Welcome to Wanderess
Step into your creative power with our women’s creative retreats—where the healing powers of artistic expression and nervous system reset meet.
We Are Wanderess
Wanderess retreats for women was born from founder Dr Ellie Chadwick’s passion to bring the transformative power of ritual arts, archetypal storytelling, and nervous system healing together in welcoming and inspiring offerings for women at different life stages to gather, grow, and expand. Drawing from ritual studies, mythology, somatic practices, pklyvagal theory, and the performing arts, Wanderess helps women reclaim their agency and identity.
Our events and retreats are designed to unleash transformational Wanderess energy: feminine archetype of adventure and free spirited living! We help you discover the infinite number of stories and selves you contain inside you, expanding your capacity to be, do, and hold everything you want. Wander with us and discover your inner Wanderess: your true self in all her powerful, creative, beautiful complexity.
Upcoming Retreats
The Heroine's Path: Women's Storytelling and Empowerment Retreat UK
Step into your heroine energy at a 5-day women’s retreat in the UK. On this storytelling and empowerment retreat, you are invited to reclaim the narrative of your life through the sacred arts of storytelling, archetypal exploration, runic wisdom, sacred drumming and meditation. Informed by nervous system research and led by trauma-informed, trained and certified somatic practitioners, this storytelling retreat is a call to the woman who knows she was made for more — for truth, voice, and transformation.
Whether you seek to heal the past or bring in an empowered future, here you will find the space, tools, and sisterhood to step into your fullest, most empowered self. This is your invitation to author a life that is no longer simply inherited — but chosen.
Divine Feminine Awakening: Women's Spiritual and Creative Retreat Italy
In the hills of Umbria — a land alive with the spirits of mystics, saints, and visionaries — you are called to awaken your divine feminine energy.
Divine Feminine Awakening is a 5-day spiritual retreat in Italy, crafted for the woman ready to remember her power. Through creative expression, mythic storytelling, holistic wellness practices, and pilgrimages to ancient sacred sites, you’ll walk in the footsteps of the great women who came before you.
This is a creative retreat informed by research into trauma, epigenetic and nervous system healing. As you immerse in the beauty of Italian sun, cuisine, and spirit, you will reconnect to a sense of the sacred within every part of your life — and awaken the Mysticess you have always been.
Goddess Rising: Tantra and Self-Worth Retreat for Women in Bali
Goddess Rising is a 7-day tantra retreat in Bali, exploring the spiritual concepts of tantra and Shakti energy, while rooting everything in Polyvagal-informed nervous system knowledge. Guided by Tantric practice, sacred ritual, and the ancestral wisdom of Balinese priestesses, and employing cross-cultural wisdom, shadow work, and embodied archetypal understanding, you’ll dissolve the old stories of worthlessness and remember your divine birthright of power, pleasure, and presence
Whether you’re navigating a transition, rebuilding your sense of self, or craving time to reconnect with what matters, this retreat offers space to remember who you are. This is not about escaping real life. It’s about reclaiming your place in it—with more presence, pleasure, and purpose.
Own the Spotlight: Women's Empowerment and Performance Retreat Bali
You were never meant to live invisible. The stage is set. It’s your time to shine.
Own the Spotlight is a 7-day women’s empowerment retreat in Bali where voice, movement, and myth become pathways to radical self-expression. Through the sacred arts of Legong dance, voicework, embodied ritual, and archetypal exploration, you will shed old masks and step into your full, powerful presence.
This is not about performance for applause — it is performance as reclamation. As you embody your own history and story, you will finally claim the space you were born to inhabit. This voice and movement retreat is your invitation to step into Leading Lady Energy — and to live your life as your boldest, truest self.
Wanderess Promises
Expert Facilitation
Benefit from the guidance and expertise of our founder Dr Ellie Chadwick, who has extensive experience running international creative arts retreats and working as creative practitioner and university lecturer and researcher, as well as being a trauma-informed somatic therapist.
Wanderess works with incredible artists, therapists and change-makers across the globe for our retreats. We ensure that our facilitators are skilled and knowledgeable in their fields, and perhaps more importantly that they align with our values.
Community Connection
Shared experiences, mutual support and collaborative creativity mean Wanderesses forge deep and meaningful connections that extend far beyond our retreats.
Becoming a Wanderess means you can join our exclusive Women’s Circle – a vibrant and supportive community. Here you can access a wealth of content, events and connections, and enjoy ongoing support to integrate the tools we give you into your day-to-day life.
Global and Sustainable
We prioritise sustainability and interculturality by partnering with local providers and retreat facilitators across the globe. Travel with a conscience and immerse yourself in local customs and traditions while supporting the communities we visit. Enjoy a stress-free experience with comprehensive packages that cover accommodation, meals, and all activities, while knowing that you are contributing to local economies and supporting diverse culture.
Inclusive environment
All women are welcome here. Our retreats are designed to be inclusive, welcoming and free from judgment. We prove a safe and nurturing space for women of all backgrounds to connect, share, and grow together. From the moment you arrive, you’ll be embraced by fellow Wanderesses and staff who are dedicated to making your experience joyful and supported.
Holistic and Creative Approach
Within our retreats we keep an equal focus on the needs of mind, body and spirit and harnessing and nurturing creative energy is central to our ethos. We integrate intercutural experiences with therapeutic art practices and creative skill-building workshops, supporting you to up-skill and evolve in ways that can positively impact every area of your life.
Transformational Experience
We provide so much more than a retreat, we want our Wanderesses to leave with a revolutionary creative attitude to life and a wealth of skills, experiences and connections. The experience does not end with the final day of the retreat: through our Circle, Wanderesses can stay connected with each other as we continue to support your evolution.
Who is Wanderess for?
Our Retreats Are For You If:
🌿 You’re seeking real transformation and tools that you can actually integrate into your everyday life—tools that support both personal and collective healing.
🌸 You’re passionate about connecting with other women who share an interest in herstory, creative arts, feminine energies, culture, and reclaiming their narrative.
🌍 You’re curious about travel and culture—and the possibility of experiencing life through the lens of ancient wisdom and modern practices.
🎨 You’re creative or feel like there’s a dormant creative force inside you that you’re eager to explore, nurture, and expand.
🌑 You’re ready to dive deep—into all facets of yourself, including the shadow work that leads to self-discovery, healing, and liberation.
🌱 You’re looking for ongoing community and support—this journey doesn’t end at the retreat. You’ll be part of a living, evolving community that continues to nourish and empower you, long after the event.
Our Retreats Are NOT For You If:
❌ You’re looking for a passive retreat where you simply relax without engaging in transformative work.
❌ You’re not open to group work and prefer to work alone—this experience thrives on collective energy and shared healing.
❌ You want to avoid self-reflection—this journey invites you to look inward, explore your patterns, and reclaim parts of yourself that may have been forgotten.
❌ You’re not interested in ongoing connection—our community is about building lasting relationships and continuing to support each other long after the retreat ends.