This retreat is designed for women who want a more thoughtful way to enter the underwater world — through freediving: the practice of diving on a single breath, moving through the ocean in silence, without tanks or equipment between you and the water. It is one of the most meditative things you can do in the sea, and Amed is one of the best places in the world to learn it.

You will complete your international freediving certification across two to three days of structured, guided training — theory, breathwork, pool technique, and open water dives — then use those skills to freedive the USAT Liberty wreck in Tulamben, one of the most accessible and quietly extraordinary dive sites in Southeast Asia. The second half of the retreat opens into Ubud: rice terraces, temple visits, and a closing water purification ceremony that gives the whole journey a meaningful arc.

Not a performance retreat. Not a competition. Just you, your breath, and the ocean.

Bali is one of those rare places where the ocean, the land, and the spiritual feel genuinely inseparable. This retreat brings together two of the island's most distinctive settings: Amed, a quiet coastal village on Bali's northeast coast known for its black-sand beaches, calm and clear water, and a freediving community that takes the practice seriously, and Ubud, the cultural heartland of the island, surrounded by rice terraces, jungle, and centuries of temple life.

Over eight days, you will move between salt water and sacred water — between the particular stillness of a long breath-hold and the quiet of a landscape shaped by ritual and intention. The retreat is designed to feel calm, meaningful, and easy to navigate alone.

Duration

5 days / 4 nights (Amed base) or 8 days / 7 nights (with Ubud Extension add-on)

Location

Amed, Bali (4 nights); optional Ubud extension (3 nights)

Accommodation

Coral View Villas Amed (hotel, Jemeluk Bay, walking distance to Apneista), Amed + Grand Sehati Inn & Spa, Ubud

Freediving

Guided sessions in Jemeluk Bay (training lines) + 1 session at USAT Liberty, Tulamben

Certification

Optional add-on — Wave 1 (beginner) or Wave 2 (advanced)

Group size

Small group — intimate by design

Who it's for

Women, beginner to intermediate, solo-traveller friendly

Meals

Breakfast included daily. Lunch and dinner at your own pace.

Language

English

●    Freedive the USAT Liberty wreck on a single breath: descend through a coral-encrusted WWII wreck in silence, without tanks — one of the most unusual freediving experiences in the world.

●    Train in Jemeluk Bay, one of the world's best freediving bays: calm, clear, sheltered water with permanent training lines. Learn or deepen your practice somewhere the conditions are actually kind to you.

●    Amed's most respected freediving school: Apneista. Patient, precise, deeply rooted in the bay's freediving community.

●    A two-halves week — ocean breath, then sacred water: four days of freediving in Amed, three days in Ubud moving through waterfalls, rice terraces, and a closing Tirta Empul melukat water-purification ceremony.

●    Optional coral restoration with Ocean Gardener: spend an afternoon in a working coral nursery, snorkel the restoration site with a marine biologist, plant your own fragment.

●    Small group, women-only, solo-traveller friendly: kept intimate on purpose. You are not a number on a trip list — you are one of a few.

●    Founder-led and Swiss-organised: a real person (Rocío) behind every booking, answering questions before, during, and after the retreat.

●    Airport pickup and drop-off (Denpasar DPS)

●    [Transfer to Ubud available with optional Ubud Extension add-on]

●    4 nights accommodation at Coral View Villas Amed (boutique villas, Jemeluk Bay, walking distance to Apneista)

●    Daily breakfast at your Amed hotel (Coral View Villas Amed)

●    Guided freediving sessions in Jemeluk Bay — training lines, line work, open-water depth practice

●    1 freediving session at the USAT Liberty wreck, Tulamben

●    All standard freediving equipment (mask, wetsuit, fins, weights, buoy)

●    [Ubud cultural visits available with optional Ubud Extension add-on]

●    [Temple fees included only if Ubud Extension add-on is taken]

●    WiFi at the hotel

●    Host support before, during, and after the retreat

●    Flights to and from Bali

●    Travel insurance (required)

●    Lunch and dinner

●    Freediving certification course — optional add-on at booking

●    Underwater photoshoot — optional add-on

●    Welcome massage — optional add-on

●    Personal expenses and optional activities

This retreat works for both certified freedivers and those wanting to earn their certification. The base price includes guided freediving sessions under an instructor — perfect for keeping up your practice if you already hold a qualification. If you don't yet, you add the course as an add-on and it runs inside the same retreat week.

