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What to look for to find a safe, quality Ayahuasca Retreat?

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Like most things in life, there a broad variety of Ayahuasca retreat options, and a number of factors that effect the quality and cost of an ayahuasca retreat that you may like to take into consideration:

• Safety: Many smaller operators are not in a position to invest in safety, and unfortunately, there are too many sad stories out there. (recommendation: choose a retreat that does in-depth screening to ensure your physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being). ‍

• Legality:  Practitioners who have dedicated their lives to medicine work typically live in locations where it is legal, so they don't have to live in a state of "what if". (recommendation: consider whether travelling to a place with "new energy" might be in your best interests).

• ‍Size of the group: It's common for retreats to have 20, 50, even 100 people in ceremony, which can be chaotic. Additionally, you are less likely receive the level of attention from healers that you are probably looking for. (recommendation: choose a retreat with an intimate group of say, 8-15 people).

• Length of the retreat: Shorter retreats feel rushed, and there are limits to what can be done in a few nights. (recommendation: go for at least a week).

• Comfort: (recommendation: spend a little extra for something where you will be physically comfortable and have your own bedroom to decompress and integrate, especially if this is your first time). Your future self can thank us later.‍

• Cosmology: (recommendation: choose a retreat that supports your own subjective experience, or one that you feel aligns with you energetically). The energy of the retreat and ceremony leaders will have a profound effect upon your experience. ‍

• Holistic approach: (recommendation: work with an organization that takes a holistic approach to working with medicine, and has options to support and guide your mental and emotional evolution). If a provider implies that "medicine will solve all your problems", proceed with caution (because it won't!).‍

• Service: (recommendation: choose a place that you believe can serve your individual needs. Consider whether or not they've taken the time to get to know you and understand you, or it's more of a take it or leave it retreat center).‍

• Booking process: (recommendation: speak with the provider before finalizing your booking). If it's all online, ANYONE could be sitting next to you in ceremony.‍

• Expertise: (recommendation: work with an organization that emphasizes healing, and you believe has a breadth of expertise to guide your transformation). Look for facilitators and healers who have a lightness of being and a sparkle in their eyes.‍

• Reputation: (recommendation: Google the provider). You may be surprised by what you find. If there's not much information, that is also information :)

• ‍Volunteers: (recommendation: work with an organization that pays their staff). Unfortunately, it is common practice for retreat centers to cycle through young, eager, and worn out volunteers and/or not pay healers fairly. If the people supporting your retreat aren't living their best life, they're not going to be able to lead you to yours.

Given the potential, power, and sensitivity of working with Ayahuasca, who you choose to work with is undoubtedly one of the most important decisions of your life, so we encourage you to take the time and the energy to educate yourself to be able to make a good one. If you're in a position to do so, you may also like to consider a private retreat.

If our recommendations above feel energetically aligned for you, and you'd like to explore a journey with Behold, apply below.

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Looking for a little more guidance for one of the most important decisions of your life? Watch this video.

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We get it.

You want the best, and you're looking for world-class attention and care to experience profound healing .

And as you've been sifting through all of the ayahuasca retreat reviews on Retreat Guru, you’ve realized that you might not want to spend a week sleeping on a thin mattress, fighting off bugs, with no air conditioning in the middle of the jungle. If we're being honest ayahuasca retreat centers are not well-known to be luxurious like some yoga retreats in Bali or wellness centers.

Luckily, there are options for you to enjoy modern luxuries during an ayahuasca retreat, while keeping with the integrity of the medicine, and working with experienced healers or shamans in a holistic sanctuary.

If you're ready to break through in life, heal the past, and elevate your mind, body, heart, and spirit so that you can live to the full, then you're in the right place.

For those in a position to do so, we highly recommend private work, allowing experienced healers to focus entirely on you and your healing process.

Apply for a free consultation for a world-class experience here, or scroll down to browse a broad variety of options available.

We also find that a number of luxury / private clients are selecting to work with 5-MeO-DMT (Bufo) or psilocybin rather than ayahuasca. If this is potentially of interest, read more here.

10 Best Luxury Ayahuasca Retreats:

1. Behold Retreats Group Ayahuasca Retreat

If you’re looking for ultimate luxury for your personal healing journey, look no further. Behold Retreats specializes in curating bespoke ayahuasca and 5-MeO DMT retreats tailored to your needs. For 5-star accommodations, luxury amenities and services, and of course, top-quality practitioners you can rest assured that your dreams will manifest into your life.

