I have been visiting Ericeira for six years now, living here full time for three years. And trust me, it wasn't always like this, from this quiet fisherman village that used to receive tourists for only four months of the year suddenly it seems everyone wants to be here, almost year round.
It's not hard to understand why this place became everyone's favourite. Beautiful beaches, pristine clear ocean, good food, cute village and a young crowd that attracts all kinds of events, from live music to surf film festivals. But what really put Ericeira on the tourist map was the surfing scene. In 2011 Ericeira was named as an official World Surfing Reserve by the Save the Waves coalition. By then it was only the second World Surfing Reserve in the world, and until today still the only one in Europe.
Around that time, surf events that were once held in other surfing capitals such as Biarritz and Hossegor, started being held in Ericeira. The world tour was one of them. Drawing even more attention to this beautiful coastal town. Not only famous among pro surfers, but nowadays attracting surfers of all levels. Ericeira is officially the new surf meca of Europe.
Taking a surf lesson is a must do activity while visiting Ericeira. There are hundreds of hostels and surfcamps offering surf packages. These are usually full of youngsters looking to meet new people and have a bit more of a holiday/party vibe. Some, nowadays, even offer yoga.
The cool thing is that this vibe started attracting a different type of tourism to Ericeira, compared to the Algarve for example. More and more you can find health food shops, vegetarian restaurants, juice bars and alike around Ericeira. The yoga crew also grew in the same pace, for more and more people are looking into living a healthier lifestyle. In that way, surf and yoga go hand in hand.
But not everyone who visits Ericeira is in their 20 something looking for a good vibe crowded hostel. Specially the ones who visit Ericeira in what we call the "mid season". That's spring and autumn. World class yoga instructors are more and more choosing Ericeira as their destination for the next Yoga retreat. Great yoga teachers in the area are teaching at the local studios, workshops and ceremonies are being offered in the healing spaces around the area, there's even a Buddhist temple where you can follow daily meditations for free. So I might risk to say Ericeira has become the new Yoga hub of Europe, kind of like what Ubud is to Bali (if you've been to Bali you know what I mean).
Being surrounded by this growing Yoga scene and this amazing community has been a major inspiration for the creation of my own retreats. I didn't like the idea of adding surfing to my retreats at first, even though surfing is a huge part of my life and I can see so many benefits from this sport which for me is a lifestyle. But I just didn't want to be tagged as another surf and yoga camp, because that wasn't my idea.
I wanted to create an experience that was meaningful to people's life and that made an actual difference. And so my signature retreat "The Conscious Living" was created. I packed this retreat with all the useful things I found not only in Yoga but other experiences with healing and personal development I had along those years of travelling, teaching and studying around the world with amazing teachers. I just wanted to pass this on because it was too good to keep it to myself.
Later on I thought, why not give people the option to try out surfing while they're here? Surfing can be such an amazing experience in terms of how connected with nature you're, surrounded by the ocean, and how present you have to be in order to manage the waves. It's a great way to be in your body and out of your mind. And that's what this retreat also stands for, being present and reconnecting with yourself.
Far from being a surf camp, our retreats are packed with high quality classes, workshops, breathwork sessions and world class teachers (there are some other teachers on board besides myself). In addition I have hand picked my favourite retreat locations in Ericeira and the best vegan food chefs to add to the experience of an absolute blissful week!
This stands for every retreat I offer in Ericeira, there are four in total. May, June, September and October. Each one of them with its own uniqueness but equally amazing. Check out more info by clicking below.