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Let’s not beat around the bush, both our Caribbean and Costa Rica Escapes are nothing short of paradise-on-earth. It’s always been our mission to work with the absolute best villas we can find, and to plan and host the most feel-good, fun and inspiring weeks for our guests. We’re so excited to have built a regular schedule of Escapes that we absolutely love and are proud to share with you all. We’re also thrilled to be able to continue to add new destinations to our line-up each year, as so many of you continue to choose to travel with us again and again. But we know all of that comes with an almost impossible decision… choosing which Escape to book!
With most of our guests coming from the UK and the US, our two Escapes to the tropics of the Caribbean and Costa Rica make for an even trickier decision. Both destinations are mostly a quick, easy flight away from our US based guests, and a slightly longer, but still direct flight away from our UK based guests. We know there are lots of you toying up between both of these retreats, so to help in your decision making, we’ve done a little run-down of what you can expect on each Escape week, and compared the similarities and differences of both. Hopefully this will help you spot something that takes your fancy at one over the other!
Keep scrolling to find out more, but ultimately know that whichever Escape you choose, we guarantee you one of the most epic weeks of your life, with incredible workouts, unforgettable adventures, and friendships that’ll last a lifetime.
The Villas
Both our Caribbean retreat and our Costa Rica retreat are in beachfront villas, with the Caribbean being slightly more so, as you can literally step onto the sand at the end of the villa’s garden. In Costa Rica, you’ll take some steps down a path at the end of the garden, and head down to the beach from there. The ocean in the Caribbean is calmer, with smaller waves, and a soft golden sand beach. In Costa Rica, the ocean has more swell and bigger waves, so this is something to think about depending on how you like your beaches! Caribbean might be best for those looking to swim in calm sea and learn to surf on beginner waves, whereas Costa Rica is best for more confident sea swimmers and surfers. That being said, there are plenty of options for beaches nearby in Costa Rica that have calmer water for swimming and beginner surfers!
Both villas are modern, spacious and feel luxury, with incredible views, beautiful bedrooms and a pool overlooking the ocean. Whether you’re planning on coming to Salt Escapes solo or with a friend/partner, both villas have room options to suit. If you like having a room all to yourself or a big bed to share with a friend or your partner, you can choose between a deluxe double room or a master double room on both Escapes. If you’re coming solo and want the most affordable option whilst still experiencing luxury living for a week, you can choose a deluxe share room. One thing to think about is that in the Caribbean, the share rooms are twin rooms, so you’ll be sharing with 1 other guest (of the same sex/age), and in Costa Rica the share rooms are quads, so you’ll be sharing with up to 3 guests (of the same sex/age). Both destinations have plenty of space in the share rooms and both come with an en-suite, and who’s going to be spending much time in their room anyway?!
Similarities
Both oceanfront
Both big, beautiful and luxurious
Both have options for share rooms, double rooms and master doubles
Differences
Caribbean has twin share rooms, whereas Costa Rica has quad share rooms
To see more of the villa in the Caribbean, click here.
To see more of the villa in Costa Rica, click here.
The Itineraries
As far as workout and recovery schedules go, you won’t see much change here between all our fitness retreats. We run two workouts a day (most days) on all our trips, and these will always be focused around functional training, with a boxing workout as the afternoon option on the days we double up. We also run a daily recovery session (yoga/Pilates) as well as have the option to do a cold plunge during the week.
The adventures we include on each Escape itinerary differ slightly from destination to destination, as we like to ensure we’re offering the absolute best adventure that your chosen trip has to offer. For example, we absolutely love including a full day boat trip on a private yacht charter to explore the coastline, which we’ve aptly named Boat Day, so we do this on the majority of our trips. In Costa Rica however, we didn’t think Boat Day best showcased this destination, so we’ve opted to instead take our guests on an epic hike through the lush jungle to swim in waterfalls and explore the spectacular nature that Costa Rica has to offer. In the Caribbean, our big mid-week adventure is Boat Day, and we’ll cruise the palm-fringed coastline with stops at white-sand tropical islands for swimming and snorkelling.
Aside from Boat Day in the Caribbean and Waterfall Day in Costa Rica, we’ll have the option for you to do a surf lesson or take out boards for surfing in both destinations. The waves are generally more beginner-friendly in the Caribbean, and if the idea of surfing doesn’t float your boat, there’s options to sea kayak or paddle-board instead. In Costa Rica, the waves are generally more suited to people that have surfed before, but there are plenty of nearby beaches that offer beginner-friendly waves. In both locations, you have the option to take part in a surf lesson with an instructor who will help you catch your first (hopefully of many) waves, or you can simply head out yourself with a board if you’re more confident in the water.
In both destinations, we’ll head out one evening towards the end of the week for a beautiful sunset dinner at our favourite beachfront restaurant in the area. Both restaurants serve incredible food, have stunning views and great vibes and will give you a taste of the local cuisine and culture.
Similarities
Both destinations offer garden and beach workouts, with a mix of functional training (strength & conditioning) and boxing, and recovery sessions including yoga or Pilates, and cold plunges.
Both destinations offer options for surf lessons and surfing, and other water-sports should you wish to try something new
In both destinations we take the group out for a dinner, and these will both be at a beachfront restaurant
Differences
In the Caribbean, our mid-week adventure day will be Boat Day, and we’ll explore the coastline, stopping for swims and snorkelling off tropical islands
In Costa Rica, our mid-week adventure day will be a jungle hike to swim in waterfalls, so we’ll explore the beautiful nature of Costa Rica
To read more about our Escape itineraries, click here.
To view the itinerary overview for our Caribbean Escape, click here.
To view the itinerary overview for our Costa Rica Escape, click here.
The Food
Wherever you join us on Salt Escapes, we fly out one of our private chefs that will cook us up colourful tables full of delicious food, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We always aim to use locally sourced produce where possible, and for the food to reflect the destination, using inspiration from local flavours and dishes. This applies to both our Caribbean and Costa Rica Escapes, where you can expect colourful, vibrant meals that stay in line with our approach to healthy, wholesome and balanced food. You can learn more about the type of food we love to share with our guests here.
The Team
Myself (Amy) and Mike are the Founders of Salt Escapes, and we’ll be hosting the weeks and coaching the workouts on both our Caribbean and Costa Rica Escapes. You can get to know us better here. We can’t wait to meet you!
We always bring one of our incredible yoga or Pilates instructors along with us on every Escape week, who will take care of the group for all things recovery.
Whilst we know that choosing between two such beautiful, epic destinations is a hard decision, you can rest assured that we’ll be running both Escapes again next year. Over 70% of our guests rebook another trip with us, so how about this… just book whichever one your gut is telling you to book right now, and you can look forward to joining us on the other one in 2025!! How good!
To join us in the Caribbean, click here
To join us in Costa Rica, click here