For those in positions of influence, Behold Retreats also facilitates introductions to world-class healers. Share a few details to schedule a consultation here.

Depending on your preferences you can expect to have your ayahuasca experience in a private villa in Tulum for example, in a beautiful retreat center in the amazon rainforest of Costa Rica or in the heart of the Sacred Valley in Peru.

Watch the sunset go down in your infinity pool overlooking the ocean, enjoy a deep tissue massage on the beach, join daily yoga sessions and guided meditation, experience a medicinal flower plant bath in the middle of the rainforest, and really feel taken care of in a holistic wellness retreat.

Behold retreats also offers a 7-week life accelerator, with a deep commitment to your growth during your spiritual healing journey with ayahuasca. They help prepare you for your journey and integrate the experience afterwards with their coaching program, designed to elevate your consciousness and sustain long-term benefits in your day-to-day life. Apply for a consultation here.

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2. Behold Retreats Private Ayahuasca Retreat

The great thing about having a private retreat is that you choose the best venue to suit your needs, from the location and accommodation to the schedule of activities and the facilitators. You are in full control of how luxurious your retreat will be! You can create something resembles a wellness / yoga retreat, or a more traditional shamanic retreat.

Putting a retreat together though, is not easy work to say the least. Specifically around sourcing quality practitioners such as a therapist, healer, shaman, coach, etc. With the rise of ayahuasca tourism, the demand for expert guidance far exceeds the supply.

We recommend using a company such as Behold Retreats to do the leg-work for you.

They will provide you with a free consultation to get to know you and tailor a few options to suit your wishes, working only with world-class guidance and advisors to ensure a safe and transformational life experience for your spiritual awakening.

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3. Soltara Ayahuasca Retreat  

Wake up to stunning views of the Gulf of Nicoya in this ayahuasca center situated on seaside cliffs. Soltara healing center  is a reputable, luxurious retreat fully immersed in mother nature offering 5 or 7 night retreats with 3-4 ayahuasca ceremonies.

Accommodation features modern and comfortable private or shared rooms, beautiful amenities including a spa, yoga room, and pool. They offer various integration workshops such as breathwork and art expression.

Soltara also supports their clients healing process by providing education and resources before and after the retreat with access to a community support group. Their team consists of experienced practitioners who are both trained in traditional medicine and Western medicine practices.

The sacred plant medicine ceremonies are led by indigenous Peruvian Shipibo healers, so you don’t necessarily need to fly all the way to Peru for this psychedelic experience. Additionally, they have medical staff on site and a 24-hour clinic nearby for your safety.

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4. Ayahuasca Foundation Ayahuasca Retreat  

Dive into a super luxurious ayahuasca retreat experience located in the middle of 120,000 acres of beautiful Amazonian Rainforest on a National Reserve. You can’t get closer to mother nature than this! Doubling as an ayahuasca retreat center and research center, you will be able to enjoy modern comforts in the middle of the jungle.

Your private room will be equipped with full electricity and your own bathroom, fan, balcony with a river view, and a hammock deck. On site there is also a massage room, yoga studio, and rooms for workshops.

Your journey will be 8 days, unless you opt for one of their deeper healing programs which last between two and four weeks.

The ayahuasca ceremonies themselves are intimate with a maximum of 12 retreat participants, and are led by an Andean shaman who is also an expert in the master plant diet and ayahuasca vine. The additional facilitators are bi-lingual apprentices who also offer healing modalities such as yoga, meditation, bodywork, breathwork, and coaching. An intensive ayahuasca healing retreat.

While you’re there, you can also enjoy healing experiences such as medicinal plant baths, smoke baths, as well as internal/external medicinal plant treatments. If you’re feeling adventurous, you will also be able to enjoy recreational activities such as swimming, fishing, and ethno-botanical hiking.

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5. Rythmia Ayahuasca Retreat

Popular with celebrities, this retreat center ensures maximum luxury on your ayahuasca healing journey. They offer unique additional healing modalities in between your ayahuasca ceremonies that you may have never heard of before. Why not take a class in metaphysics, try a hydrocolonic cleanse, dive into a volcanic mud bath, or enjoy a dead sea cleanse?

Your 7 day spiritual retreat program will include three personalized workshops given by the founders, as well as locally sourced, organic meals, and the option to enjoy excursions such as waterfall hikes, ziplining, golfing, horseback riding, and various water-sport activities.

Their accommodations are spacious and definitely luxurious, situated in a peaceful area for time to reflect in between your ceremonies. You will sleep well with their therapeutic beds and wake up feeling connected with nature.

