Kissamos, Crete

Awakening Self: A Greek Island Retreat for Women 40+

Step back into your body. Slow down, feel again, and rediscover your sense of aliveness on the coast of Crete.

Kissamos, Crete

Your Greek Island Awakening

Set within a beautiful beachside villa in Kissamos, this seven day retreat blends yoga, nutritional wellness and somatic practice under the guidance of Despina Kamper, designed specifically for women 40+ ready to feel joy and aliveness again.

What's Included

Six nights’ villa accommodation in Kissamos, breakfast daily, most dinners, a private sailing trip along the Cretan coast, and all daily wellness sessions with Despina Kamper.

This retreat exists to help women 40+ come back into their bodies and rediscover their sense of aliveness. Guided by Despina, every session, meal and quiet moment by the sea is designed to help you slow down, feel again, and breathe more freely.

📍 Address: Beachside villa, Kissamos, Crete, Greece. Transfer: Guests typically fly into Chania Airport and transfer around 40 minutes to Kissamos. A deposit secures your place, with the balance due ahead of departure. Contact our team for full payment terms.

At a Glance

  • Location: Kissamos, Crete, Greece.
  • Wellness Focus: Yoga, nutrition, somatic practice and nervous system regulation, guided by Despina Kamper.
  • Travel Season: 3 – 9 September 2026, six nights and seven days.
  • Grading: Boutique Beachside Villa – twin share or private room available.
  • Unique Environment Note: Set within a beachside villa in Kissamos, Crete, this retreat blends yoga, nutritional medicine and somatic practice for a deeply restorative experience designed for women 40+.
Experience

What Makes This Retreat Special

Discover the sessions, meals and quiet moments that shape this restorative retreat with Despina Kamper on the coast of Crete.

Reconnect With Joy & Aliveness

Yoga, movement and reflective practice are woven through each day to help you come back into your body, rediscover your sense of joy, and feel genuinely alive again.

Nutrition & Somatic Practices

Daily wellness sessions weave together nutritional medicine, somatic practices and naturopathic wisdom, helping you build lasting, positive lifestyle habits in a small, intimate group setting by the sea.

Guided by Despina Kamper

Despina Kamper brings more than 20 years of clinical experience in nutritional medicine, with a research focus on the treatment of stress and anxiety disorders. She holds postgraduate qualifications in nutrition, counselling and education, and currently lectures in the Health Science faculty at Western Sydney University. Her Greek heritage shapes every detail of this retreat.

Explore

A Restorative Retreat Nestled in Kissamos, Crete

A beautifully plated chocolate açai bowl topped with fresh fruits, edible flowers, granola

Private Sailing & Signature Experiences

Beyond the daily wellness programme, guests enjoy a private sailing trip along the Cretan coast, adding a further layer of joy and adventure to an already immersive week in one of Crete’s most beautiful coastal towns.

Beachside Villa Accommodation

Guests are accommodated for six nights in a beautiful beachside villa in Kissamos, with the option of a twin share or private room, offering a relaxed and grounding base between each day’s sessions.

An aerial view of a luxurious tropical wellness resort pool complex featuring a bright blue lap
A stunning twilight cityscape with a dramatic volcanic mountain silhouetted against an orange

Shared Cretan Meals

Each day includes breakfast at the villa alongside most dinners shared together, giving plenty of space for conversation and connection. Meals draw on fresh, local Cretan produce, reflecting Despina’s own Greek heritage and her focus on nourishing, real food.

Details

Inside the Retreat Experience

Integrate & Return

Reflect & Carry Home

Gentle movement and reflection sessions lead into a closing integration workshop, where you’ll shape simple daily practices to carry home with you. After time to soak up Kissamos one last time, the retreat closes with a shared farewell dinner among the friends you’ve made.

Body & Joy

Feel & Awaken

The middle days are dedicated to feeling and awakening, opening with morning yoga before wellness sessions with Despina exploring nutrition, stress and nervous system regulation. Afternoons bring beach time, a private sailing trip and space to simply be in your body again.

Arrival & Breath

Slow Down & Settle

The retreat begins with your arrival at the beachside villa, giving you time to slow down and settle in as you meet fellow guests over a shared welcome meal. The first sessions gently introduce breath, movement and the intention setting that will carry through the week.

Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

This retreat runs on fixed dates, from 3 to 9 September 2026, with spaces intentionally limited to keep the group intimate. A deposit secures your place, with the balance due ahead of departure. Contact our wellness travel team for current pricing and payment terms.

This retreat stands apart because every element, from Despina’s clinical background in nutritional medicine to her research into stress and anxiety and her Greek heritage, is built around helping you feel more alive in your own body, not simply relax for a week.

Kissamos is located on the western coast of Crete, roughly a 40 minute drive from Chania Airport. Guests typically fly into Chania and transfer to the villa, with our team happy to help arrange this as part of your booking.

Pack comfortable clothing for yoga and movement sessions, light layers suited to Crete’s warm September climate, swimwear for the beach and sailing trip, and something relaxed but a little special for shared evening meals together.

Absolutely. Breakfast and most dinners are included throughout the retreat and can be adjusted for dietary requirements. Just let our team know at the time of booking so the villa’s kitchen can prepare accordingly.

Guests stay for six nights in a beautiful beachside villa in Kissamos, Crete, with the choice of a twin share or private room. It’s a relaxed, intimate base designed to feel like home between each day’s sessions and time by the sea.

This retreat runs for six nights and seven days, from 3 to 9 September 2026, a length of time chosen so you have room to properly slow down, reconnect with your body and integrate what you’ve learned before returning home. Despina’s approach is designed for lasting change, not a quick reset.

The retreat unfolds over seven days and six nights, moving through phases of arrival, awakening and integration. Days begin with yoga and movement, followed by wellness sessions with Despina exploring nutrition, stress and nervous system regulation, with beach time, shared meals and a private sailing trip woven throughout.

Yes, WiFi is available at the villa. That said, many guests choose to step back from their devices during the week, finding that the slower rhythm of the retreat and Despina’s guided sessions naturally invite more presence and less scrolling.

Beyond the daily wellness sessions, guests can unwind in the villa’s shared beachside setting, take in the coastal light of Kissamos, and enjoy a private sailing trip along the Cretan coastline. It’s a chance to let the island itself become part of your restoration.

As part of Spencer Travel Holdings, with over 20 years of expertise and Virtuoso membership, we offer far more than a straightforward booking. Our wellness travel specialists handle every detail of your journey to Crete, from flights and villa accommodation to coordinating with Despina and her team, so you can arrive with nothing to think about but yourself.

Get Started

Ready to Awaken in Crete?

Our wellness travel specialists are here to help you secure your place on this Cretan retreat with Despina Kamper. Contact us to discuss the programme, villa accommodation and any dietary or travel questions, whenever suits you.