An Ayahuasca retreat could be the best experience of your life, or it could leave you worse off, confused, or traumatized.
Your outcome depends upon 3 things: your readiness, preparation, and your ability to choose a high-quality retreat.
For deeper insights into what makes up a safe and quality plant medicine retreat, check out the results from our recent plant medicine retreats survey.
If this is your first time with Ayahuasca (that’s great!), this short quiz will help you assess your level of mental, emotional, and spiritual readiness for this powerful and sensitive work.
If you would like to understand more about the nature of psychedelic healing work, human potential, and who and what you really are, watch the video below.
Here are 12 recommendations to help you avoid sketchy options and choose a safe and transformational experience:
Like most things in life, there are a broad variety of Ayahuasca retreat options, and a number of factors that effect the safety, quality, and cost of an ayahuasca retreat:
- Safety First: Unfortunately, many small retreat centers are not in a position to make meaningful investments into screening and safety. Even if you’re fine, someone else on retreat might not be, which can affect the overall experience. Our recommendation is to choose a retreat provider that does in-depth conversational, medical, and psychological screening to protect your safety and well-being.
- Legality: Experienced practitioners who have dedicated their lives to plant medicine typically live in locations where the work is legal, so they don’t have to live in a state of uncertainty about their work Our recommendation is to travel to legal locations where you can benefit from legitimate healers who operate above the radar, so you can truly relax on retreat.
- Size of the group: It’s common for retreats to have 20, 50, even 100 people in ceremony, which can be chaotic to say the least. In such large groups you are less likely to receive a sufficient level of attention from the facilitators. Our recommendation is to choose a retreat with an intimate group, in the range of 8-15 people.
- Length of the retreat: Shorter retreats feel rushed, do not support the cultivation of meaningful relationships, and can limit what can be achieved in time available. We recommend you spend at least a week for an ayahuasca retreat to give your mind, body, heart, and soul the attention it deserves.
- Comfort: We recommend you choose a retreat where you are confident that you will be physically comfortable and have your own private bedroom to decompress and integrate, especially if this is your first time. Go for the full jungle mosquito immersion another time, your future self will thank you later.
- Alignment: Select a retreat that feels aligned with your values and allows your own subjective experience to unfold naturally. There are many different worldviews out there and having a different worldview pushed on you through the retreat may not be in your highest healing interests. This is also particularly relevant for first-timers.
- Holistic approach: Work with an organization that takes a holistic approach to working with plant medicine, and has options to support and guide your mental and emotional evolution alongside a retreat. If a provider implies that “medicine will solve all your problems”, proceed with caution.
- Service: Select a retreat that you believe can meet your individual needs. Are you being treated as a human, or as participant #22 in their fourth retreat this month? 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: Speak with the provider before finalizing your booking. If it’s all online, this may be a strong indicator that the provider is not screening and/or carefully on-boarding their guests. This entire experience should be handled with care from start to finish.
- Expertise: Find an organization that emphasizes healing, and you believe has the breadth and depth of expertise to guide your transformation. Look for facilitators and healers who have a lightness of being and a sparkle in their eyes. Healing work is all about the transmutation of energy, so you are looking for people who have the energy you aspire to. If they aren’t able to keep their energy right, that tells you quite a bit about either where they are at and their capabilities.
- Reputation: At a minimum, Google the provider, you may be surprised by what you find. If there’s not much information, that is also information. A reputable retreat center will have a professional online presence with testimonials from previous retreat attendees. This is essential for you to see that they are a legitimate organization who you can trust to contain this powerful experience.
- Volunteers: Please support ethical plant medicine work by selecting an organization that pay their team. 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 lives , they’re not going to be able to lead you to yours. Don’t be shy to ask this question directly when you speak to prospective centers.
Who you choose to attend an Ayahuasca retreat with is undoubtedly one of the most important decisions in your life, especially the first time.
We encourage you to take the time and energy to do your research, follow your intuition, and to know why you are choosing a specific retreat.
If our recommendations resonate with you, and you’re ready to step into your full power, we are here to guide you every step of the way.
