Expectations, rules, and conditions of participation—MANDATORY READING
We have specific rules, conditions, and expectations that benefit all of our participants, and your registration signifies that you agree to adhere to all said rules, conditions, and expectations. It is also your responsibility to review the retreat description closely to ensure you agree with all aspects of our programming before you register.
Our Go and Write! philosophy is that kindness, respect, and a positive attitude take you far in just about every situation. We do our best to create the conditions for everyone to have a great experience, and generally speaking, we succeed in that endeavour because of our eligibility criteria. But travel and group dynamics can be tricky, so if you get grumpy and—worse—spread negativity freely when you feel like things aren’t going perfectly; if you are uncomfortable with boundaries and the idea that we insist on a deliberate balance of quiet and social time; if you are not prepared to follow our itinerary and respect our time or that of our service providers and other retreat goers; or if you struggle to respect our roles as retreat leaders, our retreats are not for you.
On any Go and Write! retreat, you (and your travel companion, if applicable) assume certain obligations and responsibilities to Go and Write! and to your fellow retreat participants, including, but not limited to, the following:
— We wish this didn’t have to be said, but if you join our retreat, it’s with the hope and understanding that you will not copy our content or steal our clients. When we invite you on retreat, we welcome you and treat you with respect, and we expect the same respect in return. In that same vein, we ask you not to host your own workshops or other side-events for others or, in any way, attempt to make others a captive audience for your own purposes. If you come on a retreat with us, we ask you do so with good intentions, to respect our programming, do your own writing, and to join us as a supportive member of the group, not as faculty.
— We often choose accommodations and visit sites with historic character, and many of these offer fewer chain hotel-style amenities, so you must be prepared to accept such things as slow—or no—Wi-Fi or cellular phone service; weak—or no—air conditioning; carrying or rolling your own luggage over uneven pavement, hauling it up and down stairs, etc. Room configurations and beds in historic accommodations and overseas are also often different and smaller than what we’re used to in North American chain hotels, and sometimes have fewer amenities; we do our best to select suitable accommodations, and you must be prepared to accept these differences and limitations without complaint, including the fact that it’s quite likely your room configuration, bathroom, and bed will be different from that of other participants’.
— Limit yourself to one suitcase plus a carry-on and personal item; we are often on transportation with limited luggage storage capacity, and you are also responsible to manage your own luggage.
— Airfare is not included in our retreats unless specified.
— You must check with us regarding our itinerary specifics before booking travel and we expect participants to make travel plans such that you join up with the group at the designated time to begin the retreat. We also ask that you leave yourself enough time to account for travel delays as we cannot hold up the group to wait for you. While we know that sometimes delays can’t be helped, please don’t plan to arrive after the retreat has already begun as it’s disruptive to the creative and intimate bubble that we work so hard to establish with the group. Similarly, we usually schedule our itineraries so that there is no programming on the last morning of the retreat, which allows registrants to catch early morning flights. You should plan your itinerary so you leave that morning, rather than the day before or sooner—leaving early distracts the other participants, pulling them from the full retreat experience and forcing disruptive, premature goodbyes. At the time of registration, if you suspect you might arrive after the retreat has begun or leave before the end of the retreat, please do not register.
— The retreat might involve brisk walking tours, climbing stairs, getting on and off transportation, and, perhaps, standing and walking for hours indoors and outdoors, in all weather (the latter is rare and we do our best to avoid these situations, but it can happen). We also can’t guarantee our venues and the places we visit will be accessible, and there may be street noise outside our hotels. It is your responsibility to review the retreat program description to ensure you can participate in all aspects before registering.
Above all, we are writers
We are writers who organize and host retreats, and we chaperone groups, liaise with venues and service providers, and generally do our best to prepare and host great experiences and help resolve legitimate concerns that may arise during a retreat. We are not personal guides, hoteliers, coach/taxi drivers, chefs, concierges, or medical caregivers. There will be several times during our retreats when you are on your own, without our company—or that of other participants—in the near vicinity. This is a deliberate programming decision, and we plan our writing retreats to enable participants to have some time with the group and a fair amount of independent time. You must be prepared and able to navigate towns and cities on your own and to be content with your own company.
— If you require—or think you might require—assistance, physically or mentally, you must disclose this to us before registering for a retreat or as soon as you suspect a problem. If it is still deemed safe for you to join the retreat, you must bring an able companion who can be entirely responsible for providing the assistance, as we cannot do this for you, and this companion must register for the retreat as well. If you or your travel companion causes or contributes to a situation that threatens anyone’s safety, comfort, or convenience, including your own, you (and your travel companion, if applicable) may be removed from the retreat at your own expense, without refund.
— While we do our best to help participants identify if our retreats are a good fit for their personal needs in advance, and we try to select service providers, venues, and regions that can cater to a participant’s dietary and personal concerns, we cannot guarantee this. You must clearly identify your specific concern(s) to us before registration, and you are ultimately responsible for your own health, safety, and comfort.
— While we do our very best to help everyone on our retreats have a great experience, it sometimes happens that someone can misbehave or do things that are incompatible with the safety, comfort, or convenience of our participants, themselves, or us. We have the exclusive right and discretion to expel someone from a retreat at any time at their own expense, without refund.
