Active Outdoor Yoga & Trail Running Retreat in the Netherlands

Van Dam Outdoor is run by Bert van Dam and Grietje van der Meulen, who started the company out of a shared interest in outdoor sport. Bert has been teaching outdoor sports and running clinics for over six years, covering survival training and mountain bike clinics for both children and adults, and holds certificates as a survival trainer, mountain bike trainer and climbing instructor. Grietje has taught at a Dutch high school for more than ten years and manages a team of staff alongside a caseload of 200 students, and she holds an outdoor climbing certificate and climbing instructor qualification. Both compete at a high level in Dutch survival racing, and both trail run, mountain bike and climb in their own time.

The yoga retreat is the option where their exercise-nutrition-coaching approach shows up most clearly. A typical day starts with yoga, then a guided hike or trail run, with food and rest built into the rhythm of the week. The activity list runs across mountain biking, climbing, trail running and GPS navigation routes, and the schedule gets shaped around the group's level and what people actually want to do. If someone wants to push harder they can; if someone wants a gentler week with a beer in the evening, that's on the table too.

Because Bert and Grietje run the whole thing themselves rather than handing it to subcontractors, the level of guiding is consistent and personal. They're both qualified to lead groups and individuals, including young people, and that's reflected in how the days are structured — there's a real emphasis on guiding rather than just supervising. Groups of more than five can commission a bespoke week, and schools, universities and organisations can also book tailored programmes.

The retreats run in the Netherlands, in outdoor settings suited to hiking, trail running and mountain biking, and the yoga is paired with whichever outdoor activity you've chosen for that week — either hiking or trail running depending on the departure. If you've done yoga retreats before and found them too static, or fitness holidays before and found them too regimented, this sits in between: structured enough to make progress, loose enough that you're not being shouted at.

Nutrition is treated as one of the three pillars alongside exercise and coaching, not an afterthought. Meals are included on a full-board basis, and the food is designed to support the training load rather than to restrict it. This is a Dutch-language operation primarily, though Bert and Grietje both speak English.

What's included

- Full-pension accommodation for the duration of the week - Daily yoga sessions - Daily guided hike or trail run (depending on the chosen week) - Guided outdoor activities such as mountain biking, climbing and GPS routes - All meals during the stay - Coaching and group guidance from Bert van der Meulen and Grietje van der Meulen - Nutrition guidance as part of the programme

What's not included

- Travel to and from the retreat location - Travel insurance - Personal expenses - Alcoholic drinks - Optional additional activities outside the programme - Equipment hire (where not provided by the group)