Our Story
The Perfect Balance Between Adventure and Self-Discovery
What is Vive Retreats?
"Eight days of real experiences — adventure, food, culture, and rest on one of Mexico's most extraordinary coastlines."
Vive Retreats is an all-inclusive group experience at BUBU'S Beach — a private estate on the northern Yucatán coast. Eight days built around the best of what this part of Mexico has to offer: ocean adventure, Mayan history, great food, and time to actually slow down.
Every day blends physical activity with cultural discovery. You might start with yoga at sunrise, spend the afternoon at Chichén Itzá with a local guide, and end the night cooking cochinita pibil together. No two days are the same.
How We Design the Retreat
Adventure. Wellness. Culture.
Adventure
Freediving cenotes, kitesurf on the Gulf, cliff jumps, spearfishing, paddleboarding through mangroves — experiences that push limits and make for stories worth telling.
Wellness
Daily yoga, ice baths, breathwork, and evening wind-downs. Activities that help you sleep better, move better, and come back genuinely rested.
Culture
Chichén Itzá, Mérida's colonial downtown, henequen haciendas, cooking classes with local chefs — a real look at Yucatán, not a tourist version of it.
Why Vive Retreats?
What Makes This Retreat Special
All-Inclusive
Transportation, meals, accommodation, and every activity included. Focus on the experience — we handle the rest.
Mayan Heritage
Visit Chichén Itzá, Uxmal, and lesser-known ruins with local guides who grew up with these stories and know them from the inside out.
Cenote Exploration
Swim in Yucatán's legendary underground pools — geological wonders formed over millions of years. Crystal-clear, cool, and unlike anything else on earth.
Coast & Nature
Paddleboard through mangrove channels, fish the open Gulf, or explore a deserted beach stretch. This is one of the least-developed coastlines in Mexico.
Yucatecan Cuisine
Cook cochinita pibil and sopa de lima with a local chef. Every meal at BUBU'S Beach is prepared fresh on-site using ingredients from the region.
Yoga & Recovery
Morning sessions on the beach shala and evening wind-downs. Ice baths, breathwork, and movement that complement your daily activities without taking them over.
Living History
The Mayan World
Yucatán is not just a beach destination. It is the heart of one of the most advanced civilizations in human history. The ancient Maya built cities with astronomical precision, developed a complete writing system, and created a calendar more accurate than those used in Renaissance Europe.
That civilization did not disappear. Over a million Maya people live in Yucatán today. Their language is spoken daily in markets and villages. Their recipes are still cooked in the same way. Their knowledge of the land — the cenotes, the jungle, the coast — is something no guidebook can fully capture.
At Vive Retreats, visiting these sites is not a checkbox. We go with local guides who grew up next to these ruins, who know the stories behind the stones, and who can give you context that transforms a tourist stop into a genuine encounter with history.
Chichén Itzá
A Wonder of the World. During the spring and autumn equinox, the pyramid's shadow forms a serpent descending the staircase — an astronomical calculation precise to the day.
6,000+ Cenotes
Yucatán has more cenotes than any place on earth. These freshwater sinkholes were the Maya's primary water source and remain some of the most extraordinary natural formations on the planet.
Mayan Cuisine
Cochinita pibil, sopa de lima, panuchos, marquesitas — Yucatecan food is a distinct culinary tradition shaped by Maya and colonial history. You will eat well.
A Living Culture
The Maya are not ancient history. Over a million Maya people live in Yucatán today. Their language is spoken in markets, villages, and homes — and their knowledge of the land is unmatched.
Daily Flow
A Day at Vive Retreats
Every day has rhythm — active mornings, big midday adventures, free afternoons, and good evenings.
Morning Yoga
Flow on the beach shala as the coast wakes up. Beginner-friendly, outdoors, with the Gulf as your backdrop.
Ice Bath
Breathwork preparation followed by a cold plunge. Optional but addictive — most participants end up doing it every day.
Breakfast
Fresh local food on the palapa terrace. Fruit, eggs, regional dishes, and coffee with an ocean view.
Main Experience
Cenote swim, Chichén Itzá visit, kitesurf lesson, spearfishing, Mérida city tour, or cooking class — the day's centerpiece.
Free Time
Pool, beach, hammock, or volleyball. Some days call for doing nothing in particular — this is one of them.
Evening Plans
Wine and cheese on the terrace, beach bonfire, board games, or a late dip in the pool. The evenings belong to the group.
The Setting
San Bruno, Yucatán
Nestled on the northern coast of Yucatán, San Bruno is a stretch of pristine shoreline far from the tourist crowds. The Gulf of Mexico here is warm, calm, and stunning.
Within an hour's drive: sacred cenotes, the ancient city of Chichén Itzá, thousands of wild flamingos at Sisal, the colonial streets of Mérida, and henequen haciendas frozen in time.
- ✈️30 min from Mérida Airport
- 🦩Flamingos at Sisal (Jun–Aug)
- 🏛️Chichén Itzá · 1.5 hrs
- 💧10+ cenotes within 45 min
Is This Retreat For You?
Who Comes to Vive Retreats
The Explorer
You're tired of standard tourism. You want to dive in cenotes, visit ruins with local context, cook the food, and leave with actual stories.
The Adventurer
You want physical experiences: freediving, kitesurf, cliff jumps, spearfishing. You come for the adrenaline and stay for everything else.
The Reset Traveler
You need a real break. Good food, ocean air, movement, and time away from screens. Not a spa — but genuinely restorative.
The Group
A group of friends, colleagues, or family looking for a shared experience that goes beyond a typical trip together.
Your Guide
Sebastián Carrillo
"Yucatán has a way of surprising people — and I love being the one who gets to show it to them."
Sebastián was born and raised in Yucatán. He knows the peninsula the way only locals do — the cenotes worth the detour, the ruins most tourists never reach, the family-run spots where the food is extraordinary and the bill is nothing. That insider knowledge is woven into every day of the retreat.
As your host, Sebastián handles everything that makes a retreat actually work: accommodation, logistics, coordination with local specialists, and the hundred small details that turn a good trip into a seamless one. While you focus on the experience, he makes sure nothing gets in the way of it.
From the moment you arrive to the moment you leave, he is your point of contact, your local connection, and — more often than not — the person who ends up recommending the thing you'll talk about for years.
What We Stand For
Our Values
Designed, Not Random
Every day has a rhythm: morning movement, midday adventure, afternoon freedom, evening together. Nothing is improvised — but nothing feels rigid either.
Genuinely Local
We work with local guides, local cooks, and local venues. The cenotes we visit, the haciendas, the market in Mérida — these aren't tourist circuits. They're the real Yucatán.
Built for All Levels
First time doing yoga? Never freedived? That's fine. Every activity has an accessible version. The goal is participation, not performance.
Ready when you are
Eight days. One coast. Everything you need.
Groups are capped at 16 people — enough to feel like an adventure with friends, small enough that nobody gets lost in the crowd.