You’ve seen the photos. You’ve read the testimonials. You’re thinking about it. But you want to know what to expect at a surf retreat like Surf + Soul: morning to night, day by day, from the moment you land in Nicaragua to the moment you leave.
Here’s the honest, detailed answer.
What to Expect Before You Arrive
Sixty days before your retreat, you’ll receive your exact location and a pre-arrival packet. Thirty days out, you’ll get a questionnaire covering surf experience, fitness level, dietary restrictions, and spiritual goals, plus a packing list. The short version: sunscreen, a Bible, a journal, comfortable clothes, and an open heart. We provide everything else: boards, yoga mats, towels, all surf equipment.
When your flight lands at Managua’s Augusto C. Sandino International Airport, a driver is waiting for you by name. The drive to Mandla Oceanfront Retreat in El Tránsito takes about 90 minutes. Check Windguru before you leave if you want to see the swell forecast for your first surf session. By the time you arrive, the ocean is the loudest thing you can hear.
Day 1: Surrender — Proverbs 3:5–6
Your first morning starts before the sun comes up. The group walks to the water’s edge together: no boards, no wetsuits, just bare feet. Waist-deep in the ocean, eyes closed, waves hitting your chest, a short prayer of surrender. It’s called the Surrender Immersion, and it sets the tone for the entire week. You’re not watching from the shore. You’re in the water.
After breakfast, you choose your board for the week. Before the first paddle out, the group circles up on the beach for the Board Blessing: a brief moment that reframes the surfboard as something more than fiberglass.
Your first surf session is gentle. Sandy bottom, warm water, small waves. Your Surf Guide is in the water with you the whole time.
That evening at the welcome dinner, each guest shares their name and one word describing what they’re carrying into the week. Exhaustion. Doubt. Hope. Fear. Your word is written on a card and placed face-down on the table. It comes back later.
Day 2: Trust — Jeremiah 29:11
The morning surf session begins with two minutes of silence: the Silent Paddle. You sit on your board in the lineup, watching the ocean, listening. Then coaching begins.
In the afternoon, a communal surface appears in the common area: the Verse Wall. A surfboard or piece of driftwood where guests write verses that are speaking to them. It grows all week.
Holy Yoga. Soul Sessions. Worship. The rhythm of the day starts to feel natural.
Day 3: Courage — Joshua 1:9
This is the day most surf retreat beginners stand up on a wave for the first time. When it happens (and it happens differently for everyone) the whole beach erupts. Coaches, guests on shore, everyone in the water. We call it The First Stand, and it’s one of the most photographable, emotionally charged moments of the week.
In the afternoon, guests who are ready paddle out to slightly bigger waves for the first time. Not dangerously bigger, just enough to feel the difference.
The evening Soul Session gets real. Each person shares one thing they’ve been avoiding: a conversation, a decision, a change. The group listens without advising and prays one sentence over each person.
Day 4: Community — Hebrews 10:24–25
The morning session opens with the Tandem Paddle: paired up, catching the same wave at the same time. It’s harder than it sounds, often hilarious, and makes the community theme physical.
In the afternoon, the whole group tries to ride the same wave together. All 8 guests paddling into one wave. It almost never works cleanly, and that’s the point. The chaos, the laughter, the falling into each other: it’s a physical picture of community.
At dinner, each guest writes the name of someone who impacted them during the week on a card, along with one sentence about why. The cards are read aloud anonymously. No one knows who wrote what. The cards come back on the final day.
Day 5: Perseverance — James 1:2–3
Day 5 is intentionally heavy. Bodies are tired. Hearts are open.
The morning begins with the Hold-Down Drill: lying in shallow water, letting a wave wash over you, staying calm, counting to five, and coming up. It’s a surf safety skill framed as a spiritual metaphor. Every hold-down is temporary. Grace is the surface you rise to.
In the evening, the Wipeout Reel plays: a short, music-backed compilation of every wipeout from the week. The room cries laughing. Then the transition: “Every wipeout you just watched? You got back up. Every single time. That’s perseverance.”
Then comes the Night Fire. A bonfire on the beach. No worship music. No teaching. Just fire and honesty. Each person shares what they’ve been carrying. They write it down and burn it. The group witnesses it. A prayer closes the night. This is the moment the group stops being strangers and becomes a family.
Day 6: Generosity — 1 Peter 4:10
The surfboards stay on the beach. Day 6 is Give Back Day: a full morning of community service in El Tránsito. Painting a school, cleaning a beach, delivering supplies. Lunch is eaten with the community you served, not back at the venue.
In the late afternoon, the group paddles out one more time, but this session is reframed as an offering. No coaching. Just surfing as gratitude. Some of the best rides of the week happen in this session.
At sunset, the group paddles out together for the Paddle Out Circle. Sitting on boards in a circle, each person speaks one word: the word God gave them during the week. Then they ride the final wave in together.
Day 7: Commission — Matthew 28:19–20
The final morning. One last sunrise devotional. One last Holy Yoga session. Then the group gathers on the beach for The Commission.
Each person receives their verse, hand-inked on a shell, stone, or piece of driftwood from the ocean. They’re called forward by name. Their verse is read aloud. A personal word is spoken over them. The group prays. The keepsake is placed in their hands. Alongside it: their Day 1 word card and the anonymous gratitude note from Day 4.
Three artifacts in your hands. What you came carrying. How you were seen. What God spoke over your life.
Final group photo. Everyone holding their keepsake. Then airport transfers and the drive back to Managua.
That’s what to expect at a Surf + Soul surf retreat: you go home different. The keepsake goes on your nightstand. And every time you see it, you’re back on that beach.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is included in a Surf + Soul retreat?
Everything: boutique oceanfront accommodations, three meals a day, professional surf coaching for all levels, twice-daily Holy Yoga, sunrise devotionals, Soul Sessions, Give Back Day, the Paddle Out Circle, The Commission ceremony with a hand-inked keepsake, round-trip airport transfers, and a professionally edited highlight video delivered within one week of the retreat.
What airport do I fly into for a Surf + Soul retreat?
Managua’s Augusto C. Sandino International Airport (MGA) in Nicaragua. A private driver meets you at the airport by name and drives you to Mandla Oceanfront Retreat in El Tránsito, approximately 90 minutes from the airport.
How many guests are on each retreat?
Each retreat hosts a maximum of 8 guests. This small group size ensures a maximum 4:1 coach-to-guest ratio in the water and allows for the genuine community, personal coaching attention, and intimate retreat experience that define the Surf + Soul week.
What should I pack for a Surf + Soul retreat?
Sunscreen, a Bible, a journal, and comfortable clothes. Surf + Soul provides all surf equipment (boards, leashes, rash guards), yoga mats, towels, and water gear. A detailed packing list is sent 30 days before your retreat date.
The ocean is our church. Courage is worship. Community is calling. We are Surf Souls.