4–5 hours walking daily · Intermediate level · Sand dunes, cliff paths & hills · The Fishermen's Trail · Rota Vicentina
The Retreat
We'll be spending our time walking the Fishermen's Trail, part of the world-renowned Rota Vicentina, through the protected landscape of the Costa Vicentina Natural Park. Each day involves 4–5 hours of guided walking across sand dunes, cliff paths and rolling hills at an intermediate pace. No crowds, no overdevelopment, just the wild Atlantic coastline that genuinely resets you from the inside out.
Evenings are spent dining in the finest local restaurants Aljezur has to offer. Fresh Atlantic seafood, legendary pastéis de nata from a tiny Rogil bakery, and the unhurried rhythm of Portuguese village life.
What to Expect
Guided walks along some of Europe's most breathtaking coastline — 4–5 hours daily across cliff paths, sand dunes and rolling hills. Intermediate level. Genuinely rewarding.
Evenings in the best local restaurants. Fresh Atlantic seafood, sweet potatoes, pastéis de natas, visiting Aljezur Saturday market and clifftop dinners with the sunset views.
More than a walking holiday. Coaching conversations and activities on the trail, tools from 20+ years of practice, and five days in a landscape that naturally asks you to pause, breathe, and pick up the bigger questions.
The Walking
Each day we walk a curated section of the official Rota Vicentina Fishermen's Trail, one of Europe's most celebrated coastal walking routes. Expect cliff-edge paths with an Atlantic backdrop, sand dunes, cork oak woodland and some hill climbs rewarded with mountain views. The level is intermediate manageable for a reasonably active person, satisfying and stretching without being extreme.
Taxi transfers take you to each start point and collect from the finish — so every day is a different stretch of trail, always showing you somewhere new.
Healthy Mindset
The west coast has a way of quietening the mind and we'll use that space to help you reconnect with yourself and what genuinely matters.
Walking in nature is one of the most powerful tools for regulating the nervous system. Five days here does more than any supplement.
The skies, the mists, the cliffs, the ocean will catch and keep your full attention. No scrolling or unnecessary distraction on the Fishermen's Trail.
Fresh, great food, social connection and the headspace you've been putting off.
Local Food & Dining
The west coast of Portugal has some of the finest local restaurants in southern Europe — simple, seasonal, and utterly connected to the Atlantic. We'll be eating grilled fish straight off the boats, sharing dishes in tavernas, and stopping at the famous Rogil bakery for sweet potato pastéis de nata. Dinner each evening is the social heart of the retreat.
Wednesday arrives with a welcome dinner. Sunday ends with a poolside barbecue. Everything in between is an adventure in local eating.
Your Guide
Keris Marsden is a BANT Registered Nutritional Therapist and mindbody coach with over 20 years of experience in nutrition, mindset, and integrated wellbeing. She has been visiting the west coast of Portugal for several years, and knows this landscape well. The Atlantic on one side, the Monchique Mountains on the other, and between them a trail network that feels genuinely remote yet also like home.
She came here originally to recover from chronic illness. It was the west coast that did much of the work, the cumulative effect of being outside every day in landscape that catches your attention. Bright, colourful skies, expansive views and the sound of the sea.
Over time she began to pay closer attention to what that process actually felt like. Walking in nature began to settle the nervous system and this retreat grew out of that.
Co-leading with Matt Whitmore, also with 20+ years of strength, fitness and nutrition coaching experience. These two coaches will be with you on the trail every day.