New menopause retreats are popping up all the time. Here are a few to consider in 2025.
Hot flashes, weight gain, sleepless nights, mood swings—if you’re a woman of a certain age, those symptoms may be all too familiar. Menopause can rock your world, and not in a good way. One day, you’re merrily going about your business; the next, you’re a sweaty, cranky insomniac with a muffin top and road rage (just me?). Rather than suffer alone or in silence, some women are turning to menopause retreats to help them through this period of intense physical and mental changes.
By 2030, the world population of menopausal and postmenopausal women is projected to increase to 1.2 billion. Is it any surprise that retreats dedicated to all things menopause-related are becoming popular? Many women in menopause are searching for answers, support, and a place to commune with other women who are in the same boat. Menopause retreats offer that and more. Some are medically focused and include comprehensive medical evaluations and testing, while others are more about stress reduction, education, and fostering community. All are designed to help women cope with this bumpy transition and the sometimes scary physical and mental changes that can seem to come out of nowhere.
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Menopause retreats provide a defined, dedicated period when women can “focus on the transition and learn about modalities and therapies to help them manage what’s going on with them both physically and mentally, says Dr. Jessica Shepherd, a board-certified gynecologist and author of Generation M. They’re also a way for women to meet other women going through similar situations, which can be validating and reassuring. “
Six thousand women enter menopause a day, and 40% of our lives are spent in the postmenopausal phase,” adds Dr. Shepherd. “Retreats are a perfect way to reset and calibrate.”
Jo Eke, a healthcare professional from Bath, England, went on the Menopause Retreat at Combe Grove Health and Wellbeing to find out what she could do to combat symptoms of menopause and learn more about the science behind new modalities and treatments.
“My joints ached, my memory seemed weaker, my confidence waned—I felt less vibrant,” she described. “I wanted to understand what was going on in my body and why, despite doing regular exercise, having a balanced lifestyle, and eating well, I wasn’t feeling myself,” Eke said. She was nervous about going on the retreat but was glad she did. “It’s genuinely changed my life.”
Aviva Sharp, a realtor from Miami, was looking for a place that had yoga, exercise, sound healing, nutritious meals, and offered a “nonjudgmental female connection.” The Big M: Mastering Menopause retreat in Costa Rica ticked all those boxes. The seven-day experience is designed to reduce stress, balance hormones, promote deep sleep, and more. They even offer a Kegel exercise class to help women strengthen their pelvic floor. Like Eke, Sharp describes the experience as life-changing and says she now “feels healthier and has a much clearer and loving sense of self.”
Finding the Right Retreat for You
Since you’ll be investing time and money, not to mention time away from family and work, it pays to choose a menopause retreat wisely. Kimberly Wilson, a therapist and author in Washington, DC, advises being intentional about the experience and doing plenty of research.
“Look for an expert in the field–someone who has gone through menopause,” she suggests. “Have they written about it? Are they educated about menopause? Do they seem well-versed in your concerns?”
Wilson advises looking closely at the retreat’s FAQs, schedule, and testimonials, which are essential.
“Have a call with them and ask questions in advance to make sure it’s a good fit for you. The more information you get up front and the clearer your expectations are, the better,” says Wilson.
“A good menopause retreat will help you understand what’s going on in your body, as well as lifestyle changes to ease a lot of the side effects of menopause: hot flashes, trouble sleeping, low mood, and so on,” explains Dr. Mindy Pelz, a best-selling author and women’s health expert. In Spring 2025, Dr. Pelz will lead a retreat at Portugal’s Six Senses Douro Valley Hotel & Spa that teaches practical lifestyle changes to help women feel better immediately, all in a “healing and supportive community setting.”
And, of course, watch out for baseless claims and unrealistic promises, cautions Dr. Heather Hirsch, who specializes in treating women in perimenopause and menopause.
“I discourage unregulated medications for things that are not FDA-approved or treatments or new medications with no good data or research,” warns Dr. Hirsch. “They could be harmful, or they could just be snake oil,” she says. And have realistic expectations about what the retreat can and can’t do. “There’s no one quick fix. You can’t out-yoga brain fog. You can’t out-yoga the fact that your physiology is changing.”