Wave 1 (beginner) is the entry-level course and runs over 2.5 days. It covers breathwork and relaxation techniques, static and dynamic apnea, and open-water dives to depth — everything you need to freedive safely and confidently in the ocean. No prior experience is required.

Wave 2 (advanced) is for those who already hold a beginner certification and want to go deeper — both literally and in terms of technique. Three days of advanced equalization, deeper dives, and rescue skills.

Your course is conducted by certified instructors at Apneista, a respected freediving school in Jemeluk Bay known for its technical rigour and warm community.

Optional add-on: Coral Restoration Experience with a marine biologist (4 hours) — a hands-on session with the Ocean Gardener NGO based in Amed.

There is something deeply symbolic in the way this journey unfolds: you begin in the water, and you close in the water.

The first part of the retreat invites you into Bali through the sea — through freediving, the sound of your own breath, and the particular silence that exists when you let yourself descend on a single inhale. In Amed, the experience is not only about learning a technique — it is about discovering a different relationship with the ocean: slower, quieter, more intimate. Freediving is one of the most meditative practices that exists in the water, and Amed — with its calm bays, extraordinary visibility, and genuine freediving culture — is one of the finest places in the world to find it.

The highlight is the freedive at the USAT Liberty wreck in Tulamben — a US Army cargo ship torpedoed in 1942, later carried to its current resting place by the 1963 eruption of Mount Agung. Today it rests just metres from shore, draped in coral and alive with marine life. To freedive it — descending in silence, moving through the structure on one breath — is something that stays with you.

On Day 5, your private driver takes you on the journey to Ubud — three hours inland through the mountains and terraced valleys of central Bali. By the time you arrive, the pace has already shifted.

In Ubud, the second day opens early — out before the crowds, at the waterfall by 8AM when the valley is quiet and the mist is still in the trees. The day continues through the sculpted rice terraces of Tegalalang and a slow afternoon at Bali Pulina for a traditional luwak coffee tasting. This side of the island is rooted in the Balinese philosophy of Tri Hita Karana — the idea that harmony between spirit, people, and nature is the foundation of a good life.

The retreat closes with a visit to Tirta Empul, where water enters the journey again — not as practice this time, but as ritual. The melukat purification ceremony is a Balinese Hindu practice of releasing, cleansing, and making space for what comes next. It gives the whole experience a meaningful arc: you enter through the ocean, and you leave through sacred water.

Amed (4 nights) — Coral View Villas Amed (Jemeluk Bay, walking distance to Apneista)

Your Amed accommodation is a freediving-focused property right in the heart of Jemeluk Bay. Coral View Villas Amed offers boutique private villas on Jemeluk Bay with a swimming pool and garden setting — a calm, grounded atmosphere that complements the breathwork and ocean focus of the retreat. The villas are walking distance to Apneista freediving school, with direct access to Jemeluk Bay.

●    Room type: Private single-occupancy rooms at both properties.

●    Setting: Waterfront on Jemeluk Bay — training lines just outside, black-sand beach, quiet freediving village.

●    On-site: Swimming pool, garden, private villas. Apneista freediving school is walking distance.

●    Wi-Fi: Included.

●    Air-con: Yes, in all rooms.

Grand Sehati Inn & Spa — Ubud (3 nights)

A peaceful boutique property in the heart of Ubud, surrounded by gardens and the quiet rhythms of the town. Rooms are well-appointed and restful — a natural place to slow down after the intensity of the freediving days. The inn has its own spa, and is within walking distance of Ubud's markets, galleries, and restaurants.

●    Room type: Private single-occupancy rooms throughout the Ubud leg.

●    Setting: Central Ubud, walking distance to markets, galleries, restaurants.

●    On-site: Garden, spa, breakfast service.

●    Wi-Fi: Included.

●    Air-con: Yes, in all rooms.

Amed accommodation is at Coral View Villas (walking distance to Apneista freediving school). All prices are per person, single-occupancy throughout.

Breakfast is included every day at both properties. Lunches and dinners are left at your own pace — part of the design of this retreat. Amed and Ubud both have excellent local food, and the freedom to choose where and when you eat is part of what makes the week feel like yours rather than a schedule.

●    Included: Daily breakfast at your Amed hotel (Coral View Villas Amed) and at Grand Sehati Inn & Spa (Ubud).

●    Not included: Lunch and dinner. Local warungs and restaurants in both Amed and Ubud are excellent and inexpensive.

●    Dietary needs: Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and allergen-aware options can be arranged — let us know at booking.

●    Water: Filtered drinking water available at both properties to refill your bottle.

