How people approach wellness travel is changing. What was once driven by escape, relaxation or luxury is becoming far more intentional. Today’s retreat guest is not simply looking to switch off; they are looking to understand something, to move through something, or to reconnect with a part of themselves that has been overlooked.

There is a clear shift taking place across wellness travel. Where once broad, all-encompassing programmes defined the category, today’s traveller is seeking something more precise, more personal and more relevant to where they are in life, not where the industry assumes they should be. Niche retreats are not a passing trend.

There is a depth to Wendy Bosalavage’s work that goes far beyond any single role or title. With over three decades of experience across wellness, hospitality and design, she has helped shape how wellness is woven into the places people live, stay and connect. At Synergy, Wendy is responsible for Sponsor Relations and is a valued member of the Advisory Board.

WEDNESDAY | 3RD JUNE | 13:00 CET | 19:00 HKT: Struggling to fill your retreat isn’t about saturation, it’s about connection. If your audience feels nothing, they won’t book. This session with Manu Molina explores where your message is missing the mark and how to refine it to attract the right people, build genuine interest, and convert that into aligned, committed bookings.

WEDNESDAY | 1ST JULY | 13:00 CET | 19:00 HKT: Dr. Cijith Sreedhar explores how beliefs shape our experience of stress and how the nervous system turns emotional overload into physical symptoms. Through practical tools and awareness, participants learn to regulate their system, activate the body’s natural healing response, and move from survival to resilience.

WEDNESDAY | 6TH MAY | 18:00 CET: A new frontier in transformative travel is emerging, where luxury, healing and ancient wisdom converge. At the forefront is Heather A. Lee, LCSW — a Colorado-based licensed psychedelic facilitator, speaker, and author of The Psilocybin Sessions. Join her for this 1hr live online session.

I grew up in a decade when women were told, “You can have it all.” It was the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the message was everywhere - in movies, advertising, and popular culture. One commercial in particular captured the spirit of the time. In the famous Enjoli perfume ad, a confident woman belts out: “I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never, never, never let you forget you’re a man. ’Cause I’m a woman!”

I didn’t go to Costa Rica to reinvent my life. I went because it was during Covid, everyone was tired, and my family needed a vacation. We booked a one-week trip just to breathe a little. It was November of 2020 - precautions, lockdowns, uncertainty - and the idea of nature sounded like medicine. Three days into the trip, I woke up with gout.

There is something quietly powerful about Croatia. Not just the sweep of the Adriatic or the drama of waterfalls cutting through limestone, but the way land and sea seem to work together, as if restoration here is not an added feature, but part of the landscape itself.

Step into the world of Scotty Johnson of Explore What Matters, where adventure becomes a vehicle for connection, courage and community, using nature and shared experience to create space for perspective, honest conversation and meaningful personal growth beyond traditional wellness narratives.

Meet Polly Macis, the quiet force behind Synergy. As PA to Synergy Founder, Laura Montesanti and Event Co-Ordinator, Polly holds the details together behind the scenes, from start to finish, ensuring everything unfolds seamlessly, with care, intention and consistency.

There’s a quiet but significant shift happening within wellness travel. Away from highly structured, outcome-driven programmes and towards something far more fundamental: time in nature. Not as an add-on or concept, but as the foundation of our experience.

WEDNESDAY | 8TH APRIL | 18:00 CET: This immersive 1hr online workshop with Letizia Silvestri, invites you into a deep state of calm, not by escaping the noise, but by reconnecting to the stillness already within you. Through hypnosis education, a guided hypno-sound bath, and simple self-hypnosis techniques, you’ll gain practical tools to navigate overwhelm with ease.

The Source – Transformation Series is an open-access online programme by Synergy – The Retreat Show, created to extend the conversations beyond the event. Bringing together leading voices in wellness travel, it offers insight, strategy and shared expertise, supporting a more connected, informed and collaborative industry year-round.

We sat down with Barbara (Babi) Cesario, our Sales Manager and main POC for Buyer / Retreat Leader Enquiries, to get to know the person behind info@ — the traveller, the dog lover, the entrepreneur and one of the original team who brought Synergy to life.

Urban retreats are no longer a fringe concept. As wellness becomes embedded into daily life — and travel patterns continue to shift — city-based retreats are emerging as a powerful bridge between healing, accessibility, and hospitality innovation. Laura Montesanti shares about why this model matters now, and what it gets right that traditional retreats sometimes miss.

As the wellness industry evolves, there is an urgent call to bring healing into the heart of our cities, where people live, work and gather every day. Urban retreats offer a powerful opportunity to make wellness more accessible, integrated and inclusive, shifting it away from exclusivity and embedding it into daily life.

What started as a quiet moment at a men’s retreat became the first ripple of a profound transformation. Through encounters with wild dolphins, months at sea and deep immersion in somatic and water-based practices, Fabian traces a path where outer exploration mirrors inner awakening in his Journey of Healing.

In today’s fast-paced world, wellness environments must do more than look good—they must feel good. Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese practice of spatial alignment, offers a transformative approach to designing spaces that nurture mind, body, and spirit. In hospitality and wellness settings, Feng Shui can elevate every aspect of the guest journey.

In just four short years, Synergy has evolved from an ambitious concept into one of the world’s leading platforms in wellness travel. Since its inception, the event has attracted some of the most influential voices in the industry, including Don Miguel Ruiz Jr., Laura Hof, Charlotte Church and more…