Power at the Edge of Comfort Zones: Embracing Change in Guatemala With Katrina Crossley
Your TourHero
About Katrina Crossley:
My classes provide a space for self-exploration and promote physical and mental growth. I focus on alignment, awareness, and the connection of breath and movement in a dynamic practice that builds strength, and flexibility and improves mental clarity. The styles I teach include Vinyasa, body opening, meditation, and strength and conditioning.
Duration
9 days · 8 nights
Travel Date
Oct 30 – Nov 7, 2024
Activity Level
Moderate
Group Size
6 – 20
Transportation
Van, boat
Tour Price
Your Fellow Explorers
Age range
21+
Travel interest
Meditation, yoga, nature, outdoors, food, relaxation
Your Local Guide
Due South Travels is a travel company that specializes in providing unique and authentic travel experiences in Guatemala. With core services that include travel planning and custom guided tours, Due South Travels prides itself on its ability to execute complete in-country travel experiences in an organized, safe, and efficient way. Their team of professional guides and local experts provide personalized attention to each traveler, ensuring that they have a meaningful and unforgettable experience in Guatemala.
Step into the out-of-this-world landscapes surrounding Lake Atitlán in Guatemala and into the unknown. For nine days in Guatemala, we will show ourselves that it is at the edge of our comfort zones where we grow and become the best version of ourselves. We will learn how to enable ourselves to go there, and harness the power that already lies within us. Each morning, we will prepare our minds and bodies to receive new experiences before enjoying breakfast. Afternoon workshops will offer wisdom on how to affirm our own abilities and embrace new experiences. Nightly flow sessions will help soothe our minds and prepare our bodies for rest. In between, we will step out of the familiar and into the new by bonding with new people and their cultures on a village tour to San Juan La Laguna and try new things on a visit to the Atitlán Nature Reserve. On our penultimate day, we will give thanks to Mother Nature and seek her blessings for a bountiful year ahead in a traditional Mayan tree planting and fire ceremony, guided by a local spiritual practitioner. After nine days in Lake Atitlán, we will be ready to welcome all things new with open arms. If you find yourself often apprehensive about change, come change with us!
Cancellation policy
TourHero, the retreat host, and the tour operator reserve the right to cancel or reschedule this trip up until August 20, 2024. If the departure is canceled out of your control, you will be alerted by this date and will receive a full refund.
In this case, TourHero is not responsible for your preparation expenses, such as airline tickets, extra accommodations, loss of work, or any other cost associated with preparing for your trip. We recommend booking travel insurance, along with refundable flights/accommodations in case of cancellation.
Refunds for deposits
We will hold your spot as soon as you put down your deposit. However, if you decide to cancel your trip, we will be unable to refund your deposit.
Refunds for fully-paid trips
You may change or cancel your trip by August 20, 2024, for a refund, excluding the deposit. After this date, no refunds will be given. You can change or cancel your trip in your TourHero account by clicking on Your Trips.
Trip cancellation due to COVID-19
A full credit will be issued if the tour is canceled when there is full border closure due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. This credit can go towards booking a future TourHero tour. We suggest buying your own travel insurance for coverage of cancellations within 30 days of the tour commencing for reasons other than a full tour cancellation.
Your TourHero
About Katrina Crossley:
My classes provide a space for self-exploration and promote physical and mental growth. I focus on alignment, awareness, and the connection of breath and movement in a dynamic practice that builds strength, and flexibility and improves mental clarity. The styles I teach include Vinyasa, body opening, meditation, and strength and conditioning.
