My name is Tracy Hodgeman and I’ve been leading international yoga retreats for over 20 years. My co-facilitator Terilyn Wylder and I know all too well how difficult it is to find the perfect venue for a successful retreat. We want our participants (and ourselves) to have the best time ever.
We start with a beautiful location, location, location. This usually means a place with good weather, hopefully close to a beach, and not too crowded. We’ll also need delicious healthy food, friendly people, affordable prices, clean, comfortable, airy accommodations and practice spaces (bonus points if yoga props are provided). Last but not least, we want to work with an ecologically and ethically responsible business model that we can feel good about supporting. Costa Dulce on the southwest coast of Nicaragua checks all these boxes, and more.
We found Costa Dulce by searching “Yoga Retreats in Nicaragua.” I had been to Nicaragua once before, and really loved it. At first the reviews sounded too good to be true. People kept talking about how friendly everyone was and how delicious the food was and how relaxed they felt while they were there and how they couldn’t wait to go back. When we reached out to Costa Dulce for more info, they were well organized, easygoing and optimistic. We decided to go for it, sight unseen.
Once we told folks we were going to lead a yoga retreat at an eco-retreat center in Nicaragua with surfing and turtles, we had 40 people sign up almost immediately! Sending our first down payment to someone who we had never actually met in order to bring 40 folks to a place where we have never been is an immense act of faith…
When the time comes, we fly into Liberia, Costa Rica. Costa Dulce arranges our ground transport from the airport to the Nicaraguan border and onward. It’s quite a feat getting our large group through the border all at once, yet with the help of a travel coordinator and the drivers, we eventually make it.
It’s dusk when we arrive. I remember driving down a bumpy dirt road with some river crossings and through a small village with kids, chickens and dogs scattered about, then up a steep hill.
Our group is getting quite excited at this point, and some of them are looking a bit anxious. We, on the other hand, are trying to act the part of serene and reassuring group leaders, though we have absolutely no idea where we’re going or what it will be like once we get there. We have the acute awareness that if this isn’t absolutely amazing we are going to be in Big Trouble.
When we finally arrive, we are met by beautiful smiling helpful people who take our bags and lead us to our rooms. It feels like a homecoming. What an immense relief!!! There is a delicious smell emanating from the kitchen. Our rooms are clean and beautiful and the ocean is right there!!! We can see and hear the waves. We feel immersed in nature and at the same time totally safe and comfortable.
Dinner is fresh and flavorful. There are lots of vegetables, various protein options, beautiful juices, incredible salsas and kimchi, all made on the premises. The well coordinated kitchen staff cheerfully answer all of our questions and keep on dishing out incredible food. We are in heaven!!!
We awake early the next morning to the sounds of ocean waves, birdsong and howler monkeys. We find strong fresh coffee and tea and fruit and yoghurt and homemade granola all waiting for us in the kitchen. We’re sleepy and quiet, taking in our beautiful new surroundings. A White Throated Magpie Jay comes to say hello.
Just before 7am we walk 5 minutes along a magical path to an open yoga deck on a bluff for our first morning practice. The view there is awe inspiring, perched above the waves. The pelicans and occasional surfers seem so close we can almost reach out to touch them. Meditation feels easy here. Every breath is packed with oxygen and sea spray. Sun salutations never felt so good! Dolphin pose takes on a whole new meaning when you can actually see them swimming by.
After our invigorating and inspiring morning practice with Terilyn, it’s time for breakfast at 9, which is a great opportunity to connect with the other participants on the retreat and share stories and dreams and jokes. Then free time, then lunch at 1, then free time, then the soothing therapeutic evening practice with Tracy at 4pm, then dinner at 6, then more free time before bed. Every day goes something like this. Sleep, eat, yoga, open space, eat, open space, yoga, eat, sleep, repeat!
The free time is there for you to do with as you like. Want to learn to surf? Costa Dulce has excellent surf instructors. Want a massage? The spa staff are so skilled and so kind. They use only natural products that are made right on the premises. Want to lie in a hammock by the pool and order a frothy iced cacao coffee concoction from the bar while you read your trashy novel? You can do that too. There’s a library with books and a guitar and ukulele and wifi if you should need it.
Are you more of an explorer? You can join the town trip for shopping, take a jungle walk with a naturalist who can point out all the local plants and animals, take a boat ride and snorkel, drive to nearby volcanoes, help release turtles at sunset and more.
We liked Costa Dulce so much that we decided to come back the next year. And the next. And the next… We’ll be there again from January 25th to February 21st, 2026. Want to join us in this absolutely stunning place that is equal parts excellence and chill? Sign up HERE.