In addition to the credentials of the facilitators and the breadth and depth of offerings, think about who will be on the retreat with you.
“Be mindful of what connections you could make and who could inspire you,” says Hirsch. You could even go with a couple of friends and use the time to reconnect while learning and caring for yourself. “Menopause is about transformation. How do you turn this [time] into a beautiful journey in womanhood that we have not talked about in forever?” New menopause retreats are popping up all the time. Here are a few to consider in 2025:
The Menopause Retreat at Combe Grove Health and Wellbeing
Located in the bucolic English countryside, the Menopause Retreat at Combe Grove Health and Wellbeing is guided by doctors, nutritionists, coaches, and other specialists and focuses on metabolic health. The retreat is centered around “Five Roots”—nutrition, movement, sleep, environment, and mindset— and is designed to help fight insulin resistance and improve overall health. The program starts with a call with one of the team’s nutritionists and includes year-long online support. During the week-long retreat, guests receive a comprehensive health check, workshops such as yoga for menopause, menopause-specific blood tests, meals designed by on-site nutritionists, one-on-one exercise coaching, and more.
The Feisty Menopause Performance Retreat
The Feisty Menopause Performance Retreat is a weekend getaway of “movement, community, and education” at the Lake Nona Wave Hotel near Orlando. The retreat is led by Selene Yeager, a fitness and health writer, host of the Hit Play Not Pause Podcast, and NASM-certified personal trainer and coach. She’s joined by several doctors and experts specializing in women’s health. The weekend includes a pre-conference small group goal-setting meeting, accommodations, private strength and conditioning sessions, massage, educational sessions, fitness classes, meals, access to the Lake Nona Performance Center facilities, and a full body analysis designed to deliver complete insight into your motion health status. The weekend ends with a non-competitive DEKA experience designed for all fitness levels.
Women’s Retreat at Preidlhof
Nestled between the Dolomites and the Mediterranean in South Tyrol, Italy, the Preidlhof Resort is an idyllic setting for the Women’s Retreat, a program that integrates complementary, medical, and preventive health. Taking a personal approach to wellness, the retreat includes holistic coaching sessions, educational programming, sleep measurement and analysis or acupuncture, yoga, massage, medical wellness sessions, and more. Patrizia Bortolin, the retreat’s Spa Director, is especially passionate about the Women’s Retreat because she went through a challenging and extended peri/menopause period herself. “We want to help women reconnect with themselves and embrace, rather than resist, the emotional and physical changes of menopause.”
Escape Haven Menopause Retreat
Janine Hall, the founder of Escape Haven in Bali, created a menopause retreat because she heard so many of her guests discussing mid-life physical and emotional changes. “I discovered that [our guests] were starved for information on menopause,” she says. The six-day menopause package, which runs every week, includes a body scan to assess muscle mass, water retention, skeletal composition, and fat mass for a personalized health plan; Ayurvedic therapies; body treatments to ease hot flashes and joint pain and reduce inflammation; wellness workshops covering lifestyle interventions to help navigate menopause; Balinese signature massages; and chef-prepared meals designed to reduce inflammation and regulate mood.
Thrive Through Menopause Retreat
At the Thrive Through Menopause Retreat (Dec. 1-7, 2024) at Canyon Ranch in Arizona, activities and expert-led presentations cover everything from how to get a better night’s sleep to chronic disease prevention to weight management to sexual health and menopause. Guests receive blood work and a hormone panel, a personalized physician consultation, and a DEXA Body Composition evaluation, which Canyon Ranch’s medical team uses to develop a customized exercise plan for each attendee.
Menopause Weeks at Rancho La Puerta
At Rancho La Puerto, one of the “original wellness destination spas,” Navigating the Menopausal Transition helps women learn all about the mind-body-spirit implications of menopause. The week-long programs, offered twice a year, feature guest lecturer Dr. Amanda P. Williams, a board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist and leader in women’s health who will present lectures on everything from hormonal health to navigating the stress of menopause.
