What to Expect on the Active Retreat in Fuerteventura

There are people who love the idea of a fitness holiday in Fuerteventura, but view it with a sense of trepidation. It’s understandable…

A fitness holiday? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Going on holiday… to exercise?!

That’s right. Fitness holidays exist and at the Active Retreat, we host an a fitness holiday that’s quite unlike anything else on the market. We’re not a bootcamp, we’re not a single-focus holiday (cycling, walking, yoga etc), we’re exactly what we say on the tin – an active retreat.

Our environment is relaxed and friendly. We’re not a bootcamp where you’ll be woken at the crack of dawn and made to exercise until you vomit. If you decide one morning that you’d prefer a lie-in, fine. Nobody is going to come to drag you out of bed and bully you into training. It’s your holiday, so do what you like!

We’re your physical and mental recharge.

A Typical Morning on the Active Retreat…

Wake up

First class, 8.00-8.45: Typically we have the tougher class of the day in the morning. The reason for this is it gets your day off to an active start and really helps to wake you up! It also means you’ve got the rest of the day to recover properly.

Breakfast 9.00-10.00: Breakfast is always served after the first class. It’s a chance to refuel, relax and start the recovery process. Our breakfast is always a relaxed environment, it’s largely self-service so you can pick what you like and take your time to enjoy it.

After breakfast, the day plans are varied. If it’s a day where we have a surfing lesson or stand up paddle boarding session then we are picked up and taken to the location. At this point we are fitted for wetsuits and the lesson begins. Any water sports events are tide and conditions dependent, so we don’t have an exact time for them. Where we’d love to control nature, we haven’t figured out how to just yet!

Once the session is over, we head back to the retreat, where you can relax, have a shower etc before the evening meal is served.

The ‘Typical’ Afternoon on the Active Retreat

On the ‘typical’ days where we have a morning and an evening class, the middle of the day is up to you. Some people like to sleep, others like to lounge by the pool, others prefer a more ‘holiday’ vibe, where they head down to the beach (this is my personal favourite!) There are some amazing beaches on the island, so you don’t want to miss them!

If the beach isn’t your thing or the weather isn’t really beach friendly, then there are dozens of great local restaurants to try. You can enjoy some traditional Canary Island tapas, some local stews or the more general Spanish food. You really don’t have to go far to find some fantastic food.

The ‘Typical’ Evening on the Active Retreat

Evenings are a time to round off the day and prepare for the night!

Evening Class 18.00 – 18.45 or 18.00 – 19.30

The evening class time varies depending on the activity. If we’re doing a circuit class, it’s 45 minutes. If we’re doing a more gentle class, a yoga class for example, then it can be up to 90 minutes.

The classes are always timetabled to compliment each other, so if we have a tough morning class we have a more gentle, stretching type class in the evening. It’s about balance – you can’t run an engine in the red zone all the time, so we make sure there is plenty of time for more restorative, recovery type sessions too.

Evening Meal 20.00

The day on the retreat is rounded off with the evening meal. The meals are prepared by the same chefs who bring our breakfast every morning.

The meal is brought to site and finished off and served at the villa.

We eat as a group, but if you’d prefer to head into your room or off to another area of the villa for a little privacy, feel free. As I say so often, it’s your holiday, you do as you’d like to!

If you’d prefer to not eat what’s on offer, you are more than welcome to head into the village or even into the big local town, Corralejo for a meal.

There are two days where there is no meal served in the evening – these are so you can head somewhere in town to enjoy some food in one of the many local restaurants. There are plenty of fantastic places to eat, so you certainly won’t go hungry!

Alternative Activity Days

On the surfing and stand up paddleboarding days, we are off-site for the activity so the layout of the days are slightly different.

We don’t have a morning class scheduled for the big days – first of all we don’t want to tire you out before the activity and secondly, we are at the mercy of nature when it comes to times. We may have to surf or ride in the morning if the conditions determine so.

The bike ride day is slightly different again. Instead of a morning class, we head to the bike hire shop and are fitted for bikes and helmets, then ride on our route. We time this for the mid-morning, so we avoid the rush hour traffic (not that there is much, but we’d still rather avoid it!) and the peak sun (which is around 3pm).

With a break at the half way point, the bike ride takes around 4 hours or so to complete. We ride as a group, so although it’s quite testing, it’s nothing anyone with a basic level of fitness can’t handle!

Remember, We’re a Fitness Holiday, Not a Bootcamp

If you’re picturing a holiday where you’re screamed and shouted at during each fitness session, you’re on the wrong track. That’s not what we do. Those kind of holidays exist and if thats what you’re looking for, go ahead and find it. Each to their own and all that, but it’s just not our world.

We expose our guests to a lot of exercise and activity, but there’s also variety. There’s new challenges and experiences for members. We don’t just do ‘exercise’ – we do circuit training, we head to the gym, we train in nature, using the sand dunes for cardio sessions. We cycle, surf and hike. We’re active in every sense of the word!

The Active Retreat is designed to be a stress-free experience. You’ll exercise a lot, burn a lot of calories and eat really well, but you’re given a lot of down time so you really do enjoy a full holiday experience.

The timetable is designed with the guest in mind. This isn’t an army camp, it’s a holiday. An active retreat.

We’re Fitness Holiday Experts

The key to the perfect fitness holiday is the balance – we want you to work hard, but not be so exhausted that you don’t have the energy to enjoy your holiday. Likewise, we want you to experience a wide variety of activities that improve various elements of your fitness, but timetable them in such a way that they complement each other rather than hinder each other.

Then there’s the food. Our menu is carefully balanced to ensure that you eat plenty of great food and it’s done at the right time. We work with the chef to decide on our meal choices ahead of time, so we are constantly fuelled for the days that lie ahead! The whole purpose of food is fuel, so we make sure you eat enough, without eating too much!

Rest days and recovery are also important. Yes, you’ll be active every day (it’s the Active Retreat after all!), but you’ll also be given plenty of time to rest and relax during the holiday. We’re a complete physical and mental recharge, that means you’ll move well, eat well and rest well.

We’ve done lots of these retreats before, so we know what works and what doesn’t. Trust us to make sure you have a fantastic week and leave us feeling refreshed, relaxed and invigorated, with plenty of amazing memories to take home with you!