Journal
How to Get to Ericeira: Travelling to Our Portugal Surf Retreat
Everything you need to know about getting to Ericeira for your retreat, from which airport to fly into to how we help you sort a shared transfer with the group.
Do I Need to Be Able to Surf? The Honest Answer for Total Beginners
The question nearly everyone asks before booking. The honest answer is no, and the women who have never surfed tend to love it the most. Here is exactly how it works.
Where to Eat, Surf and Shop in Ericeira: The Marnie Rays Guide
Our little black book for Ericeira. The cafes we start every morning in, the shops worth your suitcase space, the dinners we still talk about, and the wave that made this town famous.
What to Pack for a Surf Retreat (From Someone Who Always Overpacks)
The honest packing list for a surf and wellness retreat — what you'll actually wear, what the retreat provides, and the three things everyone forgets.
Featured by Billabong Women's: Lindsey in "Her Horizons"
Billabong Women's chose Marnie Rays founder Lindsey Holland for Part 4 of their Her Horizons series, filmed on the Portuguese coast. Here's what it means to us.
Women's Surf Retreats in Portugal: What to Look For Before You Book
Thinking about a surf retreat in Portugal but not sure what separates a great week from an expensive disappointment? Here's what actually matters — and the questions worth asking before you book.
A Women's Day Retreat in Cornwall: Surf, Yoga & Sea Swimming in One Perfect Day
No annual leave, no packing, no flights. A day retreat in Cornwall gives you the best of a wellness retreat squeezed into one restorative day on the coast. Here's what ours looks like, and how to make the most of yours.
Six Strangers, One Retreat: Grounded Magazine Comes Solo to Marnie Rays
Grounded Magazine sent writer Lauren Cunningham to Portugal, alone, to answer a question we hear all the time: "Can I really come by myself?" Five days and six strangers later, here's what she found.
The New Girls' Trip: Condé Nast Traveller Names Marnie Rays Among the Best Creative Retreats
Author Emma Gannon wrote about why retreats with like-minded strangers have become the new girls' trip — and put Marnie Rays on Condé Nast Traveller's list of the best creative retreats to know about.
The Evening Standard on Marnie Rays and the New Wave of Alternative Retreats
Hayley Spencer profiled the London founders behind 2024's best alternative retreats — no detoxes, no strict itineraries, no vitamin drips — and told the Marnie Rays origin story, from China Walls in Hawaii onwards.
"Surfing Changed My Life": My Story in Harper's Bazaar
For Harper's Bazaar's series on adventure at every age, I told the whole story for the first time — the break-up, the solo trip to Portugal, and how a fortnight in the water became Marnie Rays.
"I Was a Wellness World Sceptic": Marnie Rays in Condé Nast Traveller
Condé Nast Traveller sent a self-confessed wellness sceptic to our surf retreat in Aljezur, Portugal. What Billie Bhatia wrote about her week with us still shapes how we run every retreat.