Before we share some retreats near you, it’s worth asking yourself…
Why do our guests typically travel abroad for Ayahuasca ceremonies?
There are three main reasons why people travel to Costa Rica, Mexico, and other beautiful locations for spiritual awakening, self-discovery, and healing after deciding they are ready for their Ayahuasca retreat.
1. Legality: DMT (the psychoactive component in Ayahuasca) is a Schedule 1 drug, and illegal in the USA. That being said, you don’t need to travel all the way to Latin America to experience a sacred ceremony with plant medicine. There are a handful of Ayahuasca retreat centers in the USA that operate under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), a legal safeguard giving protection to ceremonies performed for religious purposes. Those who serve medicine under the RFRA are required to do so in alignment with the cosmology and belief systems that govern their permission. Over the past years, a number of USA-based Ayahuasca medicine providers have tried to adjust their practices to appeal to a more Western audience and retreat style but unfortunately lost their licenses, as they were deemed to no longer meet the strict religious requirements set out under the RFRA. Others who are currently operating in the USA have legal proceedings ongoing. If a USA-based retreat is a must for you, we strongly suggest you do your own research and due diligence.
2. Cultural Context: The indigenous shamans and healers working under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in the USA are doing important work, and the value of supporting and protecting indigenous wisdom carriers is a priority. At the same time, when a Westerner attends a ceremony that by tradition and by law exists to expand specific religious goals, the resulting cultural differences can sometimes stand in the way of receiving the level of attention, service, and focused healing that Westerners are often looking for. It is worth recognizing that many indigenous traditions live by a cosmology entirely different from those of us from the West, and that these differences can be intensely felt and sometimes even overpowering in ceremony, especially for first-timers. There’s no right or wrong, but in our experience, people benefit greatly from working with sacred plant medicine in a context that allows the subjectivity of the experience to unfold in a way that is not in contradiction to their own belief set. These energetic differences can deeply influence the safety and quality of the experience (again, especially for first timers).
3. Anchoring the New You: There’s something about the process of jumping on a plane that provides a sort of energetic reset, like we’ve stepped through a portal. Even without Ayahuasca, there’s a sense of newness, freedom, adventure, and of possibilities yet to unfold.
What supports your transformation: a week-long, immersive experience with Mother Ayahuasca in a beautiful, serene setting connecting to the vibrancy of nature, and some time for rest, reflection, and reconnect before heading back to the real world. You deserve it. You and this work are too important.
Not so good: driving to a wellness retreat on Friday, back to work on Monday. Straight back into a context that has “old you” expectations of what should be the “new you” when this work is done well (you are prepared, working with expert facilitators, and give yourself the space and time for a retreat and integration).
“When choosing a quality Ayahuasca retreat and facilitator, remember, you are putting your consciousness in someone else’s hands.” – Behold Retreats
Is Ayahuasca legal near me?
If you’re searching for an Ayahuasca retreat near you in the United States, the short answer is: Ayahuasca itself is not banned, but DMT (its active compound) is a Schedule I substance. A small number of US centers operate legally under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act as recognized fellowships or churches. Many others have lost their licenses in recent years, which is why the “near me” search often leads to dead ends or outdated listings.
For most people asking this question, the more honest answer is that the closest truly legal, medically screened, quality Ayahuasca retreat is a short flight away, in Costa Rica or Mexico. The container is designed around your healing rather than around legal protection.
For a full breakdown of the US legal landscape and why we consistently recommend traveling abroad, read why we recommend traveling abroad for Ayahuasca. If you’re set on a US option, see our roundup of the 10 best Ayahuasca retreats in the USA.
What are the best Ayahuasca retreat near me options in 2026?
“Ayahuasca retreat near me” is becoming an increasingly popular question as people become aware of the healing power of Ayahuasca. Ayahuasca is a powerful psychedelic brew made from plants native to the Amazonian rainforest. It has been used for centuries in spiritual ceremonies and has been known to provide physical and mental healing and insights into the inner workings of the mind.
To get the full understanding of the breakdown of the powerful medicine, read the in-depth blog here, otherwise read on.