This journey is designed for women who want more than a holiday. If you are drawn to the ocean but not sure exactly where to start, if you crave slowness and meaning over schedules and performance — you are already in the right place.

This retreat is for you if you

•       want to reconnect with yourself through the ocean

•       are drawn to meaningful experiences over performance

•       prefer calm travel with personal flexibility

•       are curious about freediving — the practice of diving on one breath, in silence

•       are travelling solo and want structure without losing freedom

•       value slow, intentional travel that leaves something real behind

This retreat is probably not for you if you

•       are looking for a party or social-first atmosphere

•       prefer fast-paced group tourism

•       want an intense or competitive training environment

•       need a packed schedule from morning to night

You don’t need experience. You don’t need to be fearless. You just need to be a little curious — about the water, about yourself, and about what a different kind of travel can feel like.

Your freediving training takes place in Amed’s calm, clear waters with one of two carefully selected partner schools: Ocean Prana Freediving & Yoga or Apneista Freediving & Yoga School. Both are based in Jemeluk Bay, one of Bali’s most beautiful and sheltered bays, known for its relaxed atmosphere and ideal training conditions. You will be matched with the school and instructor best suited to your level, pace, and goals, ensuring a learning experience that feels personal, supportive, and deeply grounded in safety.

Teaching is calm, attentive, and adapted to you. Whether you are new to freediving or building on existing experience, the focus is not only on technique, but on breath awareness, relaxation, and genuine confidence in the water. With access to both pool training and open-water sessions, each school offers a refined and supportive environment designed to help you progress with ease.

Both schools partner with Ocean Gardener, a marine conservation NGO based in Amed, offering guests the opportunity to participate in coral restoration and reef monitoring alongside working marine biologists.

Morning

Arrive in Bali (DPS). Your private driver will meet you at the airport and transfer you to Amed, a scenic journey of approximately 2.5 hours along Bali’s northeastern coast.

Afternoon

Check in at your accommodation in Amed — steps from the water. Time to settle in, rest, and feel the pace of the village begin to work on you.

Evening

A gentle first evening — dinner at leisure, early sleep, and the sound of the sea outside your window.

Morning

Breakfast, then your first session with your certified freediving instructor. You will begin with the theory and physiology of breath-hold diving, relaxation and breathwork techniques, and your first pool session — learning to float, to let go, to trust your breath.

Afternoon

Static and dynamic apnea practice in the pool. By this afternoon, you will have already held your breath longer than you thought you could.

Evening

Free time to rest, explore the beachfront, or have dinner together. Your body will need space to absorb what it learned today.

Morning

Breakfast, then into open water. Your first ocean dives — descending the line, equalising, moving through the water on a single breath. Your instructor is in the water with you at every moment.

Afternoon

Continued open water practice, deepening your technique and your confidence. Advanced students will work on deeper dives, rescue skills, and the finer points of equalization.

Evening

Sunset by the water. A free evening in Amed.

Morning

Advanced students complete their final training dives and receive their international certification today. Beginner students (who certified yesterday) have the morning free for a guided ocean session, fun dives, or simply time in the water.

Afternoon

Guided session, optional snorkelling, or time to explore Amed at your own pace.

Evening

Celebrate your certification. A free evening — dinner, rest, or a quiet walk along the water.

Morning

An early start for one of the most memorable experiences of the retreat: a freedive at the USAT Liberty wreck in Tulamben. Torpedoed in 1942 and resting just metres from shore, the wreck is encrusted with coral and alive with marine life. To descend on one breath through its structure is something quite unlike anything else. Underwater footage included.

Afternoon

After the dive, your private driver takes you on the scenic transfer to Ubud — through the mountains and terraced valleys of central Bali.

Evening

Check in at Grand Sehati Inn & Spa. Time to unwind after a full and beautiful day.

Morning

Breakfast, then a guided day through some of Bali’s most meaningful landscapes. Begin with Lempuyang Temple (the Gates of Heaven) and Tirta Gangga, the former royal water palace.

Afternoon

Continue to the Tegalalang Rice Terraces, stop at Bali Pulina for a traditional luwak coffee tasting, and visit a waterfall tucked into the valley.

Evening

Free evening in Ubud. Dinner at leisure — the town has some of Bali’s best restaurants within easy walking distance.

Experience a traditional purification ceremony at Tirta Empul Temple. Depart with ocean confidence and a profound connection to the elements, carrying forward the principles of slow travel

Morning

Breakfast and a slow check-out.

Afternoon

Private transfer to Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS).