A Sense Of...
Travel Writing Retreats
JOIN US ON A CREATIVE JOURNEY
Awaken your creativity and learn how to capture the soul of a place while on an unforgettable journey of writing and discovery.
Every A Sense Of... retreat is an immersive experience that will leave you inspired, connected, and with a deeper understanding of the travel-writing craft. The five-night retreats are limited to eight people, and the rhythm of each day is mindfully planned to nurture a sense of creativity while allowing you to garner greater insight into the destination. We carefully select the retreat locations and choose very special places that will not only inspire writers, but also provide rich opportunities from which fascinating and unexpected stories can evolve.
The retreats are guided by professional travel writers Mark Eveleigh and Narina Exelby who, between them, have been contributing to international titles for almost 50 years. Their daily workshops – grounded in the lessons they've learned through their careers – will empower you with new skills and cover everything from the basics of travel writing and how to conquer writers' block, to the tips, tools and tricks that'll help you to thrive as a travel writer.
Built into the programme are mindfulness sessions that have been designed to ignite your creativity and bring clarity and focus to your writing process. The carefully curated excursions – there's one every day – will expose you to interesting and unusual aspects of the destination, and the free time built into the schedule will give you ample opportunity to write, explore or rest.
Each retreat is a celebration of words and ideas, places and people – and an invitation to connect with like-minded souls who take delight in capturing the essence of the world around them.
A SENSE OF... BALI
Settle into the rhythm of traditional life on the west coast of Bali where – far from the regular tourist route – you'll be inspired to witness life unfolding as it has on this island for generations. This retreat will be packed with special moments that will provoke a wealth of story ideas, and our daily workshops will arm you with the confidence and ability to put those stories into writing. You'll stay in a beautiful beachfront eco resort and it's here, amid tropical gardens and with a gorgeous sea view, that the workshops will be held.
From US$1,460 (if booked before 10 July; thereafter $1,660 )
Includes: 5 nights accommodation, breakfasts, workshops, excursions, mindfulness classes, 1 dinner, 1 massage & more
A SENSE OF... SAFARI
There’s a beautiful sense of freedom that comes with being in the African bush. You tune into your environment and start to notice the aroma of wild grasses; the glint of early sunlight on plumage; the distant thud of hooves on a dirt trail. And then there's the drama – the trumpeting of a boisterous elephant; that glimpse of a stalking leopard; the pronking impala that have survived another night. On this retreat we balance spending time out in the bush (with some of Africa's top safari guides) with carefully considered workshops, and teach aspects of our craft that we have gleaned from decades of assignments for some of the planet’s most prestigious publications. This experience will inspire your inner storyteller and give you the skills and confidence to write travel stories your own way.
Price tbc – please join the waitlist to receive more details
A SENSE OF... PLACE
Our one-day A Sense Of... Place travel writing workshops are packed with tips, tools and tricks that'll encourage you to encounter the world differently – with eyes, ears and minds wide open – and will empower you to translate what you experience into memorable stories that capture the attention of your readers. As with all of our workshops, our teachings are deeply rooted in the experience that we've gathered through the decades we've worked as freelance and staff writers and editors for some of the planets most prestigious travel publications.
Our one-day travel writing workshops are held irregularly and usually depend on our travel plans. Please join our Workshops wait-list and we'll let you know when and where we schedule the next one.
YOUR RETREAT HOSTS
A Sense Of... travel writing retreats and workshops are developed and hosted by Mark Eveleigh and Narina Exelby, professional travel writers who, between them, have almost 50 years experience in the industry.
British-born, West Africa-raised Mark has worked as a freelance travel photojournalist since the mid-1990s. He has garnered a reputation for not only writing and photographing outstanding stories that immediately hook a reader, but also for being an exceptionally reliable contributor who goes to great lengths (and distances) to capture those stories.
Narina is a South African writer and editor whose career began on a regional KwaZulu-Natal newspaper in 1999. She moved to London a year later, where she established herself as a travel editor on a weekly backpacker magazine. For more than a decade Narina worked full-time in writing and editing roles across glossy travel and lifestyle titles; in 2012 she left Women's Health (and a stable life in Cape Town) and joined Mark as a freelance travel writer.
Narina and Mark lived nowhere in particular for a few years, and now base themselves between West Bali and South Africa. They contribute to publications including BBC Wildlife, Conde Nast Traveller, The Telegraph, Wanderlust and Getaway, and have written three books together (including How To Become a Professional Travel Writer, which was included in Wanderlust's list of 'best travel books of 2022'). Mark's travel books have been published by National Geographic and, most recently, Penguin. The couple has been asked to teach in-house courses for several prestigious travel magazines, and in 2021 were hired to teach at a travel-writing course for National Geographic.
CONTACT
You'd like more details on our upcoming retreats and workshops? Please email Narina: