Frequently Asked Questions

Moleskine I Unsettled Retreats are immersive community travel experiences designed to help you break out of your routine and find new creative inspiration.

These two to four-week retreats are for anyone who wants to learn, practice, and develop their creativity through travel. We combine unexpected cultural excursions, group conversations, creative workshops, and quiet moments for reflection in some the world’s most iconic cultural capitals.

In each location, you will live in accommodations with unique local character; work remotely out of dedicated co-working spaces and studios; and share your experience with a diverse community of around peers from around the world.

Moleskine | Unsettled retreats are flexible, meaning you can work as much or as little as you need, and on whatever you’d like. While a co-working space is included, it is not required for you to work or have a full-time job while you’re there.

You can learn more on our Experience page.

Like all Unsettled retreats, a Moleskine | Unsettled retreat gives you the time and space to break out of your routine and get inspired –  while still staying connected to your daily work.

In collaborating with Moleskine, we’ve combined Unsettled’s approach to designing these remarkable shared experiences for professionals with the Moleskine® brand’s commitment to enabling creativity, storytelling, and self-expression.

The result is part co-working retreat, part creative residency; a co-designed program that brings a creativity-focused framework to how we live, work, and adventure.

This includes original Moleskine and Unsettled tools, workshops and curated experiences, as well as our shared values of culture, identity, and self-expression that are present throughout discussions and conversations.

This experience is your experience. It’s about living somewhere new and immersing yourself in that environment. We create just enough structure so that you can plug into the different local activities, workshops, opportunities, and group sessions as you wish.

Nothing is required, and everything is voluntary, so feel free to use your time to work on side-projects, look for your next opportunity, run your business remotely, or invest in new ideas.

However, we do look for people who want to show up, get involved, and contribute. Our role is to provide a platform so that you know what’s happening and can participate as you like. There is always plenty to do so expect lots of options, but it’s up to you to get the most of your time.

Moleskine | Unsettled retreats are open, inclusive, and diverse. These experiences are designed for professionals of all backgrounds, ages, and nationalities. You don’t have to be an “artist” or necessarily work in a creative industry – but you should be interested in exploring your creative process. 

The average age tends to range from mid-30s to early 40s, but participants in their 50s and 60s, just like those in their 20s, have equally rewarding journeys and contribute to the diversity of the experience. Living Unsettled is ageless.

Our community has included CEOs and entrepreneurs, artists and designers, experts in many fields, and people who are actively seeking exploration, purpose, and fun. On any given day however, most of us are content hanging out with each other, exploring new places, and trying new things.

These experiences are social by definition, and so some of our main qualifications are to look for people who share three simple qualities:

– Open to spending time with people from different backgrounds and cultures with different value sets.
– Curious about the people and the world around them.
– Considerate of others and interested in co-creating the experience of a lifetime.

The first step to joining a Moleskine | Unsettled Retreat is to apply for the retreat of your choice. Once you submit your application you will be getting an automatic email from us confirming that we’ve received it.  

From there, the Moleskine | Unsettled team will review your application and schedule a video interview to help us learn more about you, share more information, and answer any questions you might have. Since each group is curated we want to make sure we all feel like its a good fit.

After the interview, fitting applicants will be invited to join and make a payment via credit card to book their spot. From here you are good to go!  After making your payment, our team will send all trip details and logistical information via email in the months and weeks leading up to your trip.

Moleskine I Unsettled Retreats range in price from $2,800 to $4,000 depending on the location and length of time.  Each retreat is different, but share a common goal to make them as valuable and accessible as possible.

There are many custom components and extras that are included in these retreats. Our costs cover everything from local logistics and quality accommodations, to curated events, specially trained facilitators, and even at times local infrastructure investments. While we are not overly luxurious, we don’t want to skimp on the details. This is a lifestyle investment that we believe is worth it and we do our best to give you great value for money. The price ranges above are subject to change depending on each destination.

The details of each trip change from location to location but in general the prices quoted on each trip usually covers**:

• Private accommodation (unless otherwise stated) for the duration of the trip
• Daily breakfast (in most locations)
• Access to coworking and communal spaces. Minimum full-time access is weekdays 9-5
• Access to any additional onsite facilities (pools, common areas, etc…)
• A fully dedicated team of Experience Leaders and local experts to facilitate the experience and support your journey
• Destination orientation, welcome, and farewell dinners
• Airport pickup upon arrival (in most locations)
• 24/7 onsite wifi connectivity and local SIM card (where available) for mobile connectivity
• A light weekly program of custom Moleskine | Unsettled creative workshops and sessions
• Organization of local excursions, guest speakers, happy hours, parties and more… entrance tickets, supplies, and guides are covered whenever possible for any event not marked as “optional”
• Support for whatever you and your peers decide to contribute: lead a discussion, facilitate an exploratory conversation, organize a dinner or excursion
• A tailored set of Moleskine | Unsettled tools and objects to help you document and record your journey (specifics vary from location to location)
• Post trip access to our alumni community, special deals, and events

**Please look at the specific destination pages for details on what’s provided in each location!

In general, your payment does not include several specific things:
 

•  Alcohol (which may or may not be important to you :))
• Regular daily meals or groceries, outside of breakfast and unless otherwise noted. Outside of certain important group meals that are included (like welcome and farewell) any extra group meals we help facilitate, only those participating split the costs
• Your day-to-day local transportation. We often help arrange this to and from our excursions, and aim to provide plenty of options to get around but in general, you are responsible for your own regular daily mobility needs
• Extra optional activities (skiing, bicycle rentals, diving, climbing, etc. can all cost a significant amount and should only be paid for by people who partake in each activity and are therefore not included in the price unless otherwise noted)
• Plane tickets / travel to and from the retreat destination, visas costs, personal travel insurance, and other logistical costs of getting yourself to us

Moleskine I Unsettled Retreats require a full payment to book a spot. Once you have been invited to join a retreat, your spot is held as soon as you make your payment. Payments are made in full via credit card on a secure payment platform.

We certainly hope so, but that’s ultimately between you and your employer. We can promise a productive work environment, structure, and much more. We have had a few employers pay for their team members to join us on a retreat in the past and are happy to send official statements of participant if needed.  

For those of us who are self-employed, it’s best to check with your accountant, but we are happy to provide a summary of the purpose and benefits of these work retreats for an accounting professional to determine whether or not it meets your country’s tax laws as a write off.

Trip payments are refundable, less a $100 cancellation fee, up to 60 days before the retreat begins. Up to 45 days before your retreat, a full refund will be given less $500, which can be applied one time and at no cost, to another Moleskine | Unsettled retreat that starts within 6 months of your original retreat. No transfers or refunds are available 45 days before a retreat starts. By making a payment, you agree to the standard Unsettled terms and conditions. Special payment conditions may apply for pilot trips or late sign ups, please contact us for more information.    

These trips are relatively small. There’s only a max of about 15-20 people on each trip. All of them will fully book in advance. We recommend booking your spot as early as possible, as most trips will be full or nearly full within 45 days of the start of a retreat.

The specific retreat start and finish dates are listed on each destination page and we suggest that you plan to arrive and depart on those days.

Outside of those dates, you are more than welcome to arrive into your destination a few days before the official start date or stay on a few days afterwards if it’s easier for your travel arrangements, but please note that you will be fully responsible for finding and booking your own accommodations for any nights outside our listed dates. Our onsite facilities and team will not be available outside of your retreat dates.

Occasionally there is the need to arrive late or depart early. Please speak to us about the best options in these scenarios. We highly recommend that you try not to miss the first few days of the trip as this is when we have our set-up, welcome, and orientation sessions.    

Travel costs and flights are not included in your program fee and we are not able to provide flights. You must arrive at the destination on your own and make your own way on afterwards… our job is make sure you have a great experience once you’re there!

Given the diversity of where our participants come from (we’ve had folks from over 80 countries), we cannot assist with obtaining visas or making travel arrangements.

Making sure you have the proper visa prior to joining us is completely your responsibility. We can help if you require a proof of payment, proof of accommodations, and proof of acceptance into the program. We are able to provide these things upon request to moleskine@beunsettled.co. 

Please remember that your passport must be valid for a minimum of 6 months (from the date you plan to travel) to enter all countries and have at least a few empty pages for stamping – this is pretty standard wherever you go, but important to note! It is your responsibility to check, prior to departure, that your passport is valid for the duration of your Moleskine I Unsettled trip.

Visa requirements change regularly and may vary depending on your nationality, point of entry, and other factors, so it’s important to do your own research find out the most up to date information as you are booking your travel. There may also be multiple visa options, so do some research to see what works best for the number of days you are planning to stay abroad. Since our experiences are 2 weeks to 1 month, the beginning and end dates should always work within standard visa limitations; We don’t plan any programming that would require you to figure out how to stay extra days or extend your visa. If you decide you want to travel independently outside of our retreat days, it is up to you to make sure you have the proper visa status to do so.

When traveling, upon arrival, or when applying for visas, you may be asked to show proof of onward travel or your return, ticket so be prepared and keep that information on hand.

While we don’t require or provide individual travel or medical insurance, and believe that everyone is able to make their own choices based on their personal comfort levels around risk, we do highly recommend purchasing it before you join us.

In the possible event of natural disasters, political disruptions, illness, or other events beyond our immediate control, we will not be able to issue refunds outside of our standard refund policy or our standard refund period of 45 days before your trip begins. There are many Travel and Medical Insurance providers nowadays, so do a bit of research to compare and contrast what best fits your needs when traveling, as this is 100% your responsibility.

Of course! In fact, we sometimes bring ours. We do ask that you keep in mind that this is a group retreat and that some of the most important aspects of the trip include socializing, collaborating, and working together.

If you and yours are extremely private in nature, then a coliving and coworking retreat may not be for you. Let us know if you’re interested in bringing someone. We offer good deals for couples coming together, since (we assume…) they’re sharing a room.

We welcome friends of participants to join as guests for a few days. However, to keep things organized and respectful for others on the trip, we do have a few rules around this.

Guests are able to join for a maximum of 5 nights on a 1-month trip, and 3 nights on a 2-week trip, for a cost of $50 per night. This nightly fee includes access to our coworking and communal spaces and Moleskine | Unsettled hosted events, workshops, dinner parties, lunches, etc.  Self-accommodation participants can have guests join at our coworking space and unsettled events, workshops, dinner parties, lunches, etc. for a programming fee depending on the trip.

We ask that you do not invite multiple guests at a time since this can be disruptive and unfair to other paying participants. No guests are allowed the first 5 nights of the experience when we host exclusive group events.

We require advance booking and payment on all guests, and each will be required to check-in on arrival with the Moleskine | Unsettled local team and sign our standard retreat waiver if they are staying on site or joining any of our activities. Inquire for the specifics of your trip and case-by-case options.