Verdesana is located in the central mountains of the country, in the province of Cartago, about 1.5 hours from the capital city San Jose. It is a quiet, secluded and peaceful environment at 1600 meters of altitude, surrounded by mountains and cloud forest. You can look up ‘Verdesana Forest’ on Google Maps to get the specific geographic location of the campus.

We provide a vegetarian menu. Before arrival, you are sent a form to include all of your personal information, such as allergies or dietary needs. Our kitchen team will ensure that all of your allergies are considered while preparing your food.

Our private ground transportation will depart from SJO domestic airport at 2:00PM on the arrival day of your retreat. Please account for time to go through customs and immigration. This process can take as little as 15 min, and as much as 2.5 hours, depending on the day at the airport and how busy it is. After you exit the airport we will have a representative waiting for you with a sign, and the representative will guide you to the domestic terminal where you will wait with the rest of your group for departure at 2:00PM.

We want your experience to feel spacious from the moment you register, and part of that is knowing your investment is protected.

We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance that includes Cancel for Any Reason coverage before your trip. For Canadian travellers, providers such as TuGo, Blue Cross, Manulife, and CAA Travel Insurance are commonly used and worth exploring to find the right fit for your situation.

Some participants also choose to add a Global Rescue membership, which provides emergency medical evacuation, field rescue, and security evacuation services worldwide. This is separate from travel insurance but can offer an additional layer of peace of mind when travelling internationally.

We want you to arrive in Costa Rica feeling genuinely at ease — and taking care of these practical details ahead of time is part of that.

Yes. Coming Home to Congruence has been reviewed and approved by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) for 22 continuing education credit hours. After the retreat, we'll give you a CEC application form to fill out and send in yourself, along with proof of attendance. If you're a CCPA member, your transcript is issued at no cost. If you're not a member, CCPA asks for a $45CDN fee to record your hours and issue one.

If you're a BCACC registrant in Canada, these hours count toward your own QACC tracking too. BCACC doesn't pre-approve outside events by name, so you won't see the retreat listed in their system — you'll simply log it yourself under whichever learning category fits, and your CCPA certificate serves as your record.

If you're joining us from the US or other countries, continuing education rules vary by state and by licensing board, and CCPA is a Canadian association. We'd suggest checking with your own board ahead of time to see how they handle hours earned through a Canadian-accredited event. Some accept them without any trouble, others want their own form. If you let us know who you're licensed through, we're happy to help you figure out what you need.

We're here to help! If you have any additional questions or need more details about the retreat, please email us at retreats@insighttimer.com, and we'll be happy to provide you with all the information you need.