The Coolest Bohemian Creative Retreats Around the World That You Need to Attend

It all started in the Sahara Desert in Morocco in 2015 when the beautiful idea of Restival blossomed into a reality. The concept was to create a space for like-minded individuals to disconnect from everyday modern distractions and reconnect with nature, their bodies, and their wellness in a creative and global community. Through activities like creative workshops, yoga, meditation, dance, and sound immersion, Restival is an opportunity for personal introspection and growth. Since 2015, Restivals have been held in Arizona, Los Angeles, Malibu Canyon, and Osea Island in the United Kingdom.

Midburn is a six-day Burning Man-inspired creative gathering that takes place in the Negev Desert. A temporary city is built in the middle of the desert and a “gift economy” is put into place. This transcendental retreat encourages wild and free self-expression and creativity.

Bali Spirit Festival is a six-day holistic wellness and music event that also has an incredible humanitarian undertone. The event is complete with yoga, dance, music, and an infusion of the Balinese Hindu concept of Tri Hita Karana, which means to live in harmony with our spiritual, social, and natural environments. The founders of the festival support multiple local charities in Bali.

Envision Art and Sacred Movement Festival is a celebration and awakening of the human potential. This annual gathering takes place on the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica every February. A sustainable community is built and thousands of individuals from around the globe flock to the forest and beach for this extraordinary art, movement, music, education, and yoga gathering.

GeoParadise’s Tribal Gathering is exactly what it sounds like—a gathering of tribal communities from around the world who come together to share their culture, traditions, ancient wisdom, and practices. For 18 days, 60 tribes from 30 countries gather on the Caribbean coast of Panama, though the gathering isn’t exclusive to indigenous tribes and is open to anyone who wants to join in on the festivities. The last five days of the festival include electric music performances and what could be classified as modern dance, art, and creativity. This is a mind-opening and sensational opportunity to connect with a variety of different cultures.

Wanderlust Festival is a spiritual gathering at the gorgeous Turtle Bay Resort the first week of March on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. The purpose of this four-day gathering is to indulge in yoga, beachside mediation, music, and delicious food; its mission is “to help you find your true north. True north is not a final destination: it’s a path, a journey, and a yearning to explore and connect to your life’s purpose.”

Every year, the Rainbow Family gathers in a national forest in North America from July 1-7 at a location that’s disclosed the week before the gathering. The Rainbow Gathering is free and no money is to be used at all—everything is donated, communal, and shared. The peak of the gathering on July 4 begins with morning silence, a communal prayer for world peace, and then a day of acoustic music, dancing, eating, and celebrating. It is a truly unique experience and an example of how it’s possible to live in peace and harmony with one another.

Luminosity Gathering takes place in a mystical temperate forest on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia in western Canada. This nature-infused gathering is bursting with inspiring artists, teachers, visionaries, and musicians. It is a chance for conscious learning, authentic connections, and self-expression in an awe-inspiring environment.

In the middle of September, the sacred music, yoga, and personal growth festival Bhakti Fest West takes place at Joshua Tree in California. The festival is drug and alcohol-free and promotes self-evolution, creation, and enlightenment through the practice of yoga, meditation, workshops, dancing, and connecting with other like-minded souls in the expansive desert landscape east of Los Angeles.

Arise Festival is celebrating its sixth year of bringing amazing creative workshops, art galleries and installations, internationally recognized speakers and activists, and yoga to the Colorado mountains for those who want to expand their minds, be inspired, participate in open dialogue and movements for positive change, practice yoga and meditation, and spend time surrounded by other inspirational and open-minded people in a beautiful setting.

You can’t talk about the coolest bohemian creative retreats without talking about Burning Man, the ultimate venue for limitless self-expression, art, creative inspiration, and freedom. In the middle of the Black Rock Desert every year, thousands of wild and free spirits from around the world gather to live a harmonious, peaceful, accepting, community-driven, and exhilarating week in the beautiful and harsh desert.