Hiking Adventure Retreat in Dolomites, Italy

6 breakfasts, One breakfast on Sept 7 in Bolzano is on your own before pick up

4 lunches or picnics that we arrange, two lunches on your own in town

6 dinners

Afternoon tea time with local cakes and snacks

Guided hiking 8 to 10 miles per day, with 2 guides (Colleen Cannon and Susie Alexander) and 1 local guide to introduce us to the local flair and history of the area.

Daily Yoga, Qigong, and breath work

Creativity exercises: Creative “Soul Spark” exercises each day with Susie Alexander. We will create a soul collage during our time together and other heartfelt projects. We will also have afternoon journaling to center, connect, reflect, declare our values, and FILL OUR JOY THANKS!!

Afternoon use of hotel spas, with hot tubs, pool, saunas, and massages. *extra cost for massages and spa treatments

On-trip transportation, Gondolas, and lifts

Stunning views

Food:

We’ll eat breakfasts and dinners at our lodges. The meals are going to be really good. Breakfast is a buffet, and the dinners are served with several courses.

On some days we will stop at huts along the way for lunch. The huts serve sandwiches, soups, pastas, and stews. On other days, we will carry our lunches and have a group picnic, ideally on the top of a mountain ridge, in a grassy meadow, or some other scenic spot.

For our dinners it is usually a three- or four-course meal with three options for each course. Local specialties abound, including many pasta or polenta dishes, meats (typically veal, pork, fish, or chicken), and tasty desserts such as tiramisu. While vegetarian meals are not the norm in this area, our hosts are willing to make a special effort to accommodate guests. Usually, omelets, cheese dishes, vegetable soup, risotto with mushrooms, or pasta with tomato sauce are available.

Accommodation:

We will be staying at three- or four-star hotels with double-occupancy rooms and each hotel has a spa with hot tub, sauna and steam room. Single supplements are an extra cost A word about Italian hotel beds: typically, a double room features two twin mattresses on adjoining bed frames. We have asked that they split these beds for us and you can push the bed frames apart more if you like. Each mattress is made up individually, but they are generally close to each other or side by side but they will move them apart for our group. Our first 3 night we will stay in the cozy and charming hotel.

Then we are going to transport ourself to the second hotel for our trip, right in in Val Badia.

Purchasing Travel Insurance

We highly, highly recommend you get travel insurance to cover your expenses and losses, in the event you cannot make the Activ Retreats retreat for any reason or if you test positive or come down with Symptoms prior to the retreat, develop Symptoms during the retreat, or cannot return home due to Covid related issues. We recommend getting insurance that covers the cost of your trip, medical care while at the retreat, and coverage to pay for the necessary quarantine period if you test positive or come down with Covid. Please remember, if you have to cancel your trip in the unfortunate event you come down with Covid, test positive, or suffer Symptoms prior to or during the retreat and need to leave, Activ Retreats cannot provide a refund since we have to pay your trip expenses well ahead of time.

If you are concerned about travel and the changing environment in which we are living irrespective of your Covid status, we recommend getting travel insurance that allows you to cancel for any reason. This coverage is more expensive, however, may provide you with the coverage and flexibility you desire.

Irrespective of the travel insurance you get, please make sure you talk to a travel insurance agent prior to buying any insurance and make sure you have the coverage you desire and that the policy will cover trip cancellation, medical expenses and trip interruption due to Covid.

"This retreat made me feel as though I had uncovered a treasure for future enjoyment. Every participant was successfully challenged, no matter what their physical shape for the various sporting activities. The environment was positive and supportive and the main objective was to have fun. The insight on how to approach life through a different ‘story’ was very valuable. Colleen’s experiences as an athlete, etc. revealed a novel way to look at life’s challenges. Thank you for an incredible week!"

- Barb

If you must cancel a reservation, a full refund, less your deposit which is non-refundable, will be provided for any cancellation we receive in writing at least 91 days prior to the commencement date of the retreat. We are sorry but we cannot refund any payments for cancellations made 90 or fewer days prior to the commencement of the retreat.

We reserve the right to cancel retreats with inadequate participant interest. Activ Retreats IS NOT responsible for any personal expenses, such as airline tickets due to changes in schedules or tour cancellations.

Payment Policy

A deposit is required to hold your reservation at a retreat. Deposits are $500 for domestic and $1,000 for international retreats. Additional deposits may be required to reserve a single room. All deposits are non-refundable.

We cannot hold your reservation until we have received your deposit. If you would like to reserve an available spot in a retreat 90 or fewer days prior to the retreat date, we require payment in full for the retreat to hold the spot. This is in accordance with our payment policy below.

Payment in full for all retreats is due 90 days prior to the retreat date. If you do not provide payment in full by 90 days prior to the retreat you risk losing your reservation.