In 2026, there are many Ayahuasca retreat near you options that offer a variety of experiences and healing opportunities. Here are our well-vetted suggestions for your “best Ayahuasca retreat near me in 2026” question to help you find the perfect retreat for your spiritual journey.
1. Behold Retreats in Costa Rica & Mexico
Because of the legal grey areas, Behold Retreats doesn’t facilitate Ayahuasca in the USA, but we do offer some very close-by options. As we mentioned, there are very few places in the USA serving Aya legally, so if you’re willing to take a short flight, Behold Retreats offers a holistic and modern approach to plant medicine refined over serving 1,500+ clients. Our organization curates and facilitates life-changing plant medicine journeys with an emphasis on client goals, preparation, and integration.
Guests of Behold Retreats can also choose between a variety of other entheogens, locations, and options, for example a small group retreat overlooking the jungle in Costa Rica, on the dutch countryside with (magic mushrooms) Psilocybin in the Netherlands or perhaps a culturally immersive encounter in the golden mountains of Mexico with 5-MeO-DMT (Bufo).
For those who do choose to attend a retreats in the USA, Behold Retreats offers high quality coaching before and after your retreat, and we can point your in the direction of a trusted retreat within the country. Apply for a free consultation with a plant medicine expert to share your individual needs and preferences, and to understand whether (or not) there is a mutual fit.
Group retreat sizes are smaller than most retreat centers – typically no more than 10-12.
Client safety and confidentiality are given the highest importance, and healers, facilitators, therapists, and coaches have decades of experience under their belt.
Find out more information, or apply for a free consultation.
2. Ayahuasca Retreat California
Origen Sagrada
Origen Sagrada is a group of like-minded people providing health, healing and celebration through the power of sacred plant medicine, as well as the guidance from their indigenous Taitas and Elders.
These spiritual leaders and healers, Abuelo Claudion and Abuelita Bernadita, indigenous people from the Muruy tribe of the Native American Amazonas of Colombia, are highly respected in the tribe and have extensive knowledge on many types of medical plants, rites, ayahuasca rituals, and sacred ceremonies.
Their ayahuasca brew is prepared in the Amazon and is pure, consisting of only the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and Chacruna leaves.
3. Ayahuasca Retreat Colorado
Origen Sagrada
Origen Sagrada’s other location in the USA is also facilitated by their spiritual leaders and healers, Abuelo Claudion and Abuelita Bernadita from the Muruy tribe of the Amazonas of Colombia.
Their retreat is 2 nights and includes 2 ayahuasca ceremonies and is a great way for newbies to get acquainted with the spirit of Mother Aya. The work with the Elders and the plant medicine is intensive and remote, located in a private, tranquil, rustic camp near Castle Rock. Ayahuasca ceremony participants can expect their sessions to be held in a private lodge, with shared accommodation.
The retreat will begin with a herbal plant blessing and practical orientation to answer any questions you might have. In between ceremonies, there will be traditional therapies, personal spiritual cleansing and healing ceremonies, and time for reflection and meditation. They will play beautiful live music during the psychedelic ceremony to help you go deeper on your journey.
4. Ayahuasca Retreat Washington
Sacred Therapy
Sacred Therapy retreats host their ceremonies in a modern way, rather than recreating South American or Native American style ceremonies. To join their ceremonies you must be a member of Cosmic Valley Native Americas church, which you can apply to join on their website.
Their North American medicine people are trained with US ayahuasca churches and offer a holistic and yogic approach to their ayahuasca ceremonies. They provide full integration before and after your ceremony and care deeply about each retreat participant’s experience and growth.
Retreats are two nights, hosted in Washington and California, and they provide accommodation with comfortable bedding and vegan meals. The founder has been leading sacred ceremonies for 5 years and has trained with multiple shamans and yogic teachers in the USA, Mexico, Thailand, and Lebanon, as well as two years learning from the Lakota Tradition.
