7 Not-So-Extreme Raw Food Retreats Slideshow

Raw Trips

With Raw Trips, you'll travel the world with raw food chef and guide Kirsten Gum, who leads retreats in South America, Australia and beyond. The company also offers weekend retreats and raw cooking classes in various locations in the U.S. A retreat center in Vilcabamba, Ecuador serves as home base.

Finca de Vida

Translated as the Farm of Life, the retreat space is in a rural, mountainous area of Costa Rica's Pacific coast. Check the calendar for the various retreat offerings — raw food meals are always available but many retreats are specific raw food ones led by educators and designed around an event. The organic farm offers a handful different types of lodging, from a cabin to a guesthouse.

Tree of Life

Based in Patagonia, Ariz., Tree of Life was founded by a rabbi-physician who graduated from Columbia Medical School and has written numerous books about health and spirituality. Visitors to the Rejuvenation Center are asked to adhere to the Tree of Life dharma, which means eating at least an 80% live food diet and observing certain spiritual practices. Accommodations range from a guest house to casitas, and guests have a range of programs, like raw food prep classes and spa treatments.

Casa Verde

Honduran rainforest surrounds Casa Verde, located on the Caribbean coast along Rio Cangreja. Entirely raw food, the retreats combine yoga with consciousness-raising talks and outdoor activities. Because the retreats are limited to 4-5 people, visitors can expect an intimate experience and comfortable accomodations.

Sanivan Holistic Retreat and Spa

This spa is a good way to test the waters of a raw diet because it's an easy weekend getaway or even just an overnight stay. Though they focus on a healing lifestyle rather than dieting, a raw option is available as are juice cleanses along with spa treatments, yoga and some homey "do nothing" activities like reading in the library and petting the retreat's cats.

Cedar Springs

Eat organic, vegan raw food while focusing on your spiritual health in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Also a farm, the retreat has an educational component but allows time to relax, go hiking or get a massage, whether staying for three days, a week or more.

Tao Garden Health Spa & Resort

Set in Chiang Mai, a mountainous inland vacation spot in Northern Thailand, the holistic retreat hosts various raw food programs that include clinical care, oxygen therapy and different types of massages. Room sizes and quality vary but the campus has a lot going on, including a tai chi field, herbal steam bath, swimming pool and meditation hut.