Unsettled: Baja is a week-long sea kayaking expedition in Mexico's Sea of Cortez. For 6 days and nights, we'll kayak the clear waters of 'The World's Aquarium' and sleep, on the beach, under the starry skies. We're bringing a chef along (yep, into the backcountry with us), sleeping under the stars on beaches, and a support boat with coolers full of cold drinks waiting for us on the beach. We'll be paddling around Baja's Espiritu Santo, one of the world's top sea-kayaking destinations. You'll have top-notch kayaking and camping equipment. World-class guides (one local and one from Unsettled) will be there at every step of the journey. We've even got your hotel rooms the night before and after the kayaking trip, local transport, and a celebration dinner to wrap it all up. All you have to do is get to La Paz, Mexico on November 30th.
La Paz, Mexico
8 nights
From $2850
November 30 - December 8 2024
From time to time, you'll hear us say, "The Unsettled Experience”. Here's what we mean by that:
Unsettled does more than guide people down a trail in the wilderness.
Before you ever hop on a plane, we meet online (in the interactive Unsettled style) and walk through an adventure-inspired workshop.
While you're on your trip, we have a series of dinners and discussions designed to guide you on a unique journey. The goal is to get you to step outside of your routine, expand your perspective, and articulate what calls you, inspires, and engages you in this world.
Many alumni say continuing the purpose-driven journey through our workshops and community engagement is the best part. As an Unsettled alumni, you can join our quarterly meetups and workshops online with our community from around the world.
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8 nights total (6 camping + 2 in local hotels in La Paz included)
6 nights camping (all camping gear is included except sleeping bags) in Baja California
Top-notch kayaks, paddles, lifejackets, and related kayaking gear
2 nights in hotels are included in La Paz
2 guides who provide kayak instruction, support, and insights into the natural environment.
1 chef and 1 camp assistant to prepare our meals and clean up (we're going to eat well)
All food and drinks, including modest amounts of cold alcoholic beverages, are provided, reflecting the trip's active nature.
National park fees, transportation from La Paz to the islands, and a final farewell dinner
The Unsettled Experience, where our trip leader brings their A-game to foster engaging conversations, connections, and insights.
Flights and airport pickups not included
Snorkel equipment available for rent
Sleeping bags are not included, but available for rent (or purchase before the trip)
Tips for guides, 5% of your trip costs suggested
Kayaking The Sea of Cortez
This expedition promises a blend of relaxation and carefree fun, catering to beginner and intermediate paddlers. Each day, our paddling times range from 2.5 to 4.5 hours, allowing you ample opportunities to explore the dramatic desert landscapes, pristine beaches, and the vibrant marine life that this region is famous for. That also gives us plenty of time to unwind and relax around a campfire, disconnect for a week, engage in journaling, and, conditions permitting, swim in the magical bioluminescence after nightfall, among other activities (activities dependent upon conditions).
The boundaries between work, life, and travel are becoming blurred, fundamentally changing how we live today. Unsettled brings together groups of travelers and professionals from around the world for uniquely co-created experiences. Each one-week, two-week, or one month retreat is designed to break your routine and inspire a renewed sense of growth, meaning and adventure through transformational travel and peer-to-peer learning.
Whether you're working full time, or going through an intentional career transition, our retreats are designed to help you break out of your routine and explore a new destination with an incredible group of peers.
We recommend that you fly into La Paz, Mexico (Manuel Márquez de León LAP) during the day on November 30th. We will have a hotel room (included) for you with check-in at 3:00 pm on the 30th.
If you can arrive early on Nov 30th, we'll have a local volunteer activity lined up, such as visiting a Marine Mammal Hospital, animal hospital, or beach clean up.
We will get together for dinner and briefing on the evening of Nov 30th before we hit the water on December 1st.
We will return to La Paz by boat late afternoon December 7th. We will have a farewell celebration at a local restaurant. Your hotel in La Paz is included on the night of December 7th. You can fly home anytime on December 8th.
It varies each day. Typically, we kayak 2.5 to 4.5 hours per day. This leaves plenty of time to swim, snorkel, hike, relax on the beach, connect, and enjoy the islands.
All food is included once we hit the water. We'll gather your food preferences and restrictions and build that into our meal planning. We have a chef who prepares our meals.
It's best if you do have some kayaking experience.
If you've kayaked in a sit-on-top kayak a few times and are confident you can paddle yourself nice and steady, then you're all set. We will spend some time going through best practices before we paddle, and you'll have two guides and even a support boat available throughout the week. The waters we paddle in are generally calm and each day we take rest breaks as needed.
We pull into our secluded coves each afternoon in time to go for a swim, lay on the beach, go for a hike, stretch, and relax. You'll pitch your tent each evening and lay out your gear for the evening.
We will debrief, look at our route for the next day, host a discussion, or sit back and enjoy it all.
You'll eat a warm meal and before long, zip up into your tents for a good night's rest. Tents are shared, with 2 participants per tent, and we all camp immediately near the other tents in our group.
There's also a tented toilet we carry for backcountry and personal best practice.
Most people on an Unsettled retreat are mid-career professionals with vast interests. This isn't a post-college party trip. Our average age of participants is mid-30s to mid-50s.
We are a diverse community by profession, ethnicity, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, language, and more. The clear expectation is that everyone who joins is respectful of differences of diversity. We will not tolerate any form of prejudice or aggression towards individuals. This is a vacation for everyone after all, and everyone deserves adventure, growth, and connection in their lives!
We've hosted CEOs and entrepreneurs, artists and experience designers, and people who are active, even experts, in everything from transcendental meditation to CrossFit, from Bikram yoga to kiteboarding, and from diving to flying. On any given day however, most of us are content hanging out with each other, exploring new places and trying new things.
Since thinking big about our work and careers is one of the organizing principles of Unsettled, many participants are high achievers who organize major conferences, run businesses, or are recognized experts in their field. We have a lot of designers, developers, entrepreneurs, and startup enthusiasts on our trips.
All of this being said, it's not required to be working on something or have a "professional CV" in order live Unsettled with us. Many joining us are retired, taking a sabbatical, or deciding what comes next in life and looking for some inspiration.
At Unsettled, we truly focus on building retreats full of dynamic people who have much more to offer to the group than just work experience. These experiences are social by definition, and so one of our main qualifications is to look for people who share some simple principles:
As soon as you pay your deposit or first payment, your spot for the trip is secured. This deposit/first payment remains refundable for 10 days following your payment, subject to a $100 administrative fee. There are no refunds after that. Should you need to transfer your payment to another trip, you can do so up to 45 days before the start date of your trip, also incurring a $100 administrative fee. Please note that there are no transfers available if there are fewer than 45 days remaining before your trip’s start date.
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