What to expect at The Health Initiative’s wellness retreat in Puerto Rico

The key facts for the first cohort. This page is a general description, not a schedule or a promise of specific activities; the full schedule is shared with accepted guests:

A typical day, not a fixed schedule (we share the full schedule with accepted guests): gentle morning movement such as gentle stretching and mobility, breakfast together, a medical or education session, free time or an island activity, dinner, and an evening meditation, with phones kept away during sessions and meals.

Arrive on November 15, 2026; the retreat lasts 5 days and you depart after the last one. Airport transfers are included, and we confirm arrival and departure details with accepted guests.

Puerto Rico is a US territory. According to USAGov, US citizens do not need a passport to travel between the US and Puerto Rico. You still need valid ID to fly: the TSA requires adults 18 and older to show acceptable ID, state IDs that are not REAL ID compliant have not been accepted since May 7, 2025, and a US passport is accepted. The TSA describes a fee-based option (ConfirmID) if you arrive without acceptable ID, so check with the TSA before you fly. If you are not a US citizen, US entry rules apply.

Simple, comfortable lodging at the hacienda. Room details, including whether rooms are shared or private, are confirmed in your acceptance email.

We do not publish the property’s name or address. The exact address is shared with confirmed guests.

Fresh, home-style meals built around whole foods, with Puerto Rican flavors. Tell us about allergies and food preferences on your application.

Meals are included in the price.

Sessions are led by your mobility coach, your meditation and breathwork guide, and your nutrition guide, alongside Dra. Diana Nieves Castro for the medical side. We introduce the team to accepted guests.

Dra. Diana Nieves Castro, a general practice physician licensed in Puerto Rico, provides the medical care.

Between sessions there is free time and time to go out. The list below is what can be done in the area and across the island: possibilities, not a promised program. What your group does depends on the itinerary for your start date, the season, the weather, sea conditions and your physician assessment, and every activity is optional.

The town of Río Grande, where the retreat is held, sits next to El Yunque National Forest. Read more in our guide to El Yunque and Río Grande and, for the calm-and-attention side of the week, the yoga and meditation retreat guide.

A physician assessment with Dra. Diana Nieves Castro, MD, and lab work when it is clinically appropriate. She provides all the medical care at the retreat.

The doctor decides which labs, if any, make sense for you after she assesses you. We do not promise specific tests or results, and the retreat is wellness, not treatment: your own doctor stays in charge of your care.

Comfortable clothes for movement, swimwear, sun protection, a light rain jacket, walking shoes, a refillable water bottle, and any medications you take. We send the full list with your acceptance.

If you take medicines, read about traveling to Puerto Rico with medications.

Tell us about your mobility, dietary or other access needs on the application, and we will work with you on what is possible.

You reserve your place on the retreat page: fill in the short form and pay the deposit through secure checkout. Our team then writes to you, and our physician reviews your health in a private step. If the retreat is not a good fit for you, we refund your deposit in full.

The deposit reserves your place and is paid when you reserve, through secure checkout. The deposit and cancellation terms are on the retreat page and are shown again at checkout.

Some situations just need a conversation before you apply, so we can plan your week safely. They are not a list of people who cannot come. Talk to us first if you:

If you are wondering whether the retreat is a fit, read is a wellness retreat right for me?. For what the price covers, see what a wellness retreat includes and costs. For everything about the first cohort, go back to the wellness retreat in Puerto Rico.