Duration
9 days · 8 nights
Travel Date
Oct 30 – Nov 7, 2024
Activity Level
Moderate
Group Size
6 – 20
Transportation
Van, boat
Step into the out-of-this-world landscapes surrounding Lake Atitlán in Guatemala and into the unknown. For nine days in Guatemala, we will show ourselves that it is at the edge of our comfort zones where we grow and become the best version of ourselves. We will learn how to enable ourselves to go there, and harness the power that already lies within us. Each morning, we will prepare our minds and bodies to receive new experiences before enjoying breakfast. Afternoon workshops will offer wisdom on how to affirm our own abilities and embrace new experiences. Nightly flow sessions will help soothe our minds and prepare our bodies for rest. In between, we will step out of the familiar and into the new by bonding with new people and their cultures on a village tour to San Juan La Laguna and try new things on a visit to the Atitlán Nature Reserve. On our penultimate day, we will give thanks to Mother Nature and seek her blessings for a bountiful year ahead in a traditional Mayan tree planting and fire ceremony, guided by a local spiritual practitioner. After nine days in Lake Atitlán, we will be ready to welcome all things new with open arms. If you find yourself often apprehensive about change, come change with us!
Timeline
- Day 1 · Lake Atitlán
- Arrive at airport near Lake Atitlán (suggested arrival time 2:00 pm)
- Individual transfer from airport to dock
- Water taxi from dock to town near accommodation (not included in price - 3 USD)
- Individual transfer to accommodation
- Check-in at Lomas de Tzununá (or similar)
- Welcome - meet & greet
- Intention setting
- Group dinner
- Relax and reflect evening flow
- Day 2 · Lake Atitlán
- Morning bliss flow
- Breakfast
- Free time
- Lunch
- Vinyasa & Asana workshop
- Dinner
- Day 3 · Lake Atitlán
- Full body flow
- Breakfast
- Free time
- Lunch
- Sound healing
- Dinner
- Relax and reflect evening flow
- Day 4 · Lake Atitlán
- Morning bliss flow
- Breakfast
- 8:30 am: San Juan La Laguna village tour
- 1:30 pm: Return to retreat center
- Late lunch
- Free time
- Dinner
- Relax and reflect evening flow
- Day 5 · Lake Atitlán
- Morning bliss flow
- Breakfast
- Free time
- Lunch
- Vinyasa & Arm balance workshop
- Dinner
- Relax and reflect evening flow
- Day 6 · Lake Atitlán
- Full body flow
- Breakfast
- 9 am: Reserva Natural Atitlán visit
- Lunch at the nature reserve
- 3 pm: Return to retreat center
- Free time
- Dinner
- Relax and reflect evening flow
- Day 7 · Lake Atitlán
- Morning bliss flow
- Breakfast
- Free time
- Lunch
- Handstand fundamentals workshop
- Dinner
- Relax and reflect evening flow
- Day 8 · Lake Atitlán
- Morning bliss flow
- Breakfast
- 9 am: Mayan tree planting and fire ceremony
- Lunch in the community
- 2 pm: Return to retreat center
- Free time
- Dinner
- Relax and reflect evening flow
- Day 9 · Lake Atitlán
- Morning bliss flow
- Breakfast
- Check out of accommodation (suggested leaving time 11:00 am)
- Transfer from accommodation to airport
- Journey ends
Details
Day 1
Go beyond comfort zones amidst nature at Lake Atitlán
Welcome to Guatemala, where majestic landscapes covered in verdant forests will provide us with a peaceful sanctuary to open our minds to all things new. Upon touchdown at the airport (we suggest no later than 2:00 pm), you'll board a transfer that will seamlessly whisk you away toward our retreat in Lake Atitlán. As the retreat venue is only accessible by boat, the transfer will drop you at dock where you will take a public water taxi to the town where the venue is located. As you arrive at our haven for the days to come, you'll feel the mood change as scenes of towering volcanoes around Lake Atitlán transport you into another world.
At the retreat, check-in and settle into your rooms. Once all our companions have arrived, we will get together for a meet and greet and set out intentions for the week ahead. From here, we’ll gather for a group dinner to fill our tummies after a long day of travel. After that, we start the trip right with an evening flow session to release the tension in our body and tune in to the relaxing atmosphere that surrounds us. Then, we'll rest for the night. Tomorrow, we begin our journey towards positive transformation.
