Pura Vida Adventures has been running surf retreats in Santa Teresa for more than 22 years. Most years, their Women 50+ surf and yoga retreats fill up fast. Strong demand this year led them to open two additional dates for 2027.

Women were reaching out after spots were already gone, asking when the next retreat would run. Rather than turn people away, the PVA team expanded the calendar. Three sessions are now available across 2026 and 2027.

If you’ve been curious about what draws women in their 50s to a surf-and-yoga week in Costa Rica, here’s a closer look at what the experience actually involves and why so many guests say it’s worth the trip.

A Vacation Built Around Doing, Not Just Watching

A lot of women in their 50s have had the resort vacation. They’ve had the tour group that moved too fast and the all-inclusive that moved too slow. What many are looking for now is a week with something real in it: a skill they didn’t have before, movement that feels good in their body, food worth paying attention to, and people who are interesting enough to stay in touch with afterward.

The basic structure of a surf and yoga retreat delivers on that. You spend mornings in the water learning to surf or working on your technique, start each day with yoga that actually prepares your body for what’s ahead, eat well, and share the experience with a small group of women who showed up for similar reasons.

The pace is active but not competitive. The water in Santa Teresa stays around 84 degrees Fahrenheit year-round, which makes spending hours in the ocean feel like something you want rather than something you have to endure. No wetsuit, no cold shock. Just warm water and consistent waves in a setting that makes the whole thing genuinely enjoyable.

You Can Arrive as a Complete Beginner, or Build on What You Already Know

The Women 50+ retreat at Pura Vida Adventures is designed for both. Most guests arrive having never surfed before. A meaningful number come with some experience and want to improve their technique in a focused, personalized setting.

The coaching ratio is 2:1. Two students per instructor. That means your instructor is actually watching what you’re doing, giving you specific and usable feedback, and adjusting their approach to where you genuinely are in your progression. Every session includes video analysis, which turns out to matter more than most guests expect. Watching yourself in the water gives you a different kind of information than listening to a description of what to fix.

Tierza, who owns and runs Pura Vida Adventures, describes the physical reality of surfing for beginners in practical terms: “If you can stand up from lying on the ground, even if you first move to your knees, you can learn to stand on a surfboard.” The mechanics of getting to your feet are more manageable than they look from the shore. For most women, the first session is more accessible than they anticipated.

For guests who already surf, the same coaching structure applies. The 2:1 ratio and video analysis benefit experienced surfers who want specific feedback on what to adjust. There’s a meaningful difference between surfing in a general group lesson and working with someone who is focused on your session specifically.

Pura Vida Adventures, Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

What Actually Happens When You Start to Get It

Getting up on a board for the first time tends to replace uncertainty with a simpler feeling: wanting to do it again.

For many guests, the first wave doesn’t look the way they pictured. Some pop up slower than planned. Some catch it at an angle. The coaches are watching, the video is running, and there’s usually a fair amount of laughing involved. What changes in that moment isn’t the technique. It’s the relationship to the question of whether you can do this. You have a reference point now. The abstract worry becomes a specific thing to work on.

By the middle of the week, most guests see visible progress. Women cheer each other on from the beach, notice when someone in the group has a breakthrough session, and tend to be genuinely enthusiastic about each other’s progress in a way that doesn’t happen in a competitive setting. Nobody is keeping score. The only measure is whether you’re doing better than you were yesterday.

Women 50+ Surf Retreat, Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

Yoga as a Real Part of the Week

Morning yoga at PVA is not a light stretch session tacked onto the schedule. It is designed to prepare your body for what surfing asks of it.

Surfing uses muscles in ways most people haven’t been using them. The paddle-out, the pop-up, the balance work once you’re on the board. Your hips, shoulders, back, and core all get involved. Morning yoga loosens what needs loosening before the first session, builds the flexibility that helps with the pop-up, and grounds you before you get in the water.

It also supports daily life in ways guests notice during the week: more flexibility, better body awareness, a calmer start to the day. Tierza describes it as an amazing addition to both surfing and life beyond the retreat, the kind of practice that prepares your body for the day and makes you feel more grounded and physically capable.

Guests consistently say that combining yoga and surfing during the same week feels better on their bodies than either would alone. The yoga supports the surfing. The surfing gives the yoga something concrete to work toward.

Morning yoga, Pura Vida Adventures, Santa Teresa

The Group Becomes Part of the Experience

A lot of women book the Women 50+ retreat on their own. Many come specifically because they want to travel solo without spending the whole week alone.

What forms in the group is hard to describe from the outside. You’re doing something that takes real effort alongside people you just met. You fall off your board and someone on the beach watched it happen and is laughing with you in the way friends do. You eat dinner together and the conversation goes to places it doesn’t usually go until you know someone better, except somehow it goes there anyway.

Women arrive at PVA from different backgrounds, different cities, with different surfing levels and different personalities. The retreat doesn’t try to make everyone the same. It gives everyone a shared experience worth talking about, which tends to do the work on its own.

Many guests leave with friendships that stay active long after the week ends. Sometimes it’s a group chat that stays going, a trip someone mentions planning together a year later, a friendship that started with a shared wipeout and turned into something real.