Go and Write! retreats are NOT a good fit for you if:
* You find it hard to be alone and quiet with your own thoughts
* You struggle to understand and respect boundaries
* You feel you have nothing to learn and are compelled to set yourself up as an expert advice-giver to others on the retreat, or you struggle to respect our balanced itinerary and our roles as retreat leaders
* You require a lot of social time and attention from others, and constantly dominate conversation
* You aren’t interested in writing or being a supportive and unobtrusive companion to the writer who is attending the retreat, or to other participants
* You want to do more touring than writing
— The idea of a retreat is to get away from the pressures of daily life and remove distractions, and Go and Write! retreats are not like other traditional travel tours: the focus of our retreats is on writing, and this is much appreciated by our participants. While we schedule several group events and meals, readings, and many opportunities to socialize during our retreats (sometimes even with music and song), we regularly emphasize the importance of respecting others’ need for space, quiet, and alone time, even in our venues’ common areas. This encouragement—to recognize and respect boundaries, even as we get to know each other better and develop bonds—is deliberate and for the good of the group, and not intended to offend. We may remind the group of this need to respect boundaries more than once during the retreat, so please be mindful and check your own behaviour.
— Finding time as well as physical and mental space to write is something many writers struggle with in our daily lives. Participants trust us to help them find this time and space on our retreats and to avoid unnecessary distractions, and we appreciate that and take our role as the group leaders seriously. It can be challenging for those who don’t struggle with writing at home to understand the balance we set regarding together and alone time, but our experience has taught us what works best to help writers get the most out of a retreat. The delicate balance of introspection plus social time is easily upset by really talkative people, those who can’t help but dominate every social situation or conversation, or those who find alone-time boring and feel compelled to create additional group gatherings or activities.
— We are lifelong learners, ourselves, and those who join us on a retreat should do so in that spirit as well. Occasionally, though, as mentioned above, some writers have struggled to respect our roles as retreat leaders and felt compelled to set themselves up as educators, critics, and organizers for other participants, or worse, to actively undermine our efforts. While you may be an outstanding writer, educator, literary critic, and organizer in your own right back home, please check your ego and resist the compulsion to challenge our processes, programming, and roles while on our retreats or to create your own programming to share with other participants. We have learned a great deal over the years about what works for the majority of writers on our retreats, and what works for you may not be compatible with what’s best for others and the group as a whole. We are clear in our retreat descriptions, and if you think respecting our programming as well as the space and alone time we have built into it may be a struggle, our retreats are not for you.
Other conditions
— No smoking or vaping is allowed on the coach, in the accommodations, or where other tour members are present.
— We reserve the right to refuse any registration at our sole discretion, without explanation.
— All participants travel at their own risk. We encourage practicing high health and safety standards, and participants are responsible to research the implications of all public health risks, including COVID-19 and rules around vaccinations and boosters, on travel restrictions and requirements at home and abroad before and at the time of travel. Ensure you have everything you need so you aren’t turned away from establishments or airports. All participants agree to follow safety precautions and health directives set by guides, by Go and Write!, and/or by local officials within the hosting country or by airport and airline officials. Examples may include maintaining proper physical distance, the use of face masks that cover your nose and mouth, regular temperature checks, proper hand-washing / sanitizing, quarantining if you are showing symptoms of contagious illness, and/or being seen by a health professional at your own expense as a condition of continuing on with the retreat. The possible precautions and directives required are not limited to the examples included here.
— Ensure you have all of the documents you need, including proof of vaccination, identification, entry authorizations, and any required testing. Ensure that you renew your passport if it is due to expire within 6 months of the travel date, as many countries will not allow you to enter if your passport is due to expire within that window. All travellers to the United Kingdom are now required to apply for and obtain an electronic travel authorization. Be aware that some airports require a government-issued photo I.D. in addition to your passport. Also, please note that each country, state, province, venue, and airport has its own set of expectations—some of which might even change in the days leading up to our retreat—and it is your responsibility to seek out information and ensure that you meet all of those requirements.
Refunds, trip insurance, and other information
Each retreat has a specific payment and cancellation/refund schedule—see the individual retreat page for details or reach out to us directly.
Our advice? Get insurance. Life can throw curveballs at us, and travel comes with risks. For that reason, we HIGHLY recommend that all participants get travel insurance as soon as they register for a Go and Write! retreat, and check to see how the insurers handle COVID-19 and other public health risks, medical and family emergencies, and trip cancellation / interruption / baggage loss, etc. Problematic situations can arise, such as unexpected personal emergencies, travel interruptions requiring revised transportation, accommodation, and meal arrangements, sudden medical conditions for yourself or a family member, etc. A proper insurance policy, purchased at the right time, might allow you to recoup a great deal of your costs and help cover unforeseen expenses. All participants are responsible for researching and making arrangements for their own insurance.
The non-refundable portion of your deposit as well as any processing fees associated with retreat payment(s) are 100% non-refundable and non-transferable, regardless of the timing or circumstances of your cancellation. Please see the applicable retreat page for specific payment terms and timing as well as cancellation and refund details.
We have contractual obligations with our suppliers, and we cannot make exceptions to the cancellation and refund policy, regardless of the reason.
While we present our information in good faith, sometimes things happen that are beyond our control. Circumstances may force us to change certain aspects of the tour; in such a case, we’ll do our best to offer a comparable alternative.