Brazil travel company sets up yoga retreats catering for summer's World Cup widows

By Sarah Gordon

Published: 08:54 EST, 24 February 2014 | Updated: 08:54 EST, 24 February 2014

While football fans are gearing up for the big competition this summer, tracking their teams as they criss-cross Brazil in search of victory, one travel company is hoping to cash in on the so-called 'World Cup widows'.

While their other halves may be willing to fly to Brazil's lesser-known cities to catch a game, there are plenty of travellers who would rather stay in beachside Rio de Janeiro and sit out the games on the golden sands.

Football alternatives: Women who don't fancy travelling to watch the games, can opt for a yoga retreat instead

Football alternatives: Women who don't fancy travelling to watch the games, can opt for a yoga retreat instead

Local company Yoga Body Rio has set up two retreats especially for football-fearing ladies, so they can work on getting their beach Ipanema-ready, while their partners are chasing World Cup glory this June and July.

YBR founder Marisa Paska will offer a six-day yoga retreat in Rio, based in the picturesque Santa Teresa district, as well as a three-day yoga and surf escape to Buzios, the resort located just 100 miles from the city and known as Brazil's St Tropez.

On the water: Yoga Body Rio is also offering a three-day yoga and surf break for women in Buzios

On the water: Yoga Body Rio is also offering a three-day yoga and surf break for women in Buzios

The courses will combine yoga with luxury accommodation with culinary and cultural experiences, while the short course in Buzios - famous as the resort 'discovered' by Brigitte Bardot in the Sixties - will also offer surfing lessons.

In Buzios, the food will all be organic, locally-sourced produce, while the emphasis in Rio will be on cultural experiences alongside twice-daily yoga sessions.

Star-struck: Buzios was first made famous in the Sixties by Brigitte Bardot and is now known as the St Tropez of Brazil

Star-struck: Buzios was first made famous in the Sixties by Brigitte Bardot and is now known as the St Tropez of Brazil

The courses, starting from £1,200, are available just before and after the World Cup, so that ladies don't have to miss out on all the sporting action if they don't want to and aims to help them get ready to mix with the stylish Brazilians on Rio's most iconic beaches.

The retreats come as Latin American airline group LATAM - which owns airlines LAN and TAM - announced that it was increasing the number of flights into Brazil for the World Cup, focusing on the UK, Argentina and Chile.

World Cup glory: New flights to Brazil from the UK are being added this summer to cope with demand

World Cup glory: New flights to Brazil from the UK are being added this summer to cope with demand

LATAM is adding 300 new international flights to Brazil this summer to cope with demand as sports fans are expected to make the most of the World Cup as a chance to explore the rest of the country too.

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