Join us on the shores of the mystical Lake Atitlan, near San Marcos, Guatemala! This retreat will be focused around the plant medicine Ayahuasca and will feature two ceremonies over the five day event.
Join us for a five-night retreat with plant medicine ceremonies on the shores of stunning Lake Atitlan, near the town of San Marcos La Laguna, in Guatemala! This retreat features yoga, meditation, breathwork, plant-based food, a cleansing sauna and plant bath, community, and two professionally-guided plant medicine ceremonies with ayahuasca.
Jan. 4-9, 2025 is currently full but please contact us to be added to the waitlist. Next available dates are January 4-9, 2026.
Bigger Life Adventures’ Guatemala retreat will take place under the powerful, beautiful volcanoes ringing the ancient waters of Lake Atitlan. Surrounded by Mayan villages and steep, green mountains, you’ll arrive at our intimate venue, Casa Floresta, by boat. Traveling there is a portal from the real world into retreat mode. During free time choose to hike a steep trail to the hippie paradise/Mayan town of San Marcos, or travel the couple kilometers by boat taxi or tuk tuk.
Our goal on this retreat is to combine safe, transformative Ayahuasca plant medicine ceremonies with trauma-informed yoga, sharing circles, wild swimming and nature immersion.
As this is a plant medicine ceremony-focused healing retreat, we encourage guests to spend free time relaxing and integrating by the lake, protecting our energy amongst the group. Ayahuasca can leave you a little vulnerable, so staying in Casa Floresta’s beautiful bubble can help you integrate the experiences more easily. If you have extra time to spend in Guatemala before or after the retreat, we can recommend activities, hikes, and accommodations in both San Marcos La Laguna and the colonial city of Antigua!
The retreat is hosted by Bigger Life Adventures with two ceremonies facilitated by The Forest Path and comfortable, spacious accommodations at Casa Floresta and Casa Colibri next door. Both private and shared rooms are serene, cozy, and beautifully-decorated. You’ll feel at peace and able to detach from the stress of day-to-day life.
The group size will be limited to 14-18 souls who are ready and open to a deep and cohesive group experience.
We searched patiently and extensively for the right venue and right medicine guides for this retreat. In 2023 we traveled to Guatemala and participated in a ceremony at Casa Floresta that was truly life changing. We can’t wait to show you all the extraordinary magic of this place! For more information on how to choose the right ayahuasca retreat and why we’re going to Casa Floresta you can read this post.
Dates: January 4-9, 2026 (Or join the waitlist for Jan. 4-9, 2025)
Location: Lake Atitlan, Guatemala near the small hippie/Mayan town of San Marcos La Laguna.
Ayahuasca for recovery
Who else can be helped by an Ayahuasca retreat?
Those growing and healing from depression, anxiety, addiction, PTSD, childhood trauma, eating disorders, or desiring deeper connection with yourself and your ancestors. Ayahuasca can also help if you feel you stuck in a rut, need new inspiration, or just simply aren’t enjoying life to its fullest potential. That being said, we believe that plant medicine is not the best way for everyone to heal so we will strive to bring this to only the right people who are prepared.
Ayahuasca must be approached with respect and mindfulness. If you would like to join our retreat at Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, please note that you MUST be sober from alcohol, drugs, antidepressants, and other plant-medicines for a certain time period before and during the retreat, even if being off of these things is not a part of your normal life. Importantly, this includes pharmaceutical SSRI medications that can have negative interactions with the Ayahuasca. This is very important as pharmaceutical/plant medicine interactions could be quite dangerous to your health.
All guests who sign up must complete a pre-interview with Carrie or Zach of Bigger Life Adventures. If we decide that this event is not right for you, we will refund your deposit or help you apply it to an event better for you. It is our responsibility to create a safe space for this retreat and we reserve the right to decide who should be there based on our past experiences and guidance from the experts at Forest Path. If we have not met in person previously, please either email us before paying your deposit to schedule an interview, or be prepared to schedule an interview after putting your deposit down.
Just like all of our retreats, this is a substance-free, recovery-supportive environment! Although you don’t have to be sober in real life to come on our retreat, you do need to be willing to take a break from any recreational substances throughout the entire retreat experience. We believe everyone is recovering from something, whether it’s addiction, stress, trauma, eating disorders, or just the disconnection of life in our busy, high-tech world. Bigger Life Adventures strives to create a safe and open space for vulnerability and openness about each and every healing journey. Our retreats don’t include formal recovery meetings, but our guests are always sharing and learning from each other as we all work to use the tools of yoga and community to become better and live bigger lives.
