I was reading something the other day about the different types of retreats that exist now, and honestly there really is literally something for everyone.

Want sunrise yoga, green juice and meditation overlooking the sea?
No problem.

Fancy hiking up mountains followed by cold water swims and breathwork?
Also covered.

There are retreats for writing, business planning, Pilates, surfing, creativity, burnout recovery, menopause, fitness, spirituality, digital detox… the list is endless.

The retreat that really caught my attention this week though, was something I saw mentioned in a post by Loui Blake on LinkedIn - a darkness retreat.

Not low lighting.
Not candlelit meditation.
Total darkness.

The concept is that participants spend days in complete darkness and isolation as a way to disconnect from external stimulation and explore internal reflection. Some say it can be transformative because when you remove light and distraction, your brain shifts into a very different state of awareness.

It’s a fascinating idea, and one that definitely made me pause and think.

If I’m honest, my first reaction was curiosity mixed with a bit of scepticism. As someone who tends to lean quite heavily towards the science side of things, I’d probably want to see some research around the benefits before I was fully sold on the idea.

That said, I’m also very aware that just because something is outside my usual comfort zone doesn’t mean it doesn’t have real value.

And I’m always open to being completely proven wrong. Maybe I will challenge myself to attend one in the future! Watch this space.

Right now though, I’m not entirely convinced that sitting in a pitch-black room for several days would be my idea of a retreat.

But that’s kind of the whole point I’m getting at. There really is something for everyone now, no matter how random it might sound.

It was reading about this that made me realise how much the retreat world has evolved.

Retreats Aren’t Just Yoga Holidays Anymore

A few years ago, if someone said they were going on a retreat, you could pretty much guess what it looked like. It was so cliché.

Yoga.
Healthy food.
A nice location.
Maybe a massage - and definitely a green juice!

Don’t get me wrong, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a retreat that follows this structure. In fact, it sounds quite nice! But lets be honest, retreats were fairly predictable. These days though, it feels like retreats are becoming much more theme-driven and experience-led.

Some of the more interesting ones we've come across recently in our ghost hosting include:

• Creative retreats where people spend a week writing, painting or photographing
• Fitness retreats built around training, hiking or endurance challenges rather than just stereotypical bootcamp training.
• Business retreats where entrepreneurs step away from their daily chaos to plan the next phase of their company and set real growth and expansion targets.
• Digital detox retreats where phones are taken away entirely
• Wing foiling - this looks amazing by the way and definitely something I want to try!
• Pole Fitness

What's interesting is that the most memorable (and often fully booked) retreats usually revolve around a specific experience or theme.

So this year we’ve got some of our own coming up including Hiking the Prosecco Hills in Italy - yes, hiking through beautiful Italian hills, but not to a summit or a finish line… to a prosecco vineyard.

We’ve also got Beach Therapy in Ibiza (which is pretty much exactly what it sounds like: sunshine, movement, sea air and a bit of beach therapy (yes, it’s actually a thing), and a Padel retreat in Marrakech, which combines training, sport and a bit of adventure.

My point is, retreats are no longer about trying to appeal to everyone.

The most successful ones tend to be built around very specific interests or experiences that attract the right group of people.

Which Got Me Thinking…

If there are this many different retreat concepts already out there, what are we going to see more of in the next few years?

What retreat themes are going to become popular in 2026/27?

And more interestingly…

How many people currently have a retreat idea in their head that they assume would be impossible to run?

Because we hear this quite a lot. Someone will say something like:

"I’ve always thought about hosting a retreat around…"

And then they list something brilliant.

A niche interest.
A specific community.
A unique experience.

But then they follow it with:

"I wouldn’t know where to start." or "Would anyone event want to pay to do that?"

Yes, they probably would!

So… What Kind of Retreat Would You Go On?

Would you want a week of movement and sunshine somewhere warm?

A creative retreat where you finally finish that project you’ve been talking about for years?

A fitness retreat that pushes you physically and mentally?

Or would you go full experimental and try something like a darkness retreat?

I’m genuinely curious.

Because the retreat world keeps evolving, and the best ideas often start with a simple question:

What kind of retreat would you actually want to go on?