Day 2
Prepare to embrace change with open arms
Our journey in Lake Atitlán is all about readying our minds and soul for all things new. Throughout our time at our lakeside sanctuary, we will spend the day focusing our energies on the good and re-aligning our inner selves. To do so, we will come together for sessions each day before breakfast. We'll let the gentle rays of the sun shimmering across the surface of Lake Atitlán guide us towards bliss first thing in the morning. After this flow session, we will enjoy a delicious breakfast. Then, lunch will provide us with nourishment for our body and soul before a Vinyasa and Asana workshop in the afternoon imbue us with the wisdom to embrace the unknown. After a day of physical, mental, and spiritual work, we dig into dinner before an evening of rest and relaxation.
Day 3
Dispel anxieties by tuning in to the universe's vibrations
As morning washes over Lake Atitlán, we prepare to receive the gifts of the universe with bliss through full body flow before enjoying a hearty breakfast. After some free time and lunch, tune into the vibrations of the universe and tune out any unwanted distractions, as we immerse ourselves in a sound healing ceremony. Allow the acoustic reverberations to pass through your body, mind, and soul and rid yourself of any anxieties brought about by the unfamiliar. As day gives way to night, we end the day with a flavorful dinner and an evening flow session, allowing us the time and space to reflect on our inner and outer landscapes.
Day 4
Meet new people from new cultures on a village tour
As the sun begins to illuminate our day, we center our spiritual energies at dawn before indulging in breakfast. Later in the morning, we depart our home away from home for a village tour.
You will be picked up in a private boat with a local certified guide and transported to the village of San Juan La Laguna. The village is known as the epicenter of artisan production in the lake area. There, you will tour local art galleries, watch indigenous women practice their craft of backstrap loom weaving, and a natural dye demonstration. You will also learn about local honey production, cacao cultivation, and chocolate making. The tour culminates with a hike to a beautiful lookout point in the village. The tour will last five hours.
In the afternoon, we will return to the retreat center for a late lunch. Take the time to reflect on our experience at the village and the connections we made along the way. A sumptuous dinner followed by an evening flow session will help conclude the eventful day.
Day 5
Flow, find balance, and relax
For today, we will take things slow, clear our minds, and allow our bodies to unwind and recover. We start the day with a flow session before breakfast, habituating our spiritual selves to the new and unfamiliar as the orchestra of nature sings tunes to greet the morning's arrival. As the sun reaches its zenith, enjoy a delicious lunch before diving into a Vinyasa workshop that will focus on arm balances. Build the skill and muscle needed to hold these poses safely and correctly. Before we retire for the night, we enjoy a delicious dinner meal followed by an evening of relaxation and reflection.
Day 6
Step out of your comfort zone and into new experiences
As before, we start the day preparing our minds and bodies for the new experiences that may come in the day ahead before enjoying breakfast. Today will be a day of self-exploration through action. After the meal, prepare to try new things amidst nature as we visit the Atitlán Nature Reserve.
A private boat will arrive to bring everyone to Panajachel where you will visit the Reserva Natural Atitlán. There, you can immerse yourself in the outdoors on a short hike that passes waterfalls while crossing over hanging bridges. The hike will reach its peak when you hop on a zipline through the forest. Besides adventure, you can also get closer to nature's inhabitants at a butterfly house or meet rescued spider monkeys. The six-hour experience will include lunch at the nature reserve. Step out of your comfort zone, and embrace encounters with the unfamiliar.
In the afternoon, a transfer will take us back to the retreat center, where we will have free time to rest, relax, and reflect. Before retiring for the night, release any tension in your body in an evening flow session.
