PARATY, BRAZIL
immersive writing experience
FIVE DAY
OCTOBER
4th-9th, 2025
EXPERIENCE
the
We travel the world looking to find our center. We move around to find inspiration. If one way leads to nowhere, we know there’s always another way. Therefore, we trust and we keep going. When we founded Trust and Travel the mission was clear — to be full on life, word by word. We fully believe good writing happens when we create the space for it. And if we can inform that sense of place by going somewhere breathtaking, we will.
Our writing retreats are designed to awaken your creativity, to spark your inner flame, to leave you wanting to embrace life with all you got. We’ll use our life experience to craft essays, short stories, memoirs, and poems. We’ll learn how to start pieces that move us, how to connect with others through story. Our days will be spent in a intimate eco-luxury retreat set among the Atlantic forest on the coast of Rio de Janeiro. We will be immersed in our writing practice, meditating, exploring the local villages, enjoying the beach and connecting with our literary selves. There will be samba and so much saudade.
What our writers are saying…
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"My experience with Trust & Travel was one of presence and transparency. I felt supported, encouraged, and more than anything, seen."
Victoria Sampaio, Yelapa Retreat Guest
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"If you want to have a beautiful, memorable, educational, heart-centered experience that is absolutely, one hundred percent, worth every single penny, sign up for this retreat immediately."
Lilja Klempan, Mallorca Retreat Guest
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"I think I will look back on this trip in years to come and be able to point to this as what changed the trajectory of my writing life."
Alicia Di Scipio, Tuscany Retreat Guest
LOCATION
the
Our founder Jade handpicks all of our retreat venues, but this particular one holds a special place in our roster. Jade is from this region of Brazil, having grown up swimming and running around the beaches of Picinguaba and Paraty. Place has enormous potential to inform writing if viewed under the right light. We are thrilled to be revisiting a place of such profound significance to us and even more honored to be sharing it with you.
Pousada Picinguaba is an intimate, eco-luxury boutique venue tucked away within Brazil’s Atlantic Forest on the Costa Verde, between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Located near the fishing village of Picinguaba, 4 hours from Rio and 30 minutes from Paraty, it is a secluded escape with just 10 rooms, each designed to harmonize with the natural surroundings. This venue requires a commitment and a desire to immerse in nature. The rooms are intentionally free of TVs, telephones, and internet, encouraging us to disconnect and go inwards.
As with most of our retreats, arriving is part of the experience. Don’t expect an easy to reach, over-explored destination. This place is a gem because of what it takes to find it. Trust you’ll be in great hands.
what’s included
Accommodations for five nights
All meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner
All writing workshops
Daily movement and yoga sessions
Arrival gift bag
Optional one-on-one sessions with leaders
Group transfer from Rio or São Paulo
Excursion
pricing start at $3,300 per person and include everything listed above
not included: airfare, alcohol, local taxis, additional services
WRITING
the
Our workshops are carefully crafted to connect you with your voice, to confront and comfort the truth behind your writing. Learning in a setting outside of everything you've ever known, surrounded by new perspectives, smiles, and life-changing experiences, is the core of what makes our retreats so special.
We teach across genres, so every retreat brings new workshops to unlock your creative practice. This retreat will be led by our founder Jade Moyano and author Taiye Selasi, so you can expect personal essay deep dives, to expand on poetry and prose in fiction, explorations in empathy, and so much more.
your
guide & guest teachers
Jade Moyano
Founder and Retreat Host
Jade is a Brazilian-born writer, journalist, and the founder of Trust & Travel. She is known for her extensive work in travel writing and storytelling. Over the past decade she has contributed to publications such as Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Monocle, GQ, PEOPLE, among others. Jade uses her gift with words to foster human connection through the exploration of language. She leads retreats and teaches writing internationally. Jade lives in Lisbon.