5. Ayahuasca Retreat New York
The Sanctuary – Shamanic Healing Center
The Sanctuary is a shamanic healing center and branch of Oklevueha Native American Church, an ayahuasca church, located on the land of the Sacred White Dee, a Bee Sanctuary and certified wildlife habitat and holistic sanctuary with 6 acres of wild forest containing over 100+ fruit trees, edible bushes, and medicinal plants such as the coca leaf. You really will get a chance to connect with Mother Earth here.
Come here for a fully immersive shamanic experience, with shamanic healing practices, shamanic breathwork, and even a shamanic school with facilitator programs. They have a variety of retreats at their healing center as well as in Peru near Cusco.
If you’re looking for intensive ayahuasca healing retreats to dive deeper into medicinal plants, healing modalities, and shamanic wisdom this is the place for you. In addition to mother ayahuasca, they offer a week long tobacco and master plant diet retreat, a shamanic camp, vision quests, shamanic wisdom circles, rebirthing breathwork ceremonies, and more!
To help you integrate your experiences, they also host a regular community connection and healer / integration circle calls for ayahuasca users to share from the heart and continue to learn and grow together.
6. Ayahuasca Retreat Kentucky
Aya Quest
Aya Quest, also commonly spoken about as Kentucky Ayahuasca, approaches their ceremonies with a holistic attitude, and does not recreate Native American traditional ceremonies or maintain any dogmatic style. They are modern shamans and medicine people who are well trained.
Their founder Steve Hupp, has worked with ayahuasca for 15 years, and trained by a shaman from South America, leading over 1000 healing ceremonies.
Aya Quest offers small group, private and at home ayahuasca ceremony, as well as the option to join their membership club. Their ayahuasca brew is made from scratch and the ingredients, such as the ayahuasca vine, are all individually ordered so you can be assured of what exactly is in the tea, and they are confident that their brew is safe and effective.
7. Ayahuasca Retreat New Mexico
The União do Vegetal (UDV)
This ayahuasca retreat center is under The União do Vegetal (UDV) is a Christian Spiritist religion that originated in Brazil and is recognized for their community and environmental service, and have hosted countless ayahuasca religious ceremonies. União do Vegetal literally means “the union of the plants,” and their followers drink Hoasca, which is the sacred sacrament of plants indigenous to the Brazillian Amazon.
Also considered an ayahuasca church, you can join their spiritual fellowship legally in the USA.
Like Ayahuasca tea, Hoasca contains the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the Chacruna plant leaves (psychotria viridis), which is their sacrament and sacred practice serving to heighten spiritual understanding and perceptions.
The spiritual ceremony emphasizes mental concentration and solemn reflections of their guide Mestre Gabriel and Jesus. They last around four hours and include periods of silent contemplation, rituals, hymns, and religious teachings.
Other legal Ayahuasca options worth knowing
A few other US religious frameworks serve Ayahuasca legally but can be harder to find. The Santo Daime Church, founded by Raimundo Irineu Serra, uses Daime tea as part of its religious rituals. Chapters exist across the US but do not always advertise publicly. Peaceful Mountain Way, a Native American Church, also serves Ayahuasca as a spiritual sacrament within its community. Both operate as closed religious fellowships rather than retreats open to the general public, so access typically requires a membership or referral.
Why were these retreats chosen as the best Ayahuasca options near me?
Every option above passes a clear set of criteria before we’ll name it. We do not list centers we would not send someone we love. The filter is simple but rarely met in full:
- Legal standing: Operates openly within US religious-freedom protections or fully legal in its country of operation. No grey-market setups.
- Facilitator lineage and years of practice: Verifiable training, indigenous or Western, with at least a decade of ceremony experience.
- Medical and psychological screening: Turns people away when appropriate. If a center does not screen, we do not list it.
- Integration support: Preparation before, integration after. The ceremony is 20% of the work; the rest is the 80%.
- Small group size: Personalized attention matters more than capacity.
- Transparency: Clear team bios, honest pricing, direct communication.
If you want help matching your needs to the right retreat, book a free consultation with a Behold Retreats plant medicine expert.
Frequently asked questions about Ayahuasca retreats near me
Is it legal to attend an Ayahuasca retreat in the United States?
