Six Strangers, One Retreat: Grounded Magazine Comes Solo to Marnie Rays

The question we get asked more than any other is some version of: "I'd love to come, but I'd be coming alone. Is that weird?"

So we love that Grounded Magazine tackled exactly this. Writer Lauren Cunningham joined us in Portugal for five days, solo, and wrote about it in "Your Sign To Finally Book That Solo Retreat".

Her starting point is honest: solo travel as a woman can feel daunting, and the statistics she cites cut both ways — searches for "women solo travel" are at a fifteen-year high, yet around 70% of women still report travel-related anxiety. Her conclusion is that an organised retreat is the gentler way in:

"Five days at the Marnie Rays surf camp showed me the benefits of a solo surf trip extend well beyond learning to surf, though that alone is a considerable draw."

Six strangers on a beach

Lauren arrived to a line-up of six women who had never met — different ages, different countries, different lives, and roughly two boogie-board lessons of surf experience between them. What happened next is our favourite part of the piece:

"It turns out that sea water streaming from your nose, bloodshot eyes and faceplant after faceplant into the Atlantic breaks down social barriers remarkably quickly."

By the end of the week, her verdict on the "coming alone" question was about as clear as it gets:

"After just five days, the women we had been cheering for felt far from strangers. Proof that you do not need to arrive with your own group for a great girls' trip."

What you actually take home

Not necessarily best friends for life (though it happens more than you'd think). Lauren puts it as a quiet confidence — a willingness to step outside your comfort zone, and proof that your body can do things you never thought possible. And for the surfing itself:

"A few of the group are already looking into buying their own boards. I think that says enough."

You can read the full piece on Grounded Magazine — where, full disclosure, I'm a guest editor, and I've also written there about why I created Marnie Rays in the first place.

If you've been waiting for a sign to book the solo trip: most of the women on any given Marnie Rays retreat came by themselves. You won't feel like a stranger for long.