
YELAPA RETREAT

Yelapa 2025: Yoga and Pure Life
Yoga Retreat at Pura Vida Retreat Center
Yelapa, Jalisco, Mexico
January-February 2025 (Dates TBA)

Please join Baxter for his return to the magical town of Yelapa, and his third year hosting this yoga adventure at the lovely retreat center, Pura Vida. Located at the end of the bay an easy 10 min walk from the pueblo of Yelapa, Pura Vida is a perfect place to cultivate what Costa Ricans call “Pura Vida” or Pure Life. In yoga, we call the underlying energy of life Prana, and there is lots of it here, including the open-air yoga deck overlooking the Pacific Ocean that will be our home base for our twice daily yoga outdoor sessions, designed to be accessible to students of all levels, including those newer to yoga.
The center offers delicious, regional, healthy local foods, specializing in vegetarian and vegan options, with occasional seafood for dinners. Your free time can be spent lounging in a hammock, enjoying onsite massage, floating in the salt water zero-line pool gazing out at the ocean, or soaking in the salt water hot tub.
You are only a leisurely walk away from all the charms and great eateries in town and the main beach. Special events include a Backyard Taco dinner in town with the local family that runs the sweet Eclipse Café and folkloric dancers from the high school, an optional hike upriver to the waterfall swimming hole, and evening walks into town to hear music and dance!


Yelapa, reached only by boat, takes people back in time, enhancing the feeling of “getting away from it all” and invites participants to remember the simple life. Walking the beach, hiking in and out of the village, crossing the lagoon, walking up river, getting in waterfalls all create a sense of grounding in this other cultural world steeped in nature. This retreat is recommended for people who like walking and hiking. You must be able to walk up and down the hill at Pura Vida for classes and meals. It is approximately 120 steps uphill from the beach path to our dining area.
What’s included:
​
-
First night stay at a hotel in Old Vallarta near the boat taxi in Puerto Vallarta
-
6 nights at Pura Vida Retreat
-
Transfer of bags to our boat in PV on the first Sunday
-
Water taxi boat trip with group to Yelapa on Sunday morning
-
Transfer of your bags to your rooms once in Yelapa
-
Delicious healthy meals 3 times a day, with exceptions below*
-
Daily Yoga morning class and late afternoon class, most days
-
Special Dinner in town on Tuesday night
-
Waterfall Hike on Wednesday, with bag lunch provided
-
Transfer of your bags to water taxi on Saturday
-
Water Taxi on departure Saturday with the group back to PV


What You Are Responsible for:
​​
-
Your air travel, and taxi from PV airport to the our PV Hotel (taxi about $30)
-
Dinner on Saturday night (group gathering) and breakfast on Sunday in PV
-
Your dinner on Thursday and lunch on Friday in Yelapa
-
Your taxi ride from PV to airport on departure day (about $15)
-
Gratuity for the Pura Vida Staff, recommended amount: $25-35/person
-
Those who wish to arrive in Yelapa separate from group will need to pay for their own water taxi (about $25 round trip/person)
Options:
​
Massages will be available at Pura Vida; Sign-ups will occur once we arrive.
​
Optional all-day trip into back country, snorkeling trips, sweat lodge and more can be arranged upon arrival.
Pura Vida Retreat is a place to recharge, replenish and tap into the pure energy of the vibrant jungle and ocean that surround us. With that in mind, the retreat center does not permit alcohol or drugs onsite.
​
Lodging options:
​
Most rooms are open air and have at least a partial ocean view. (see description of bed sizes below)
-
Double occupancy: pricing TBD
-
Single occupancy: pricing TBD
-
Triple occupancy: pricing TBD (only one room available) NOTE: Includes one double and 1 single arrival room in PV for the 3 roommates (the person in the single requires an additional $40 fee)
Couples sharing a bed: please note that the “queen beds” at Pura Vida are more like a double mattress at home, so make sure you are happy snuggling!

Note: Pura Vida is located up a wonderful, jungle hill, with paved paths with stairs. There are about 120 steps up to the Dining space at the top of the property. Also, there are hills to traverse if you end up walking beyond town to the main beach or up river. So, you must be able to climb stairs and hills if you wish to attend this retreat.
HOW TO REGISTER:
​
New 2025 pricing information and registration coming soon...
Once you are registered, additional information will be sent out well ahead of time for you to plan all the details of your trip!
​
If you want to start looking at airfares once you are registered, I recommend that you arrive in Puerto Vallarta on Saturday afternoon and depart from PV on the following Saturday afternoon. This will allow you to have adequate time for cabs and water taxis and such.
​
Feel free to Contact Baxter if you have any questions and to get on the waiting list.