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6. Arkana Spiritual Center Ayahuasca Retreat

This holistic sanctuary has been rated the Most Popular Ayahuasca Healing Retreat on AyaAdvisors.org for good reasons. They use sacred medicine from various healing traditions in addition to ayahuasca, such as Sapo, San Pedro, Peyote, and more.

With multiple locations, in the Yucatan in Mexico, the Amazon Jungle in Peru, or the Sacred Valley in the Andes Mountains near Iquitos, you will have your choice on the type of atmosphere you want for your healing journey in one of their luxury lodges. If you stay in their Sacred Valley retreat, you will be able to take a day trip to the sacred Machu Picchu. They ensure high quality and well trained shamans and healers to help guide you on your journey.

What is great about this retreat center is that they will customize a retreat for you if you prefer to have something private with a group of your friends or another special group, and you can choose whether you would like an ayahuasca ceremony or something like a san pedro ceremony instead.

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7.The Holistic Sanctuary Ayahuasca Retreat  

This ayahuasca retreat center is located in Baja California and is definitely the most luxurious on our list.

Every program is completely customized for each individual and lasts from 4-12 weeks. They provide healing for PTSD, depression, drug addiction and alcoholism, and other forms of addiction, acting as a type of rehab that also utilizes ayahuasca medicine in the process.

Healing treatments can include liver detoxes, oxygen infusions, IV drips, stem cell therapy, and more. Not only that, you will receive over 30 hours of 1-1 time every week to ensure deep healing and a truly transformational experience. Their proprietary method, called the Pouyan Method, combines medicinal plants, complete detoxification, neural healing, and additional healing modalities. Although different from your typical ayahuasca retreat, they promise to create an experience that will lead to your spiritual awakening.

Seems pretty life-changing!

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8. The Blue Morpho Ayahuasca Retreat  

Located in the Peruvian Amazon, immersed in 180 acres of vibrant, rich rainforest on a private reserve, you will find the Blue Morpho Jungle Lodge. You will stay in either a private guest bungalow or villa, and enjoy the beautiful gardens, grand deck and swimming pool, and private lake.  

Hosting private and personalized ayahuasca ceremonies, your experience will be guided by Master ayahuasca shaman Alberto in the Ucayali River region. Alberto has led over 5000 sacred plant ceremonies and their staff has been facilitating Mother Ayahuasca ceremonies for over 45 years. With that much experience, you can be comfortable knowing that the ayahuasca brew will be prepared well, with only the banisteriopsis caapi vine and chacruna leaves.

In your free time, take a nature walk through the massive network of hiking trails on the property, spend some quiet reflection time in one of their isolated meditation bungalows, or devour some books in their library. In the common areas you will find space for group circles, art classes, and space to join a yoga session. Additionally, you will be looked after by specially trained chefs with the ayahuasca diet.

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9. Inner Circle Ayahuasca Retreat

Modern luxury meets authentic tradition in this ayahuasca retreat center located in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. Enjoy stunning beachfront accommodation and ocean views from your high-end furnished bedroom. With a maximum of six guests, you can join a small international group or bring your own guests for a more intimate experience.

Take a dip in their infinity pool, explore the vibrant, lush natural beauty of the surrounding nature, watch the sunset from the terrace, and go for a bike ride around the town. As a guest you will be stunned by the wildlife, like baby sea turtles making their way to the ocean or humpback whales swimming in the sea.

While you’re enjoying the modern luxury, you will also experience the healing benefits of working with a traditional indigenous shaman who will guide your 6 day ayahuasca retreat.

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10. APL Journeys Ayahuasca Retreat

In the beautiful Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, you will find one of APL Journey's international retreat centers to host your plant medicine ceremony. You will stay in a gorgeous suite and enjoy an outdoor jungle pool as well as luxurious outdoor showers during your 6 day stay.

In addition to your three plant medicine ceremonies with ayahuasca, you will also be able to enjoy a temazcal herbal sauna, a kambo ceremony, medicinal flower baths, breathwork, yoga classes, and daily shamanic rituals.

The ayahuasca journey will be guided by a shipibo shaman from Peru or Ecuador, with additional facilitators certified by the Red Cross to ensure your safety. You will have the opportunity to attend a seminar on Amazonian Curanderismo and Ayahuasca healing traditions, as well as preparation and integration support. And, 15% of their profits are donated to local communities in Peru, where mama ayahuasca comes from!

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Check out our upcoming retreats in Costa Rica, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Portugal

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