Day 7
Seeking self-empowerment in a day at the retreat
After yesterday's thrilling time at the nature reserve, we allow ourselves the opportunity to rest and recover with a relaxing day at the retreat. As before, we start the day by clearing our minds of negativity before enjoying a freshly prepared breakfast. As the day progresses, we continue to seek and attain self-empowerment through our workshops — today’s focusing on handstand fundamentals. Then, we reward our hard, spiritual work with a sumptuous dinner meal. Before retiring for the night, an evening flow session will help ready our body for rest.
Day 8
Take part in a traditional Mayan tree planting and fire ceremony
Start the day with bliss, where the majestic sunrise will serve as a reminder of the beauty of you and the world you live in. Afterward, enjoy a delectable breakfast before we depart the retreat center for a Mayan tree planting and fire ceremony.
A local, indigenous spiritual practitioner will guide you through a fire ceremony. During the ceremony, the practitioner will ask Mother Nature for a bountiful harvest in the coming seasons. You will be gifted a small tree to plant as a gesture to Mother Nature. This will be an educational experience that promises to evoke many emotions and bring you closer to the rhythm of nature. Lunch will be enjoyed with community leaders after the ceremony to cement the union of different cultures.
After the ceremony, we will return to the retreat center for some much deserved free time. As the sun begins to set, we dig into a final dinner together and be present to celebrate our courage to dive into new experiences. After dinner, we allow the positive energy to flow through our bodies before resting for the night.
Day 9
Head home ready to embrace the unfamiliar
Lake Atitlán and its serene surroundings have provided us a place to clear our minds of distractions, empower ourselves to step out of our comfort zones, and embrace change. For now, it is time to bid farewell and head for home. As morning dawns over the lake, we meet for one final morning of bliss before enjoying a delectable breakfast. Afterward, you will check out of the accommodation and head for the airport aboard a transfer. As you board your flight home, we hope that the days past have reminded you that change doesn't have to be all bad. At the edge of your comfort zone, you will find new experiences that will empower you and spur you on to be the best version of yourself. Within you lies the power to seize these experiences. Stay healthy, and see you again soon!
Accommodation
Lomas de Tzununá (or similar according to availability)
Lomos de Tzununá is a retreat center that specializes in retreats for yoga, meditation, qi gong, reiki, sound healing, personal retreats, and many more. Lomos de Tzununá offers guests convenient access to nature spaces and the best views of Lake Atitlán. The center is home to an enormous shala with a majestic terrace that overlooks Lake Atitlán and the surrounding landscape. The shala comes equipped with various equipment such as yoga mats, bolsters, cushions, blocks, and blankets. Besides the shala, the retreat also houses a swimming pool and a temazcal. Its kitchen whips up a variety of Guatemalan and international dishes and can accommodate a range of dietary needs. Rooms come equipped with free Wi-Fi and offer a view of the lake and its surroundings. Various room types and configurations available. See packages.
Included
8 nights in Lomas de Tzununá (or similar)
All meals (breakfast, lunch & dinner)
All activities described in the itinerary
One group airport arrival transfer
One group airport departure transfer
Not included
Flights
Water taxi tickets between accommodation and dock
All food and drinks not mentioned in inclusions
Optional add-ons
Travel insurance
Gratuities
FAQ
What happens if I need to cancel my trip?
Please check the cancellation policy section on this itinerary page for specific details.
Will TourHero or the operator take care of my visa (if applicable)?
Travelers are responsible for researching visa requirements and obtaining a visa if needed. Please check government websites to ensure you have the necessary documents, along with passport requirements, before your departure date. This includes necessary transit visas, permits, and vaccinations required prior to travel and any required reciprocity fees for the destination. TourHero will provide a booking confirmation document after purchase, which may be needed to obtain a visa.
If your visa is denied for any reason, TourHero will issue a refund based on the cancellation policy. However, we are unable to provide a refund after the cancellation due date has passed.
Do I need a passport for this trip?
