Privacy without isolation.Community without the overwhelm.
A full summer home for solo mamas and kids, 5 minutes from the Portuguese coast. Somewhere beautiful enough to actually get your work done and educate your kids at the same time, not squeeze one in around the other. Built for worldschooling families, remote-working moms, and anyone raising curious kids outside a traditional classroom. One to three months, your call.
Save My Spot ↓
You could absolutely do this alone. You just don't have to.
Six families. One old villa in Colares, between Sintra's hills and the Atlantic, split into two connected residences. Your own space, and a door that opens straight into community when you want it.
This is not a serviced retreat. There is no staff running your summer. It is a house full of mothers: sharing groceries, cooking together when it suits them, keeping a loose eye on each other's kids because that is what women have always done. Peer support, not a product.
For worldschooling families it is a soft landing: fast wifi, quiet corners, one base for three months instead of another suitcase shuffle. Kids learn Portuguese from the woman at the fruit stand, tide pools at Praia Grande, and each other.
However you got here, you belong at this table.
Solo motherhood looks different for everyone. Widowed, divorced, never married, single by choice, co-parenting from three time zones away. Every race, culture, faith or none, queer and straight, first-timers abroad and moms who have been on the road for years. Nobody here needs the backstory.
Vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, halal, picky seven year old: we cook around it without making it a thing. Same goes for how you drink or don't. Plenty of us are sober or sober curious, and there is always something good in the fridge that isn't wine.
What we share is simple: you are the one doing it, and you'd rather not do all of it alone this summer.
Old Portugal, made new.
An old Portuguese home someone loved enough to restore properly. Original tile work, terracotta floors, ceilings high enough to keep a July afternoon cool. Recently renovated, never scrubbed of its history.
Tucked away, but close to everything. Praia Grande is five minutes, Azenhas do Mar ten, Sintra fifteen, Cascais twenty, Lisbon Airport about forty five. A quiet village that happens to sit near all of it.
Hi, I'm Heather.
I'm a solo mom too. Program manager, founder type, the kind of person who cannot accept that a thing can't be done. There is always another way, and I will usually find it.
My daughter is 10 and she'll be here all summer, hauling a toddler around on her hip one hour and disappearing with the bigs the next. She's part of the village, not a kid being minded on the side.
When we're not working or worldschooling, we're outside, elbow deep in some creative project, or half-planning the next trip.
Casa Juntas exists because I kept waiting for someone else to build it. So I'm building it, and hoping the right group of women finds it.
What the house gives you, and what we give each other.
Your own private room
A private bedroom plus shared residence space. Two connected houses, seven bedrooms total.
The whole villa
Pool, gardens, multiple terraces, two kitchens, and outdoor dining under the trees.
Cleaning twice a week
Common areas handled, so nobody is scrubbing a shared kitchen at midnight.
Weekly community programming
Sound baths, women's circles, kid hikes, somatic sessions, communal dinners.
A shared table
Families split groceries and cook together as often as it suits them. Opt in, opt out, no scorekeeping.
Eyes on the kids
Moms keep a loose eye on each other's kids by choice, not by schedule. Not childcare, just how a village works.
A built-in village
Women who get it. No explaining, no apologizing, no performing that you are fine.
Available on Request
- •Childcare, low cost and vetted local providers. Book as much or as little as you need.
- •Car rental at a group rate, negotiated in advance.
- •Airport pickup and local recommendations, arranged before you land.
Two connected residences under one roof.
Seven bedrooms total, five bathrooms.
Upstairs
4 bedrooms · 3 bathroomsBest for families with kids 9 and up. More independence, a sunny veranda, room to spread out.
Downstairs
3 bedrooms · 2 bathroomsBest for families with littles under 9. Direct garden access, an outdoor kitchen, no stairs for middle-of-the-night bathroom runs, and the pool right there.
About Bedrooms
Each family gets one private bedroom as part of the base $2,500/month rate. Have a teen who wants their own room, or kids who'd rather not share a bed? You can book a second bedroom at a reduced rate instead of sharing. Just let us know when you apply.
A House Note
Casa Juntas is a space for moms and kids, sons included, at any age. To keep it that kind of space, we keep it women and children only: no adult men as guests or overnight visitors. It means you can walk to the kitchen in your robe, the kids can roam the house and the garden freely, and nobody has to read the room before they relax. It's part of what makes it feel like yours.
A look around the house.
Per family, per month.
Full season, our best rate
Partial discount loss from the shorter booking
Most flexible, no long-stay discount
At the three month rate, that is a private room in a restored Portuguese villa five minutes from the beach, with weekly programming and a village of solo mamas, for less than a studio apartment back home.
Shorter stays cost a bit more per month since the villa's long-stay discount scales with length of booking. Book 3 months for the best rate, or start with 1-2 and extend into it anytime.
Founding Village pricing. Locks in for future summers.Enough structure to feel held. Enough space to breathe.
None of it is mandatory and none of it is catered. The women in the house run it together: someone leads the circle, someone cooks, someone takes six kids to the beach. You show up for what you want.
Sound bath under the olive trees
Open co-work and coffee on the veranda
Women's circle. Themes rotate: money, motherhood, reinvention, rest
Kids' nature hike, Praia da Adraga trail or the Sintra hills
Therapeutic connection and somatic session
Communal dinner, rotating cook
Open. Beach day, rest day, no programming
The things everyone asks.
Can I book for less than the full season?+
Yes. One or two month stays are available at a slightly higher monthly rate (see pricing above), or book the full three months for our best rate. Either way, you're welcome to extend once you're here.
Are pets allowed?+
No pets, sorry.
What ages are kids welcome?+
Ideally 2 to 16, but we consider every family case by case. Just ask.
Can teens help with childcare?+
Teens in the house are often happy to watch younger kids when it works out that way, but it is informal and mutual, never a guarantee or a service.
Is the pool fenced?+
No, the pool is not fenced. Parents supervise their own kids at all times. We strongly prefer kids who are already comfortable swimmers with basic pool safety before joining.
What is included versus what do I arrange myself?+
Included: your private bedroom, the whole villa, cleaning twice a week, and weekly community programming. On request: childcare through vetted local providers, a group rate car rental, airport pickup. Flights, travel insurance, and your family's day to day food are yours to arrange, though most groceries end up shared.
How does payment work?+
$2,500/month, billed monthly. Details finalized during your intro conversation.
Is there an application process?+
Yes. Filling out the interest form starts a conversation, not an instant booking. Expect a short intro call before anything is confirmed.
Will this happen again next summer?+
Yes. The plan is to keep hosting this every summer, and many families choose to come back.
This isn't a one-off summer.
I'm building the village I kept wishing existed. Casa Juntas is meant to run every summer, and this first group gets to shape what it becomes.
My real hope is that August ends and you're still in each other's lives: the voice notes, the flights to visit, the group chat that never quiets down. Three months is the beginning, not the whole thing.
Six families. Three months. Tell me a little about you.
This starts a conversation, not a booking. We'll set up a short intro call before anything is confirmed.