Travel + Fitness

Castle Hill Fitness + Fauna Travel

We aim to create a rotating menu of 5-10 day small group trips (10-16 people) for Castle Hill members that build a sense of community and offer an additional perk of employment to staff. The trips will allow travelers to maintain their practice and healthy habits while traveling and also offer limited group activities with plenty of time for personal exploration. I’ve formatted all trip titles as [Activity] + Fitness to emphasize that they are more than the usual retreats.

I think the Greece and Costa Rica trips would likely be the most popular, but as you would imagine, the safari is my favorite.

Getting Started

Test Response

Starting from scratch, I think it would be good to gauge interest from members on preferred destinations to develop a pilot trip. As you mentioned, this could be a QR code near the desk with some brochures to sign up for notifications. I also think that if you have regular marketing emails, it would merit inclusion. We could offer a few choices and have members sign up for updates when dates are released.

Pilot Trip

Based on the response, we could put together a firm trip. The booking window on these varies greatly by destination, with some needing only 4-6 months and others needing 1-2 years. Customer outreach can start once we have a set price and dates. Interested members can put down a small credit card deposit to hold their spot, and the full 25% deposit can be charged once the trip meets the minimum number of travelers.

Travel & Repeat

Travelers will be responsible for their flights, but everything will be handled once they are on the ground. Ideas on activities are listed below. Certain destinations might merit an optional extension that customers can purchase at an additional cost if they want to travel longer on their own.

Surf + Fitness

Costa Rica (March, April, Late July)

Costa Rica is an easy destination to travel to and the perfect spot to create a surfing + yoga theme. I love Nosara on the northern Nicoya Peninsula for its great shops, restaurants, and laid-back vibe. Clients can easily explore independently after morning yoga and a few scheduled surf lessons. Hotels like Sendero Nosara make setting up a retreat easy, with food and accommodation packages. Rooms start at around $250 per night for a queen room, so prices could start at under $2-3k per person, with single options more easily available.

Food + Fitness

Greece (September, October)

Shoulder season in Greece is a great time to visit, because you avoid the summer crowds, and it’s usually still warm enough to swim until October. I’d love to show the other side of Greece with tours of farms and olive groves as part of a total Greek culinary experience. Kinsterna is at the top of my list for Greece, and prices for rooms are super reasonable in late October ($250/nt) during the olive harvest. You would want to add on activities like private island swimming to make it feel like a true Greek adventure, but it would likely still be in the $3-4k per person range.

Elephants + Fitness

Kenya (June, October, November, January)

This option is closest to my heart because it’s a truly transformative experience. However, it might be the toughest to book because the price would be in the $10k per person sharing range. I would stick to Nairobi plus one safari destination to moderate the price and offer one option to extend the trip. One Yoga Global uses Lewa Wilderness, a great camp I book regularly, for their retreats. However, they require a 1-2 year advance notice to reserve for a group.

For a quicker turnaround and more differentiation, I could secure a large safari villa like Reteti House for a group of 10 people around 8 months out. I love Reteti because of its dramatic landscape, hiking opportunities, and location near an elephant orphanage. The whole trip could be built around the theme of elephants. For a slightly larger group, a private camp like Enasoit could also work.

Hiking + Fitness

American West (Year Round)

The last option I imagine is domestic micro retreats that would be easy to plan and fit into a long weekend. I don’t think this is the best direction to go in the long term for the ROI unless we go really luxurious like Dunton Hot Springs. However, a small trip would be useful to test customer engagement and workflow in the short term. Destinations like Santa Fe and Marfa are at the top of my mind. If we booked an Explore Ranch, the price might be around $1-2k per person.