A full and valid passport is required for all persons traveling to any destination outside of one’s home country. Most international tours require a passport that's valid for at least six (6) months beyond the scheduled end of your itinerary. TourHero will not issue refunds based on passport issues such as renewals or lost passports.
What's included in the price?
Please check the inclusion and exclusion sections above. You'll find information about included meals, transfers, flights, and activities. If you have any questions or need support, please contact hello@tourhero.com.
Available add-on
Single room upgrade
Private double room upgrade. (Only available for bookings of - Double room (2 single beds and private bathroom) -
Price: GBP 600
Sold out
1-hour massage
Price: GBP 65
Sold out
90-minute massage
Price: GBP 80
Sold out
Cancellation policy
TourHero, the retreat host, and the tour operator reserve the right to cancel or reschedule this trip up until August 20, 2024. If the departure is canceled out of your control, you will be alerted by this date and will receive a full refund.
In this case, TourHero is not responsible for your preparation expenses, such as airline tickets, extra accommodations, loss of work, or any other cost associated with preparing for your trip. We recommend booking travel insurance, along with refundable flights/accommodations in case of cancellation.
Refunds for deposits
We will hold your spot as soon as you put down your deposit. However, if you decide to cancel your trip, we will be unable to refund your deposit.
Refunds for fully-paid trips
You may change or cancel your trip by August 20, 2024, for a refund, excluding the deposit. After this date, no refunds will be given. You can change or cancel your trip in your TourHero account by clicking on Your Trips.
Trip cancellation due to COVID-19
A full credit will be issued if the tour is canceled when there is full border closure due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. This credit can go towards booking a future TourHero tour. We suggest buying your own travel insurance for coverage of cancellations within 30 days of the tour commencing for reasons other than a full tour cancellation.
- Add-on: 1-hour massage - Unsplash: Toa Heftiba
- Add-on: 90-minute massage - Unsplash: Katherine Hanlon
- Lomas de Tzununá - Facebook: Lomas de Tzununá
- Lomas de Tzununá - Facebook: Lomas de Tzununá
- Lomas de Tzununá - Facebook: Lomas de Tzununá
- As you arrive at our haven for the days to come, you'll feel the mood change as scenes of towering volcanoes around Lake Atitlán transport you into another world. - Facebook: Lomas de Tzununá
- Welcome to Guatemala, where majestic landscapes covered in verdant forests will provide us with a peaceful sanctuary to open our minds to all things new. - Unsplash: Alexander Schimmeck
- After a morning of bliss and breakfast, we visit the village at San Juan La Laguna to connect with the locals and hike to a lookout point above the village. - Unsplash: Jenrike Official
- We will kick off the retreat with a meet and greet session, followed by intention setting. - Facebook: Lomas de Tzununá
- Lomas de Tzununá - Facebook: Lomas de Tzununá
- Lomas de Tzununá - Facebook: Lomas de Tzununá
- The gentle rays of the sun shimmering across the surface of Lake Atitlán will guide us towards peace and serenity - Facebook: Lomas de Tzununá
- Wellness sessions and workshops throughout the day will allow us to focus on the good and re-align our inner selves. - Facebook: Lomas de Tzununá
- We start the day with a session before breakfast, habituating our spiritual selves to the new and unfamiliar as the orchestra of nature sings tunes to greet the morning's arrival. - Facebook: Lomas de Tzununá
- Besides adventure, you can also get closer to nature's inhabitants at a butterfly house or meet rescued spider monkeys. - Facebook: Atitlán Nature Reserve
- At Atitlán Nature Reserve, you can step out of your comfort zone on a short hike and zip-line through the forest canopy. - Facebook: Atitlán Nature Reserve
- We take part in a traditional Mayan tree planting and fire ceremony, under the guidance of a local indigenous spiritual guide. - Facebook: Lomas de Tzunaná
- Before retiring for the night, an evening flow session will help ready our body for rest. - Unsplash: Carl Newton