arrive in time),
A private boat will be arranged to take your group to either San Marcos la Laguna or Panajcahel on the departure day at 11am.
WHERE TO STAY:
Hotel Recommendations near Airport: Hostel Novo, Quetzalroo, Hotel Dos Lunas, Hostel Villa Toscana, Mariana's Petit Hotel
Hotel Recommendations in Antigua: Hotel Mesón de Maria, Meson Panza Verde, Hotel Convento Santa Catalina, and Villa Santa Ana-Ricardo (sleeps 10 and you can book the whole place) good for small groups!
OTHER THINGS TO CONSIDER…
Meals: We typically prefer to serve two large meals (brunch and dinner) and a morning smoothie, and light afternoon snack. This allows our staff to start and finish at a reasonable hours as they have to travel to and from town.
If you would like 3 large meals a day instead, we can provide that for an extra $8 per person per day. We serve vegetarian meals, however we can offer meat options for an extra $5 per person per meal as requested. We can cater to vegan and gluten free needs.
Meal Schedule:
9am Smoothie, Coffee & Tea
11am Brunch
3pm Snack
5.30pm Dinner
Meals times can be flexible by about 30 mins in either direction.
Internet: Both Casa Floresta and Colibri offer WIFI connection for all guests.
Sauna use: We do provide a complimentary sauna for your group. The sauna fits up to 16 people, and if you have more people in your retreat, feel free to have everyone come and go in shifts, or making a casual drop in/out style to accommodate everyone’s needs.
Loud Noises: We ask that no loud screaming or cathartic ways of release through the use of animalistic sounds happen during your retreat to preserve the tranquil and quiet space for the residential area around us..
Pets: We do not allow pets on the property. Thank you for your understanding.
Plant bath: We get many questions about the format of the plant bath. It is a huge pot of warm tea filled with herbs from the land, that is a self serve ritual. The idea is that a plant bath is an energetic cleanse poured over the head, to release energy down into the earth. So you basically take a bucket and use some of the hot plant water and mix it with cold water which is also provided to get the perfect temperature to then pour over yourself. We typically do this on the beachfront after a lake dip, and guarantee it's a life changing experience!
Temple Props & Accessories: We have 48 blocks, 24 yoga mats, 24 ceremonial mattresses, 48 individual cushions, 24 pillows and 24 blankets available for your group's usage.
Wellness Spaces for Private Sessions: We can arrange a massage therapist on demand. Typically the sessions are either in a guest room or the lounge room of Casa Colibri.
Weather: Weather in San Marcos La Laguna is usually very mild. Most days the temperature is around 17-24 degrees Celsius, however due to the altitude here at Lake Atitlán (1500m), nights can be as low as 8 degrees. Guatemala has a dry season (November to April) and a wet season (May - October) each year. July and August are often also dry with a break in the rains. Please pack accordingly for stays during the wet season.
Room Allocations: We do our best to meet everyone’s needs as best we can and use a combination of the different accommodations to fit the capacity of your group in a way that will make the most economical sense as according to your invoice and the fact that we must rent whole houses and not just rooms from Casa Colibri.
Accommodations: We do our best to make sure you are comfortable at Casa Colibri, please know that we are ultimately not responsible for the houses there, they do not belong to us. But we will make sure they are well maintained, clean and comfortable for your group.
Photography/Videography: Professional photography/videography must be approved by us, so let us know if you will want something organized, we also have photographers around the lake we can put you in touch with if you like. Content will need to be reviewed by us before being added to social media, which will also require us to be tagged if requested. We reserve the rights to the content filmed at Casa Floresta.