Jungle Bay Yoga Retreat Planning Guide

Welcome to "Jungle Bay, Dominica", the Caribbean's new Yoga Vacation Center.

This guide is specifically designed to help you develop and plan your next Yoga Retreat at the premier location for group YOGA and wellness programs in the Caribbean. Planning your first yoga vacation/retreat, especially in a place you have never been to, can feel like a major undertaking. This retreat planning guide is designed to simplify the process, enabling you to begin planning your retreat with confidence. Your yoga vacation/retreat should be a fun filled vacation for both you and your guests!

JUNGLE BAY, the Caribbean's new wellness/spa resort is located on the rainforest island of Dominica. Facilities at our "barefoot-luxury" eco-resort include two large open air indoor studios with polished wooden floors plus several open deck practice areas. JUNGLE BAY was designed to accommodate the ultimate yoga retreat. Accommodations are 35 rustic, elegant cottages elevated on wooden posts, perched like bird nests between the coastal forest canopy. Other distinct features include an open pavilion restaurant that offers a range of fish, chicken and organically grown vegetarian cuisine accompanied by fresh tropical fruit juices. Spa du Soleil, perched over the coastal cliff, provides a range of massages, manicures & pedicures. A volcanic stone swimming pool and a rustic beach bar are also part of this amazing creation, all painstakingly tucked away on 55 acres of unspoiled seaside jungle. The architectural design concept of JUNGLE BAY incorporates all facilities and amenities necessary to host a world class Wellness Retreat.

DOMINICA, also known as the "nature island of the Caribbean", is the best tropical destination to host the JUNGLE BAY concept due to the island's un-spoilt natural beauty. The rugged, island of Dominica is home to several waterfalls, natural hot springs, rivers, mountain lakes, underwater volcanoes, sea turtles, whales, tropical birds, giant ferns, lush vegetation and a laid back lifestyle. The island of Dominica is committed to ecologically sustainable development. JUNGLE BAY'S coastal forest site was carefully selected to provide the perfect atmosphere to relax & re-energize in close proximity to the many natural attractions of Dominica. JUNGLE BAY site is surrounded by majestic waterfalls, ocean pools, rivers, rugged coastline, hiking trails to scenic vistas and laid back villages whose residents still engage in traditional farming and fishing.

In October 2007, JUNGLE BAY was awarded the prestigious "World Saver Award" by Conde Nast Traveler for commitment to socially responsible tourism. JUNGLE BAY has been featured in over 50 major publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Outside Magazine. The resort has been ranked as one of the world's top ten luxury eco-resorts by Forbes Magazine, the Independent (UK) and Destination Weddings & Honeymoons.

International media attention is good but our attention is always on the feedback of our guests like Loraine Reuckner, a yoga teacher from Boston Massachusetts, who had the following comment after her second JUNGLE BAY yoga/vacation retreat:

"Our Yoga Vacation Retreat at Jungle Bay was a fun and exciting way to enjoy our winter escape and also to introduce new people to our practice. We just got back and most of our guests are already making plans for our third annual Jungle Bay Yoga retreat. We're hooked!!"

YOGA FACILITIES

YOGA FACILITIES at JUNGLE BAY include our Signature Studio; a rubble stone structure with polished wooden floors, large windows and a fourteen foot ceiling that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. This spacious, airy room (40 ft X 60 ft or 2400 sq ft) offers both a dramatic view and relaxing sounds of the Atlantic Ocean. This space comfortably accommodates Yoga classes of up to 40 people. Our Second Indoor Studio is built entirely of wood and is located on the third floor of our visitor center. This (30 ft X 30 ft or 900sq ft) Studio also offers a birds-eye view of the Atlantic Ocean. This room can accommodate breakaway classes or small groups of up to 20 people. The Outdoor Seaside Deck by the beach is ideal for early morning Sun Salutations and other outdoor classes. The raging sound of the Atlantic surf makes "The Deck" the perfect setting to commune in harmony with nature at its purest. The deck (20 X 50 or 1000 sq ft) accommodates groups of 20-30 people.

Indoor Yoga Studio Outdoor

PLANNING A JUNGLE BAY YOGA RETREAT

Planning a JUNGLE BAY Yoga Vacation/Retreat is quite simple and straight forward, even if this is your first retreat. We have already done most of the planning and logistical arrangements you will need to make your retreat simple and fun. Your contribution will be to attract a group of ten or more people to travel with you to a world-class eco-resort on a rainforest Caribbean island to practice Yoga and to enjoy a fun filled vacation. This will take some effort on your part however if you are prepared to do the marketing the rest of the retreat preparation is quite simple. Our current retreat leaders are generally amateur yoga teachers who want to enjoy nature and adventure with friends and make a little money.