Women 50+ Retreat group, Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

Why Santa Teresa Works for This Kind of Retreat

Santa Teresa is a bohemian coastal town on Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula with real surf energy and the kind of character that makes it a destination rather than just a backdrop.

The beach here is wide and expansive. The waves are warm and consistent, which matters a lot when you’re learning, and matters for experienced surfers who want reliable conditions to practice in. The Pacific water stays around 84 degrees Fahrenheit year-round, no wetsuit required.

The food in Santa Teresa is genuinely good. Restaurants range from beachside spots with fresh seafood to farm-to-table places that take the cooking seriously. Boutique shops, juice bars, and yoga studios line the main road. Tide pools are close enough to explore in the afternoon. Sunsets over the Pacific tend to stop conversations mid-sentence.

For guests who want to explore beyond the retreat schedule, Santa Teresa has plenty to work with: jungle walks, local markets, horseback riding on the beach, and evenings that don’t require a plan. For guests who want to rest, the town doesn’t demand anything from you. It’s simply there, warm and unhurried.

What Is Included in the Women 50+ Week

The Women 50+ Surf and Yoga Retreat is an all-inclusive week in Santa Teresa. A typical session at Pura Vida Adventures includes:

• Daily surf coaching with a 2:1 student-to-instructor ratio
• Video analysis during every surf session
• Morning yoga to prepare and support your body through the week
• Meals made with local Costa Rican ingredients
• A one-hour private massage as part of a complete spa experience
• The Goddess Afternoon: a spa experience set at the tide pools
• Optional adventure activities and open exploration time
• Rest time is built into the schedule by design
• A small, intentional group of women

Pura Vida Adventures has been running retreats in Santa Teresa for more than 22 years. The experience has been refined over a long time. Guests tend to notice that in the details.

Learn what makes the experience different →

Who the Women 50+ Retreat Is Designed For

The retreat draws two main types of guests. Complete beginners who want to try surfing in a setting that is encouraging and well-coached. And women who have surfed before and want to progress, get specific feedback, and do it alongside others who take it seriously.

Solo travelers make up a significant portion of every group. Women who want an active week rather than a passive one. Women looking for connection alongside the activity, not separate from it. Women who want good food, time in nature, massage and spa, and the satisfaction of doing something physically challenging in a beautiful place.

The pace is manageable. The group is small. You don’t need to arrive already in training. You need to want to be there.

Browse all Costa Rica surf retreats →

Upcoming Women 50+ Retreat Dates

Pura Vida Adventures added new Women 50+ sessions after strong early interest led to bookings filling ahead of schedule.

Available dates:

• July 11–17, 2026
• January 18–24, 2027
• April 3–9, 2027

If any of these dates work for your schedule, the retreat page has full details on what is included and how to apply.

Details on the Women 50+ Surf and Yoga Retreat →

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need surf experience before coming?

No experience is needed. Most guests at the Women 50+ retreat are complete beginners, and the coaching is built to meet them where they are. The student-to-instructor ratio is 2:1, and every session includes video analysis so you can see your own progress. Guests who already surf and want to improve are also welcome and well served by the same structure.

I have surfed for years, will I get the attention I need as a non-beginner?

Definitely. Our surf and yoga retreats cater to surfers of all levels. With no more than a 1:2 instructor-to-student ratio, plus a comprehensive surf program, detailed video analysis, a quiver of 35 boards, and incredible coaches with decades of experience, we have everything you need to make breakthroughs in your surfing. Each week, we place students into small groups, ranging from beginner to advanced, and work with each surfer to pinpoint and achieve their surfing goals.

Am I too old to learn to surf?

The Women 50+ retreat is built for this stage of life, and the answer for most women is no. Tierza, the owner of Pura Vida Adventures, puts it plainly: if you can stand up from lying on the ground, even moving to your knees first, you can learn to stand on a surfboard. The waves in Santa Teresa are warm and consistent, and the 84-degree water makes the physical experience genuinely enjoyable.

Can I come alone?

Yes, and most guests do. The retreat is structured so solo travelers have a full social experience from day one: shared surf sessions, meals together, and the kind of conversations that come naturally from doing something challenging alongside people you just met. Many guests leave with friendships that stay active well after the week ends.

What fitness level do I need?

No specific fitness level is required. The week includes surf coaching, morning yoga, meals, and open time, and the pace is yours to manage. The yoga is designed to support your surf sessions rather than add to the physical challenge. Rest is built into the schedule by design. Show up as you are.

What makes a Women 50+ retreat different from a regular surf retreat?

Everything is designed around this group specifically: the coaching approach, the pace, the group dynamic, and the balance of activity and rest. You are not adjusting to a retreat built for a different audience. The experience is built for women in this chapter of life, and the women around you are in a similar one. See what a full week looks like →

Why choose Costa Rica for a women’s surf retreat?

Santa Teresa offers warm Pacific water year-round (around 84 degrees Fahrenheit), consistent beginner-friendly waves, and a bohemian coastal atmosphere that suits a retreat pace naturally. Excellent restaurants, boutique shops, tide pools, and a surf culture that is welcoming rather than competitive. No wetsuit needed, and plenty to do in your free time. See upcoming retreat dates →

Details on the Women 50+ Surf and Yoga Retreat →