Early invitation rate until June 4th, 2026 - regular tuition is $3,000.

This will be a small, intimate retreat. Early registration is recommended, especially if you’d like to stay at our main hotel overlooking the Mediterranean.

Includes all retreat sessions, guided meditations, mindful exercises, breakfasts, dinners, hikes, swims, and a private boat excursion (weather permitting). Guests are responsible for travel, lodging, and lunches.

WHO THIS IS FOR

This retreat is for you if you want to:

• Feel calmer, lighter, and more joyful

• Deepen your mindfulness practice in a beautiful setting

• Spend time with kind, interesting people - new lifelong friends

• Enjoy Italy without having to plan any details

• Return home feeling renewed, inspired, and expanded

SCHEDULE

We’ll be based at the spectacular Basiluzzo Villas at La Piazza Hotel, overlooking Panarea’s harbor, turquoise water, and the volcanic islands beyond. Our days will include guided meditations, positive psychology exercises, hikes, sea swims and optional snorkeling (right from our hotel!), a private boat excursion, relaxed group meals, and nighttime meditations under the stars.

Our retreat will begin Tuesday evening and end Friday morning, and you are welcome to come early or stay late (or never leave).

COMMUNITY

The Path retreats are known for fostering community, and this retreat will nurture a spirit of kindness, friendliness & openness. As you meditate, you become more authentic, more “you,” and with this, it becomes easier to connect with others on a deep level.

In Panarea, we will live with no pretense, only the relaxation of being our true selves, and feeling accepted and supported as we are. Our retreats are renowned for forming deep friendships, and we know this Panarea retreat will do the same - we’re excited already!

MEDITATIONS

During this retreat we’ll step through phases of cultivating joy.

Day 1 |We’ll start by calming our minds, releasing circling thoughts and beginning to settle into spaciousness and openness. We’ll do this through a series of focusing mindfulness meditations designed to bring us towards stillness.

Day 2 | Next we’ll move towards a state of non-judgement, learning and practicing how to live without rumination & a constant flow of preferences. We will train our minds for this through meditation and powerful positive psychology exercises, including on shifting perspectives.

Day 3 | On this day we will cultivate kindness towards ourselves and others, and practice a new positive psychology exercise to release lingering anger, bringing us towards a state of gratitude and loving-kindness.

Day 4 | On our closing day, our meditations will bring us further towards openness, joy and non-duality, a joyful feeling of connection with others, including friends, loved ones and all living beings.

You will emerge from this retreat feeling calm, centered, relaxed - and inspired to continue living with more ease, joy, & delight.

Join us:

Getting to Panarea

• If you enjoy ferry rides, you can take a direct ferry from Naples to Panarea:

  • SNAV 2:30pm (5 hours 5 min)

  • Siremar 8pm (11 hours 35 min)

• Dina goes to Panarea each summer and strongly suggests:

  • 1. Fly to Catania - many European cities have direct flights. (If you can’t decide where to fly from, Madrid & Rome have flights to Catania :)). If you are arriving day of, please make sure you land in Catania in time to make the 4:30pm ferry.

  • 2. Bus, taxi, shuttle or helicopter from Catania airport to Milazzo (or helicopter directly to Panarea).

    • a) Buses leave at the following times: 9am, 10am 11am, 12:30pm, 1:45pm, 3:30pm, 4:30pm, 5:30pm, and 7:00pm. The bus costs 13 Euros. Click here for the Giunta bus schedule. The ticket booth is directly outside the airport, on the right, and it’s easy to snag tickets just before. You MUST buy a ticket before boarding. Italians love tickets and won’t sell them on buses, only in advance.

    • b) Shuttles leave at the following times: 9:10am, 11am, 12:30pm, 3:30pm, 4:30pm, 5:30pm and 7pm. The company is Alibrando and the price is 25 Euros; click here for more info and to book a shuttle. Look for the Alibrando logo shirt. If you can’t find the shuttle driver at baggage claim, call them at 0909288585 - if your phone doesn’t work just ask anyone at the airport to call for you (people are friendly - most are heading on vacation, and anyone working at the airport will know the Alibrando drivers in bright shirts!).

• c) Taxi. There are many private taxi options. A taxi will cost (approximately) 165-188 Euros.

• d) You can also take a helicopter directly to Panarea! This is $500 and you can book it here.

Almost there!

3. Ferry to Panarea (yay). You’ll take a Liberty or Siremar ferry. Please purchase the ferry ticket in advance.

Click here to book a ferry. Or go direct to Liberty (which has the most options) here. (17-29 Euros)

Ferries leave Milazzo at the following times: 6:00am, 7:00am, 8:00am, 9:40am, 1:00pm, 2:30pm, 3:45pm, and 4:30pm. The last ferry leaves Milazzo at 4:30pm, so make sure you get to Milazzo in time to make this if you arrive day of. You will only need 10 minutes from your taxi / bus / shuttle arrival to board the ferry, or if you purchased your ticket in advance you’ll only need around 3 minutes. All transportation drop-offs are right next to the ferry terminal.

Note: You can also come one day early and spend the night on Vulcano (It’s lovely, and the last ferry to Vulcano leaves Milazzo at 7:10pm! You’ll then take a very short ferry from Vulcano to Panarea in the morning).

You will then arrive in Panarea, a magical island with no cars - only cobblestone pathways, wonderful restaurants and crystal clear water.

• You can also take a train or flight from Rome to Calabria and take a ferry from Reggio Calabria to the nearby island of Lipari and then a very quick ferry from Lipari to Panarea!

  • The ferries from Reggio Calabria to Panarea are at 8:45am, 12:55pm and 7:10pm and are on Liberty boat lines. You can book the ferry here.

If You’re Flying to Europe

If you’re flying to Europe, we suggest flying to any city with a direct flight to Catania. (Or you can take a direct overnight ferry from Rome).

If you don’t know where to fly, Rome may be easiest because there are a lot of direct flights from Rome to Catania!

If you fly to Rome, you can stay at any hotel of course, but if you’re looking for a recommendation, Dina loves:

• Boutique Hotel Campo di Fiori (mention Dina Kaplan and they may offer a good rate!). This is directly in the heart of the old city, in Campo di Fiori (did you guess that?). Best rooftop in Rome (shhhh don’t tell too many people).

• Hotel San Anselmo (mention that you are a “friend of St. Stephen’s” (Dina’s high school) and they may offer a good rate. This is in the quieter Aventino area of Rome, right by Orange Park, Dina’s favorite park in the world.

• Hotel Villa San Pio (mention that you are a “friend of St. Stephen’s” (Dina’s high school) and they may offer a good rate. This is also in the quieter Aventino area of Rome, right by Orange Park. This will be less expensive than the above hotels but is still lovely.

REFUND POLICY: 100% refund until June 9th. 50% refund until June 20th. No refunds after this.