Going on a Painting Retreat Alone: A Solo Traveller's Guide

Most people who book a painting retreat book alone. Not sure whether a retreat, residency, or workshop is right for you? See our guide to the differences. This is not a niche case or a consolation option for those who couldn't find someone to come with them. It is how the majority of guests at creative retreats arrive, and it has been that way for as long as painting retreats have existed.

That fact alone should settle most of the hesitation. But if you are considering going on a painting retreat by yourself for the first time, there are still practical questions worth answering: what will the group be like, will you feel out of place, what happens in the evenings, how do you choose a retreat that suits someone travelling alone. This guide covers all of it.

A painting retreat gives you something most forms of solo travel don't: a ready-made reason to be there and a ready-made group to be part of from the moment you arrive. You don't need to engineer conversation or insert yourself into social situations that weren't designed for you. Everyone is there for the same reason, doing the same thing, and the work itself provides all the structure the week needs.

The shared focus changes the social dynamic entirely. You talk about what you're working on, what the tutor suggested, what's going wrong with the foreground of your painting. Conversation finds its own level without anyone having to force it. People who struggle with the performative sociability of group holidays — the mandatory bonhomie of a coach tour, the cliques of a cruise — often find that creative retreats feel entirely different, because attention is directed outward onto the work rather than inward onto the social performance.

The connections that form tend to be deeper than usual as a result. A week spent making things alongside strangers, in a setting that is new for everyone, and with an implicit shared language of creative frustration and occasional breakthrough, is unusually good at producing genuine friendships. Many solo retreat-goers return year after year to the same programme, in part for the painting and in part for the people they know they will find there.

Painting retreat groups are usually small. Most programmes run between eight and fourteen guests; many of the better ones cap at ten or fewer. This matters for solo travellers because it means you will know everyone by name within a day.

The majority of guests at most European painting retreats are women, typically between their mid-forties and late sixties, travelling alone. This does not mean there are no mixed groups or younger guests, but if you are a woman in that broad demographic wondering whether you will feel like the odd one out, the answer is almost certainly no. You will be entirely typical.

Skill levels at most retreats are genuinely mixed. You will find people who have been painting for thirty years alongside people for whom this is their first real experience with the medium. Good tutors build programmes that accommodate both, and the presence of very experienced painters in your group is an asset, not an intimidating standard to live up to.

How meals are handled

Retreats where all meals are communal — ideally cooked on-site and eaten together — are consistently better for solo guests than those where you are left to find dinner in a local town. The meal is where the day is processed, where friendships develop, and where the energy of the group is maintained. A retreat that sends guests off to fend for themselves in the evenings fragments the group experience.

When you're reading retreat descriptions, look for phrases like "all meals included", "dinner together each evening", or "communal dining". If the listing doesn't mention evening meals, ask the host before you book.

Group size

Under twelve is usually better. Larger groups can feel more anonymous and it takes longer to find your place in them. Some retreats accept up to twenty guests; these can work well, but the social dynamic is different. Smaller is more immediately intimate, which suits first-time solo travellers particularly well.

Whether the tutor joins for meals

At the best retreats, the tutor is present throughout the day and eats with the group. This keeps the energy focused and ensures the teaching continues informally through conversation over dinner. At retreats where the tutor lives off-site and leaves after the afternoon session, the evenings can feel flat. Worth asking about when you contact the host.

Location and self-sufficiency

Some retreats are in rural locations where a car is useful or necessary to go anywhere independently. If you don't drive or don't want to rent a car, check whether the retreat is walkable to a village with a café or a shop, and what transport options exist. Many retreats handle airport transfers collectively; this is worth confirming in advance, as it removes a logistical hassle and means you arrive with other guests rather than alone.

The teaching style

Retreats vary considerably in how much instruction they provide. Some are highly structured: morning briefings, a specific subject or exercise, individual feedback throughout the day. Others are more like hosted studio time where guests work independently with the tutor available to look at work on request. Both models attract dedicated solo travellers, but the more structured programmes are often better for those new to retreats, because there is always something to do and something to talk about.

If you are considering going alone partly because a partner or friend was not interested, this section is worth reading.

Some retreats offer a companion or observer rate: a reduced price for a second person who does not participate in the programme. This can mean walking or reading in the surrounding area during painting sessions, with shared accommodation and meals. If you would genuinely prefer to travel with someone even if they don't paint, it is worth asking hosts whether they accommodate non-painting companions and what the arrangement would be.

That said, if you were considering going alone because it actually appeals to you — the freedom of an entirely self-directed week, no shared schedule, complete immersion in the painting — that is a perfectly sound reason to go alone. Many people who first book a painting retreat with a companion specifically to manage the solo travel anxiety end up, on subsequent years, preferring to go alone.

This varies by retreat, but most follow a version of the same shape.

Breakfast is communal, usually at a set time, and functions as the social start to the day. Morning sessions typically run for three to four hours, either plein air or in a studio depending on the programme and the weather. Lunch is long — an hour and a half is common, and at many retreats in France and Italy the midday meal is the main one. Afternoon sessions are usually a continuation of the morning subject, sometimes with more informal studio time. Late afternoon often has a break before the tutor gives a short group critique or discussion of the day's work. Dinner is the social centre of the evening.

By the third day, the rhythm is typically established and comfortable. Most guests find that by midweek, the days feel both full and surprisingly unhurried. This is one of the effects that solo travellers in particular often comment on afterwards: the week felt longer, in the best possible sense, because there was so much texture to it.

Flights and transfers

Most retreats are within two to three hours of a major international airport, and many offer shared airport transfers. Book these in advance; they fill up, and they also mean you land somewhere with a familiar face at arrivals. Confirm the exact pick-up logistics directly with the host when you pay your deposit.

What to bring

Most painting retreats provide materials, or provide the heavy equipment (easels, stools, boards) while expecting you to bring your own paints and brushes. Check the listing description and if it is not clear, ask. Bringing your own familiar brushes is usually worth it; borrowing unfamiliar ones is a minor friction you don't need.

If you are flying with art supplies, check your airline's restrictions on solvents and sharp tools in advance. Watercolours are largely unproblematic to fly with. Acrylics have no solvent issues. Oils require attention because turpentine and mineral spirits are prohibited on most flights. Options: use water-mixable oils, use Zest-it or another citrus-based solvent (permitted in hold luggage in quantities under 100ml), or plan to purchase solvents locally on arrival.

For a full medium-by-medium packing list and detailed advice on flying with art materials, see the AtelierBound packing guide.

Getting finished work home

Watercolours and acrylics present no particular transport challenge once dry. Oils are more complex. If you are working in oils and producing work you want to bring home, a wet canvas carrier is worth packing; these are designed to hold two canvases face-to-face without touching and fit in most overhead lockers. For larger work, ask your host whether they have recommendations for shipping from the local area. Some retreats have established relationships with local shippers and can organise this for an additional cost.

Single occupancy

Most retreat venues offer single room options, sometimes at a supplement. This is worth paying if you value privacy for processing the day. Many solo travellers find that having their own space in the evenings is important for sustaining the intensity of focus the rest of the day requires. Check the listing for single room availability and confirm before you book, as single rooms at popular programmes sell out ahead of shared options.

The themes that come up consistently are not what most people expect before they go. The painting is described as important but rarely as the central thing. What people return to is the concentrated time away from ordinary life, the unexpectedly deep connections with a small group of strangers, and the particular satisfaction of a week that was entirely theirs: their pace, their decisions, their practice.

A significant number of people who go on their first painting retreat alone go on their second retreat alone, and their third. The hesitation that was there before the first trip rarely comes back.