Ayahuasca itself is not explicitly banned, but DMT, its active ingredient, is a Schedule I substance under US federal law. A small number of US centers operate legally under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which protects sincere religious use of the plant as part of a recognized fellowship or church.
Safety is our number one concern. The RFRA path in the US is real, but it sits in a grey zone, and the rules around who can serve, how, and within what belief system are strict and enforced. Several US centers have lost their licenses in recent years. If a US retreat is the right fit for you, we encourage deep due diligence. For most people asking us, though, the stronger recommendation is to work in a country where this medicine has been fully decriminalized or is openly legal. The process feels less stressful, the facilitators work without looking over their shoulder, and the container is designed around your healing rather than around legal protection. Our full take is in why we recommend traveling abroad for Ayahuasca.
How much does an Ayahuasca retreat near me typically cost?
Prices vary widely based on duration, group size, facilitator experience, and integration support. US-based church retreats generally run $500 to $1,500 for a 2-night program. Legal international retreats on the Central Pacific coast of Costa Rica start around $2,900 for shared accommodation and can reach $5,500 or more for private, fully-included programs.
Price is not the right first filter. Ayahuasca is not a weekend activity you shop on cost alone. What you are really paying for is facilitator experience, medical screening, the integration support before and after, and the container that holds the whole thing together. A $600 two-night retreat with no screening and no integration can cost you far more than a higher-priced retreat with proper care. We broke down pricing across the whole market in our complete Ayahuasca retreat cost guide.
What should I look for when choosing an Ayahuasca retreat?
Prioritize safety screening, legality, group size, duration, facilitator experience, and a clear pre- and post-retreat integration process. A quality retreat will ask you as many questions as you ask them. If a center does not screen you medically and psychologically before accepting you, treat that as a red flag.
We also look at reputation: years of consistent work, repeat clients, transparent team biographies, and a willingness to turn people away all matter more than a polished website. For a deeper look at the work that starts weeks before you arrive, see our guide on how to prepare for an Ayahuasca retreat.
Do I need prior psychedelic experience to attend an Ayahuasca retreat?
No. Many first-timers attend Ayahuasca retreats every year, and in many ways, coming to this work without preconceptions can be a gift. What matters more than prior experience is your readiness: mental, emotional, and spiritual. Our readiness quiz helps you assess whether now is the right time for you.
How long does an Ayahuasca retreat usually last?
US-based retreats often run 2 to 3 nights with 2 ceremonies. International retreats typically range from 5 days to one week, with longer programs offering more ceremonies, deeper integration, and stronger long-term transformation outcomes.
After serving more than 1,500 clients, the pattern is consistent. The ceremony itself is maybe 20% of the work. The other 80% is what happens before (preparation) and after (integration). Shorter formats often skip that second half, which is exactly where the real transformation lands. For our view on what actually happens after the retreat ends, read what happens after an Ayahuasca retreat.
What is the safest Ayahuasca retreat option near the USA?
The safest options are legal, fully vetted, medically screened retreats run by facilitators with verified experience and transparent operating frameworks. Behold Retreats offers legal Ayahuasca retreats in Costa Rica and Mexico for those seeking the safest option close to the United States without compromising on depth or quality. A short flight is a small price for peace of mind. You want a setting where your facilitators can focus fully on your healing, not on the legal environment around them.
Still need help choosing a plant medicine journey?
We would be honored to guide you in choosing the best retreat for your needs. Behold Retreats coordinates expertly guided plant medicine retreats with Ayahuasca, Psilocybin, and 5-MeO-DMT (Bufo Alvarius) with highly experienced facilitators. Reach out to us to set up a complimentary discovery call and we can point you in the right direction.
Explore Behold Retreats by location:
5-MeO-DMT in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
Sources
The União do Vegetal (New Mexico): udvusa.org
Origen Sagrada (California & Colorado): origensagrada.com
Sacred Therapy (Washington): sacredtherapy.org
The Sanctuary Shamanic Healing Center (New York): thesanctuaryheal.com
Aya Quest (Kentucky): ayaquest.com
The content provided is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be a substitute for medical or other professional advice. Articles are based on personal opinions, research, and experiences of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Behold Retreats.