Covid-19 Policy

Cancellations by Activ Retreats: Activ Retreats reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to cancel or reschedule any retreat due to concerns over Covid-19. As a small company Activ Retreats is unfortunately not able to provide refunds of payments for retreats cancelled by Activ Retreats due to the Covid pandemic. This is primarily due to our financial commitments with the various retreat venues. As a result, in the event Activ Retreats cancels or reschedules a retreat due to Covid-19 Activ Retreats will apply all payments to the rescheduled or following year’s retreat, or to any other Activ Retreats retreat of your choosing through the end of the next year after the year in which the retreat was cancelled by Activ Retreats. Because of the unforeseen and unprecedented circumstances of the outbreak, this policy supersedes earlier policies.

Cancellations by You: If you need or desire to cancel your reservation due to Covid-19, or failure to comply with the requirements of a negative test and being symptom free, this cancellation is subject to the Cancellation Policy above. This is why we urge everyone to purchase travel insurance when signing up.

Covid Waiver and Release
This waiver, release and acknowledgment of responsibilities are unfortunately necessary during this unique time of the Covid 19 pandemic. By signing up for and or attending any Activ Retreats retreat you agree to be bound by the terms of this document. We understand these times are challenging, however, these provisions are necessary to protect all attendees and staff members of Activ Retreats.

Testing For and Symptoms of Covid 19. Irrespective of vaccination status you are required to provide a negative test for Covid 19 taken within 3 days of the commencement of the retreat. This test can be either a PCR test or a home antigen test. Also, irrespective of your vaccination status, you agree you will not attend the retreat if you have any symptoms of Covid 19 immediately prior to the beginning of the trip. These symptoms include fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, or diarrhea (these, along with symptoms outline in the following link and guidance from the Centers for Disease Control shall be collectively referred to as the “Symptoms”.) More information on symptoms of Covid 19 can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronaviru...

Symptoms During the Retreat. In the event you develop any Symptoms during the retreat you must immediately leave the retreat and follow protocols outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and all local regulations. We understand this may result in you incurring significant expenses associated with separate accommodation and travel, however, you understand these expenses are not the responsibility of Activ Retreats and must be incurred by you. You agree to be fully honest with Activ Retreatst staff in regard to any Symptoms you may develop and agree to comply with a request by Activ Retreats staff to depart as determined by Activ Retreats staff in their sole discretion. As provided below, this is why we strongly urge everyone to get travel insurance covering these and other expenses prior to departure.

Procedures During the Retreat. During the retreat Activ Retreats may, but need not, endeavor to practice social distancing and wearing of masks when traveling in close proximity. You agree to comply with all requests of Activ Retreats staff during the retreat related to these procedures. Any such procedures implemented by Activ Retreats are not a guaranty you will not be exposed to Covid 19 and you understand you are responsible for taking any precautions you deem necessary and providing your own personal protective equipment during the retreat. You also agree to comply with any reasonable requests by other attendees to respect their social distancing and other protective measures (“Participant Requests”.) Notwithstanding the foregoing, you are responsible to comply with all laws and regulations of the locality visited relating to protections against Covid 19.

Waiver of Coronavirus Related Illness; Indemnification. You understand that irrespective of protective measures that Activ Retreats or you may or may not take, you may be exposed to Covid 19 by another retreat attendee, a Activ Retreats staff member and or an individual to whom you may be exposed during, or traveling to or from the retreat. You agree to waive and release Activ Retreats, its officers, directors, staff, employees, contractors, and partners from any claims, liabilities or damages you may incur in the event you contract Covid 19 at any time during travel to, attending or after attending the retreat. You further agree to indemnify and hold harmless Activ Retreats, its officers, directors, staff, employees, contractors, and partners from any loss, liability or damages it or they may incur as a result of your failure to receive a negative test for Covid 19 prior to the retreat as provided above, attending the retreat with any Symptoms, not respecting Participant Requests, and not immediately departing the retreat if you develop any Symptoms.

Cancellation. In the unfortunate event you need to cancel your trip, cannot attend due to contracting Covid 19 or developing Symptoms prior to the retreat, or must leave the retreat due to contracting Covid 19 or developing Symptoms, Activ Retreats cannot provide any refund of any amounts you paid.

Travel Insurance. As provided in this document you could incur significant personal expense in the event you contract Covid 19 or develop any Symptoms during the retreat. As such, you are strongly urged to obtain travel insurance that provides adequate protections against these risks.

Additional Waiver. This waiver is incorporated into and made a part of other waivers you agreed to in connection with signing up for the retreat. In the event of a conflict between these terms and the terms of any other waiver, this waiver shall govern.

Trip difficulty

This is a moderate hiking adventure and we will be taking the gondola lifts UP every day. It is intended for the experienced hiker who is able to walk five or six hours every day. We have not planning any rest days during the trip, but you can take a day off to enjoy the spa or read a book by the pool. Our maximum daily hiking distance will be 10 miles, with never more than 1,400 feet of elevation gain or 2,000 feet of loss. Our terrain includes pastoral rolling hills, broad meadows, some steep ascents, and rocky paths. Valley elevations are 4,000-5,000 feet and hikes will normally take us no higher than 8,000 feet. Everyone should plan on carrying Osprey or Camelback hydration packs with water, waterproof rain gear, a warm layer, personal items, and room for lunch.

We will get the whole group on a hiking program over the Summer.