Planning a Co-working TripWith Intention

A thoughtful guide for women who want more than just Wi-Fi

What if your next work trip wasn't just about getting things done, but about how you want to feel while doing them? More and more women are reimagining the co-working retreat - slower, greener, and deeply rooted in community.

The rise of remote work has given us a remarkable gift: the freedom to choose our context. But freedom without intention is just noise. Planning a co-working trip that genuinely supports your work, your body, and your sense of self requires thinking beyond desk space and airport proximity. What do you think matters most?

Community

Do You Want to Be in a Women-Only Space?

This is often the first and most personal decision to make - and one many women don't even realise they're allowed to prioritise. Women-only co-working retreats and coliving spaces have grown substantially, and for good reason: they can offer a different quality of peace, different type of creativity, presence, collaboration, and psychological safety.

Research whether your destination offers women-only coliving or co-working programmes

Consider mixed spaces with strong women-led communities or female-majority attendees

Look for programmes run by female founders or organisers - leadership shapes culture

Ask organisers directly about the gender balance and group dynamics of past cohorts

Check for structured community events - shared meals, evening circles, collaborative sessions

Something to sit with

A co-working retreat is an opportunity to be surrounded by women who have chosen the same kind of life you're building. That shared self-selection matters more than most people expect.

Philosophy

Slow Living as a Working Principle

Slow living isn't about doing less - it's about doing things with more care. A retreat that embraces this philosophy tends to structure time differently: mornings are protected, evenings are unhurried, and the work itself fits around the rhythm of the place rather than the place bending to the relentless pace of the work.

Look for programmes that build in unscheduled time - slow mornings, free afternoons

Avoid back-to-back itineraries that replicate the exhaustion of office life in a prettier setting

Seek out spaces that have their own pace - a farm, a village, a valley - that you'll absorb by being there

Set a personal intention before you travel: what do you want this trip to feel like?

Nourishment

Farm-to-Table & Organic Food

The food you eat during a co-working trip has a surprisingly significant effect on how you work, how you sleep, and how you feel in your body. Retreats built around organic, locally sourced, or farm-to-table meals aren't just a lifestyle preference - they're a statement about the kind of attention the organisers pay to the whole experience.

Ask whether meals are included and how food is sourced - farm-grown, market-bought, or catered?

Look for retreats on working farms, permaculture properties, or eco-estates with kitchen gardens

Confirm that your dietary needs (vegan, gluten-free, etc.) are understood and genuinely catered for

Find out if there are shared meal times - communal eating builds community in ways that nothing else does

If self-catering, research local markets and organic suppliers near your destination before you arrive

Environment

Scenery, Nature & the Landscape Around You

Research consistently shows that proximity to nature reduces cortisol, improves focus, and increases creative thinking. Where you work changes how you work. The view from your desk matters. The sounds outside the window matter. Whether you can step into green space within five minutes of closing your laptop matters enormously.

Prioritise destinations with direct access to nature - mountains, coastline, forest, or countryside

Check that outdoor working spaces exist - terraces, garden desks, covered outdoor areas

Consider the season - are you going to experience the landscape at its most alive?

Look for working spaces with natural light and views - not basement-style offices

Ask what is within walking distance - a forest trail, a beach, a river path

Movement

Hiking & Getting Into Your Body

One of the most underrated aspects of any co-working retreat is what happens when you close the laptop. Walking - especially in genuinely wild or beautiful terrain - is not a luxury add-on. It processes stress, unlocks ideas, regulates the nervous system, and gives you something to talk about with the strangers who quickly become colleagues.

Research trails near the retreat - difficulty levels, duration, and whether guides are available

Check if the programme includes organised group hikes or if you'd need to arrange these yourself

Pack for movement - proper footwear, layers, a rain jacket - regardless of the weather forecast

Look for retreats that offer yoga, swimming, or other movement alongside walking

Build in at least one longer day hike, the sense of achievement it creates carries through the week

Infrastructure

The Co-working Space Itself

None of the above matters if you can't actually work. The basics need to be genuinely reliable - not retreat-centre-good, but actually good. This is the part that requires honest research and occasionally a direct conversation with past participants rather than relying on the marketing photography.

Test the internet speed claim - ask for a real Mbps figure, not "fast" or "fibre"

Find out if there are private call booths or quiet zones for video calls and deep work

Ask about desk ergonomics - adjustable chairs, external monitors, standing desk options

Check if there are enough power sockets and if the Wi-Fi reaches your bedroom or only common areas

Consider time zone compatibility with your clients or team before choosing your destination

Have a backup plan - a local café, a town library, a mobile hotspot - in case things go wrong

Wellbeing

Building a Plan That Prioritises You

The most important shift you can make when planning a co-working trip is to treat your wellbeing as the structure the whole trip is built around - not something you fit in around the edges. That means designing a daily rhythm before you leave, and holding it loosely once you arrive.

Protect your mornings - decide in advance how you want to begin each day (walk, journaling, movement, silence)

Set clear working hours and stick to them - the retreat is not a place to overwork

Build in screen-free time every day - a walk, a meal without a device, an evening with no agenda

Sleep like it matters - check whether your room is quiet, dark, and temperature-appropriate

Give yourself permission to opt out of group activities - rest is not antisocial

Notice how you feel mid-trip and adjust - a co-working retreat should be responsive to you, not rigid

Return with something - a habit, a clarity, a friendship, a practice - not just a stamp in your passport

At a glance - what to look for when choosing a retreat:

Is a Women-only option for you?

Reliable fast Wi-Fi

Organic / farm food

Private call space

Nature access

Slow morning culture

Hiking nearby

Shared meal times

Screen-free evenings

Quiet sleeping rooms

Outdoor work space

Movement programme

Female-led team

Community structure

Time zone match

A co-working trip done well is not a compromise between productivity and rest. It is the discovery that the two have never actually been at odds - that you work better when you are well, and that being well requires time, space, food, movement, beauty, and the right company.

Go somewhere that understands that. Take your laptop, and leave room for everything else.