Two ayahuasca ceremonies (6-8 hours each) on nights three and four of the retreat ($500 value)
Shared or private accommodations at Casa Colibri and Casa Colina, next door to Casa Floresta
Daily trauma-informed yoga and meditation guided by Carrie & Zach (always optional if you need to relax and integrate in another way)
Morning smoothie/ coffee and tea; two delicious vegetarian meals daily (brunch and dinner) and an afternoon snack (dieta friendly)
Group sauna and plant bath
Paddleboards available for use on the lake
3-hour Kirtan chanting concert with The Forest Path
Free time for exploration and relaxation
2 online integration support calls after we return home
Massages
Reiki with Zach
Ayurvedic wellness consultation with Carrie
Guided tours such as a Mayan Women’s Artisan Collective, “Mayan Face” sunrise volcano hike, etc.
San Marcos on Lake Atitlan is a paradise for hippies with yoga, massage, ecstatic dance, reiki, breathwork, vegan food, etc, similar to Sedona or a permanent never ending spiritual festival. You will find things you didn’t even know you were looking for and want to stay longer! Let us know if you choose to do that as we can recommend other sustainable places to stay.
Trip extension to include a stay in Antigua and 1-night volcano trek up Fuego and Acatenango, including lava viewing on active Fuego! It’s incredible!
The view from the volcano trek!
Antigua, Guatemala – A beautiful colonial city to explore!
Afternoon arrivals and setting in
Welcome circle, yoga and meditation
Plant-based dinner
Welcome campfire
Grounding soup and post-ceremony bedtime
Smoothies, coffee and tea time
Integration circle
Yoga and meditation
Brunch
Free time to rest and integrate
Plant-based dinner
Chanting concert with Forest Path
Sunrise meditation
Morning yoga and meditation
Smoothies, coffee and tea time
Free day to relax and prepare for ceremony, paddleboard, swim, ect
Plant-based brunch
Snack
Medicine ceremony with live music guided by Forest Path
Sunrise meditation
Morning yoga and meditation
Smoothies, coffee and tea time
Free time or optional excursions
Snack
Medicine ceremony with Forest Path
Grounding soup and post-ceremony bedtime
Smoothies, coffee and tea time
Integration circle
Yoga and meditation
Brunch
Sauna and plant baths
Dinner
Closing cacao ceremony & ecstatic dance
Sunrise meditation
Morning yoga and meditation
Breakfast
Closing circle
Departures to next destinations
Shared Room Bed for 1 Person
Separate beds with same-gender roommates assigned. Shared rooms accommodate 2-3 guests in separate twin beds.
$1950 per person-
Private Room for 1-2 Guests
Private room with a queen or two twin beds, private bathroom
$2450 per single
$3900 per couple
A 30% deposit secures your spot and your remaining balance will be due in two additional payments, the first by July 1, 2025, and the final payment Nov. 1, 2025.
Payment plans available as well! If a large deposit is difficult right now, please ask us about a monthly payment plan. Your full balance can be divided into monthly payments to be paid between now and two months before the retreat.
Land in Guatemala City (cheap flights from the USA on Spirit Airlines) and we will arrange shared shuttles from the airport directly to Lake Atitlan (3 hour drive). Please check in with us before booking flights to ensure your chosen itinerary will get you there in time.
Travel booking option:
Since I get a lot of requests for assistance anyway, I decided to offer a new flight booking service for all my retreat guests and friends!
You provide me with your desired travel dates and airports and I will find you the cheapest, best flights possible and book them for you, no extra charge.
I’m a pretty good “travel hacker” thanks to years of experience. We can do this together via Zoom to confirm everything or I’ll make sure to triple check everything with you before booking!
This benefits YOU if online flight searching stresses you out or you just don’t find it fun.
Full disclosure, it benefits Zach and I because I book most of our travel using our credit card points. We have a lot of travel planned this year so we need as many points as possible. You’ll reimburse me and I’ll get the frequent flyer miles to fund my own travel habit, haha.
Could be a win win for all of us?
Let me know if you would like my help with this. I know booking a long journey with multiple connections can be a little bit annoying. But there are also ways to make it more enjoyable — 1 day layover in Tokyo, anyone? For the best prices, you’ll want to book these flights at least 4-6 months before we leave. Reach out when you’re ready if you want my help.
-Carrie
Since all retreat deposits and payments are used to secure venues, activities, and supplies, and since canceled spots require extra time and energy to re-fill, all deposits and payments are non refundable. In emergency situations, you may or may not be offered a credit for a future retreat or event, based on the decision of our team. Cancellations due to fear of travel are not transferable or refundable. Cancellations less than 1 month before your retreat are not refundable or transferable. We recommend travel insurance to protect your investment in the event you must cancel.