Our most popular package is a Saturday to Saturday, seven-night adventure & wellness package. This package includes accommodations (single or double occupancy) in our rustic cottages with semi-outdoor showers, a welcome cocktail dinner, breakfast & lunch daily (participants purchase their own dinners), one half-hour spa treatment, four excursions that can include hikes to waterfalls or other natural attractions such as snorkeling, or ocean kayaking. Our evenings are memorable yet relaxing - we offer activities such as our herbal presentation, Caribbean cooking class and Caribbean heritage dancing. We can also customize a package to suit your group's interest or level of physical fitness. For example, one of our groups is into scuba diving so we developed a special dive package; another group has participants who are a little older so they prefer daily spa treatments and more wellness activities as opposed to hikes.

A JUNGLE BAY yoga vacation/retreat can be a profitable financial venture for the teacher/organizer. Basically, we offer a low, un-published wholesale rate to the teacher/organizer who then add their mark-up (profit) which is usually over 20%, sometimes significantly higher depending on the popularity of their program. In addition the teacher/organizer is given one complimentary package for every ten paying clients. Typically, teacher/organizers make well in excess of eight thousand dollars per retreat after all their expenses, including airfare to Dominica!

A typical example of a JUNGLE BAY Yoga or Wellness Vacation:

An organizer, (Yoga institute, group or individual) who we will call "Yoga Bob" from Bridgeport Connecticut, decides to organize a Yoga Vacation to JUNGLE BAY. Yoga Bob contacts yoga@junglebaydominica.com and sets aside dates for his first yoga retreat. Bob is assisted with flight recommendations arrangements, he projects the amount of accommodation that will be needed and decides on an itinerary of morning yoga classes and afternoon activities which include a half-hour massage, hike to spectacular Victoria Falls, ocean kayaking & snorkeling, more snorkeling at volcanic Champagne Beach, an afternoon at a hot sulfur spring, a fun walk to frolic in the mineral rich White River plus a hike to Zom Zom lookout point. Bob commits by paying a retreat reservation deposit of $1,000, which is refundable between four and six months prior to his scheduled retreat date (depending on the time of year).

The JUNGLE BAY staff provide Bob with photos and print content that he will use to develop a flyer. Bob also plans to develop a simple website specific to his upcoming Vacation Retreat. He plans to link his site to the JUNGLE BAY website and will be posted on the new JUNGLE BAY Retreat Calendar. Yoga Bob plans to contact fellow teachers, his students and other potential participants by word of mouth, printed flyers, e-flyers, maybe a small ad in the local paper, and post flyers in his neighborhood Co-Op and Whole Foods grocery store etc, etc.

Bob secures commitments with $500 from each participant, $350 of which he will transfer to JUNGLE BAY two months prior to his retreat date. Bob can continue to sell his retreat up to the week prior to his retreat however he is aware that bookings within two months of his retreat are based on the availability of JUNGLE BAY accommodations.

Bob's creativity and hard work has paid off reasonably well; he was able to attract twenty people (this is typical) to the "First Annual Yoga Bob Jungle Island Retreat". For his love of Yoga, hard work and propensity to have fun, Yoga Bob gets to spend a week on an exotic Caribbean island teaching morning Yoga classes to his twenty new and old friends, discovering waterfalls, snorkeling, ocean kayaking, getting aromatherapy massages, laying out by the ocean or stone pool, eating tasty organic foods, checking out the natural herbal teas and dancing the evenings away to the sound of the Atlantic waves. Because Bob attracted twenty clients he was able to offer his second complimentary packages to his assistant/girlfriend. Bob plans to leave Jungle Bay physically exerted but mentally relaxed with some new clients for his Yoga practice and over eight thousand dollars.

THANK YOU

Thank you for considering a yoga/vacation retreat at Jungle Bay, Dominica. If you would like to pursue a yoga retreat with us or if you have any questions, please contact us at: yoga@junglebaydominica.com

To assist in responding to your enquiry please provide us with the following:

Your Contact Information
*Name:
Organization
Physical Address:
Mailing Address:
*Telephone:
Fax:
*E-mail address:
Details About Your Yoga Group
Proposed Number of People
Number of Nights:
Arrival Date:
Departure Date:
Vegetarian or other Special requirements:

*Fields in bold are required.

2005-2008 © Jungle Bay Resort & Spa, Dominica. All Rights Reserved. web development by delphis