Jungle Yoga and Wellness Retreat at Copal Tree Lodge, Belize

A typical day starts early, because the jungle is loudest at dawn. Yoga on the Serenity Palapa or the Canopy Deck tends to run before breakfast, with the pool and the Maya Mountains as the backdrop. Breakfast at the Garden Restaurant follows, built around produce from Copal Tree Farm — garden limes and coconuts, house-made hot sauces, chocolate made from estate cacao.

Days are deliberately open. Guests hike the trails on the property, take a canoe or kayak out on the Rio Grande, cycle the grounds, or swim in the pool. The Jungle Spa takes bookings for treatments. The farm tour is the one most groups book as a set piece: it covers the organic operation that supplies the kitchen, and the distillery next door makes Copal Tree rum from estate sugarcane. Add-ons include a traditional healing walk, a private river sunset cruise, a sound bath session, a medicinal herb tour and a cocoa ceremony.

Evenings often centre on the Half-Circle Fire Pit, which seats 30 and is used for guided reflection, storytelling or fire ceremonies. The Rum Bar handles smaller sessions — herbal tea or cocoa ceremonies, gentle stretching — under the canopy. Private dinners and bonfires can be arranged, and cultural evening entertainment is part of the complimentary activity list.

What separates this from a standard yoga retreat is the scale of the place and who runs it. Copal Tree is one of the Muy'Ono Resorts group, so some retreats are run as combination experiences alongside other Muy'Ono properties. The lodge has five distinct venues that hold between 30 and 40 people, which means a group can move between the palapa, the pool deck, the river dock and the fire pit instead of using one room all week. The 16 suites are all private, with floor-to-ceiling windows and balconies looking into the rainforest.

Getting there involves a local commuter flight, which is included in the retreat package along with round-trip ground transfers, taxes and gratuity. The lodge also has a helipad. Instructors who bring a group have their travel comped and get a dedicated reservations and travel coordinator for the booking.

What's included

- Accommodation in private suites - All-inclusive meal package - Three farm-to-table meals daily at the Garden Restaurant - Local round-trip commuter flights - Taxes and gratuity - Access to the Serenity Palapa, Canopy Deck and Pool, Rum Bar, Half-Circle Fire Pit and River Dock - Complimentary activities: private dinners, bonfires, local artisan market, cultural evening entertainment, pool, yoga palapa, bikes, canoes and kayaks, hiking trails, jungle gym - Comped travel for the instructor (hosted retreats) - Dedicated reservations and travel coordinator (hosted retreats)

What's not included

- International flights - Travel insurance - Optional add-ons: traditional healing walk, private river sunset cruise, sound bath session, medicinal herb tour, cocoa ceremony - Jungle Spa treatments - Personal expenses