Our admin + guest coordinator, Sarah Roseberry, is not just an employee; she’s also a client, and she wrote a bit about what motivates her to take our retreats, now almost 8 years after discovering us!
I’m sure people will see that a member of the team is writing this and think I am biased. I am, of course, but as some people may know, I came to this company as a guest! I only began working for EPM after attending a retreat and loving my experience. I continue to go on retreats as a guest now with my very own specific criteria of why I choose each location. So I thought I’d give some inside insight on the reasons people might not think of to take a retreat with us.
The work is done for you.
This is pretty obvious, but it can be underestimated. Erin plans these retreats with such care. Not only does she pick places and activities that are ahead of the curve for tourists, but she has a keen eye for design and detail, so she understands what would delight her guests. In addition, she spends a lot of time planning an itinerary that is time effective AND has a flow for the week, a balance of excitement and restoration. Being able to press a button and have all of that effort managed is a huge relief. All you have to do is show up, and the rest is a fun ride! It allows for more rejuvenation for that week away since you don't have to deal with the stress of car rentals, picking a restaurant, hotel quirks, etc. We actually have guests now that have taken so many retreats with us that they don’t even look at the activities on the site—they just arrive and ask what we’re doing! We are proud to have built that kind of trust. I am definitely a person who loves to plan my own trips, but there are some things I would not take on. Erin planned a South Africa safari trip that I would never have had the courage or energy to plan for myself!
It can be more cost effective.
Sure, you can search discount fares and take public transit and stay at Airbnbs. I do all of those things most of the time when traveling outside of EPM. But consider this: at times, it’s more cost effective to join a retreat. Especially depending on the location, when you add in transport to other towns, special tours, a boat ride, a winery visit, special meals, etc. costs can add up. For example, I took our retreat to Provence because I knew it covered much of the region, from mountain towns to Aix En Provence to the coast. If I tried to plan a trip like that on my own, not only would it be incredibly complicated, but it would cost a lot to try and get private transport all over the region.
You can travel on your own time table.
Taking a retreat is essentially the best part of traveling solo—you don’t have to wait for others to have time off from work or to want to go to the same place you do. If you see a location we have planned, you can jump in on your own without having to check in or convince anyone else. Most people assume this is just an option for single people, but I am married, and I have been on 4 retreats without my husband! He supports my love of travel, but does not crave it in the same way I do, so this is the best way to keep us both happy. I get to wander the globe and build the confidence that I can travel to another country on my own, to gain perspective and learn, which I truly value as a woman and a human. I can focus on self care and growth. I come back as a more well rounded version of myself and get to share stories of my travels with him!
You can go places you would never go alone.
I consider myself to be fairly adventurous. I have traveled 47 states and most of Canada with my husband’s work, and I spent a lot of that time on my own, confidently walking cities and exploring areas solo. But there are still places that would be intimidating to go on my own. For example, I joined a retreat to Marrakesh as a guest. I would never have gone there on my own, mainly because I had no idea what it would actually be like when my feet touched land there. You can always imagine and cross your fingers for the best, but it’s hard to plan for a place with a culture so different from the US. There are certain things you can’t know until you know—you learn them by doing, and travel is one of those things. Despite being a New Yorker who can stand up for herself with gusto, I also acknowledge that it can be a challenge traveling some places alone as a woman. I was pleased to find out that Marrakesh was not one of those places, but I was grateful to be free of that worry because I knew I was traveling with a group.
You can meet like minded people from all over the world.
I have met the coolest people from all over the map. I can say now that I have friends in Italy, Spain and Australia. I have connected in NYC with retreat friends who live in Connecticut and New Jersey, visited with retreat friends in LA and plan to take a trip to Nashville to see some friends there. I have been offered help with plans in Arizona and Banff. The community that has come out of this has been an unexpected joy of my life, which is a big deal, considering I am actually pretty introverted and restore my energy by being alone. But it never fails that on every retreat, there are people you click with—after all, you have to have a least a bit in common if you’re there. At the very least, you are there with people interested in travel and wellness, and that comes with a lot of positivity, curiosity, flexibility and mindfulness. Not a bad way to accidentally make friends!