Yrsa Daley-Ward
Guest Teacher
Yrsa Daley-Ward is an author-poet of mixed Jamaican and Nigerian heritage. Hailing from the northwest of England, she is the author of The How, bone, The Terrible, for which she won the PEN Ackerley Prize and her highly anticipated suspense novel, The Catch was published in June. Based in Los Angeles, she leads a bestselling Substack newsletter, the utter, reaching tens of thousands of readers weekly with lyrical insights on mental health, creativity, and consciousness. Known for her spellbinding performances and genre-defying work, Yrsa moves at the intersection of poetry, science, and storytelling, shifting how we see ourselves and each other.
Taiye Selasi
Guest Teacher
Taiye is a West African author born in the UK, raised in the US, resident in Lisbon. Her debut novel, the NYT bestseller GHANA MUST GO, was chosen as one of the Best Books of the Year by the Economist and Wall Street Journal, while her seminal essay "Bye-Bye, Babar (Or: What Is an Afropolitan?)” sparked a movement among transnational Africans. Her fiction appears in Best American Short Stories and GRANTA’s once-in-a-decade Best Young British Writers. Mentored by the late Toni Morrison, she is currently writing the notorious second novel :
Reservations & Rooms
Pousada Picinguaba is a secluded eco-lodge offering a peaceful retreat between Paraty and Ubatuba. The pousada features just 10 thoughtfully designed rooms and a private villa, each blending rustic charm with modern comfort. Options include double rooms with balconies overlooking the sea or garden, a deluxe sea-view suite, and a spacious 3-bedroom villa with panoramic ocean vistas. All accommodations are air-conditioned, with private bathrooms and balconies or terraces that open onto lush surroundings.
Email erin@wetrustandtravel.com if you would like to inquire about booking a shared bed, payment plans, or other accommodations on the property.
This is a sample schedule.
*Timing and workshops are subject to change.
4th— Arrival day. We officially begin at 5 p.m. with an Opening Circle and Welcome Dinner.
5th— Let's write, but first morning yoga by the sea. Then, two writing workshops to really get in the groove.
6th— Balance is everything. After morning yoga and a craft writing session, the afternoon will be free to explore, meet for one-on-one sessions, write, and simply be.
7th— Off we go. Surprise excursion followed by poetry.
8th— Morning movement will set the intentions for the day, followed by a writing workshop and a long stretch of focused writing time. In the afternoon we will have a chat on publishing and an open Q+A. After dinner, we will celebrate our work and time together with an open mic session.
7th— Sweet goodbyes.
TOGETHER
our time
getting
TO US
We are located exactly between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, so you can fly into either city. The international airport in Rio is Galeão International Airport (GIG), located about 4 hours by car from Picinguaba and in São Paulo Guarulhos International Airport (GRU), located about 4.5 hours away. Considering the distance and opportunity to experience the allure of an exciting new city, we recommend flying into Rio or SP the night before the retreat and spending a night. Shuttles will be arranged for pick ups the morning of October 4th, bringing you straight to the venue. As a proud local, Jade is looking forward to sharing her expert recommendations for things to see and places to stay in both cities.
FAQs
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There is wifi at the venue, but we do mind and follow intentional phone practices. We require no phones during workshop or at any meals. We request the rest of the week that you leave your phone in your room or only use it very intentionally. This decision has been made after years of retreats and our quest to be present during this experience.
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We are located exactly between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, so you can fly into either city. The international airport in Rio is Galeão International Airport (GIG) and in São Paulo Guarulhos International Airport (GRU). Alternative local airports in either city are also good options. Brazil is big and the options are endless!
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Private taxis and shuttles will be booked through us. If you are experienced and adventurous you can also take a comfortable bus. Please inquire if you have questions.
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Check in is at 3:00pm, check out is at 11:00am. The retreat officially starts at 5pm on October 4th.
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Many nationalities, including those from the Schengen area and others with visa-free agreements, can enter Brazil for up to 90 days without a visa.
Citizens of the United States, Canada, and Australia will need to apply for an e-visa for tourism, business, and transit purposes. You can do so here.
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Absolutely. The retreat is designed to ignite your creative potential, whether you have experience writing or not. Workshops are designed to nurture all levels.
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Yes. If you are traveling alone and book a shared room, we pair you with a roommate.