How to choose a serious ayahuasca retreat: warning signs and trust criteria

Choosing an ayahuasca retreat should never come down to comparing photographs, five-star reviews or a promise of transformation. The real question is much simpler, and much more important: are the setting and support honest, competent and humane enough to accompany you in a state of great vulnerability?

Ayahuasca can open very deep spaces. It can help some people feel, understand, work through, forgive, cry and reconnect parts of themselves. But it remains an unpredictable, demanding and sometimes overwhelming experience. It is not a miracle cure, it does not replace medical or therapeutic care, and it does not become safe simply because a website speaks of love, medicine or tradition.

This guide offers a practical framework for distinguishing responsible places from fragile settings. It does not replace your intuition, but it can help make it more precise.

1. Choose a setting, not just a "medicine"

Many people look for "the best ayahuasca", "the best shaman" or "the most powerful retreat". This is understandable, but it is not the right starting point. Ayahuasca is never experienced in isolation: it is experienced in a place, with a team, a group, an intention, music, rules, a culture, preparation and integration.

The contents of the cup matter, of course. But the container matters just as much. The same plant can be supportive in a mature setting and destabilising in a confused one. The same dose can be right for one person, too weak for another and too strong for a third. The same ceremony can become profound or chaotic depending on the competence of the people holding the space.

The question is therefore not just: "Do they serve ayahuasca?" The real question is: "Can I entrust them with my body, my mind, my vulnerability and my integration process?"

2. The first criterion: freedom in your decision

A responsible place does not push you to drink. It helps you make a clear-headed decision. The difference is enormous.

You should hear clearly that the decision must come from you, based on objective information about possible effects, risks, contraindications and the proposed setting. If someone tells you that you "must" take ayahuasca, that "everyone is called", or that your resistance is necessarily your ego, that is already a warning sign.

A responsible facilitator knows how to say no. They also know how to say: "perhaps this is not the right time", "your medical situation calls for caution", or "we need a more detailed conversation before confirming your place". In this field, caution is not a lack of faith. It is a form of respect.

Your freedom must remain real right to the end: you can come on retreat and decide not to drink, to drink less, not to take a second cup, or to leave a practice that does not feel right. A good setting does not turn your "no" into a spiritual problem.

3. Medical screening: what must be checked before registration

The absence of a medical questionnaire or preliminary interview is one of the most concerning signs. A responsible retreat must ask about current treatments, psychiatric history, cardiac history, substance use, neurological disorders, possible pregnancy and your current psychological situation.

The point is not to collect information out of curiosity. It is to check that the setting is compatible with your safety. Ayahuasca notably involves an MAOI action associated with the vine Banisteriopsis caapi. This property can cause problems with certain medicines or medical conditions. The centre does not need to play doctor, but it must know when to request medical advice or decline participation.

A questionnaire alone is not enough. What matters is what the team does with the answers. If you disclose an important treatment and receive two lines saying that "the medicine knows", that is not reassuring. Conversely, a centre that asks questions, asks you to wait or consults a healthcare professional shows that it takes its responsibility seriously.

4. Red flags before you even book

No real screening or no mention of risks

A place that accepts everyone too easily gives you a false impression of simplicity. Ayahuasca carries common risks such as vomiting, diarrhoea, anxiety, fear, insomnia or an emotionally unsettled period after the retreat. It also carries rarer but more serious risks, particularly in cases involving a contraindication, poor supervision, a drug interaction or an unidentified psychological vulnerability.

A large international survey published in PLOS Global Public Health showed that difficult physical and psychological effects are common, even though many participants later interpret them as part of an integration process. This kind of evidence should not cause unnecessary fear. Above all, it should remind us that a responsible centre does not sell ayahuasca as a risk-free experience.

Promises of guaranteed healing

Be wary of statements such as: "you will heal your trauma", "your life will change in one night", "the medicine always gives exactly what is needed". Sometimes miracles do happen. But a responsible centre does not sell them as a product.

An intense experience is not automatically healing. A vision is not automatically a truth. A purge is not automatically a release. The work often begins afterwards, in how you integrate what you have experienced.

Lack of transparency about what is served

You should be able to find out which plants are served. If a place refuses to answer, changes the subject or uses vague words, be cautious. There are analogous preparations, sometimes called "anahuasca", "jurema" or other names depending on the plants used. The issue is not that they are necessarily ineffective. The issue is honesty.

Calling any mixture containing a DMT analogue and an MAOI plant "ayahuasca" clouds your consent. You cannot make a free decision if you do not know what you will drink, or if the composition changes from one ceremony to the next without explanation.

Reviews that are too perfect, collected too quickly

Asking for a review during the retreat, just after a ceremony or in the euphoria of departure is not healthy. After ayahuasca, some people are very open, suggestible, grateful and overwhelmed. This is not the best time to ask them to provide social proof.

Look at external reviews: Google Business Profile, Trustpilot, retreat platforms and long, nuanced accounts. Internal testimonials can be useful, but they should not be the only mirror. Also be wary of repeated recommendations from anonymous accounts, bots or fake information websites that always direct people to the same centres.

Aggressive spiritual marketing

In a sacred field, aggressive marketing is inconsistent with the nature of the support offered. "Two places for the price of one", exceptional discounts before midnight and psychological prices such as 790, 999 or 2390 euros are not proof of a scam, but they should prompt you to examine the whole setting more carefully.

Teams must be able to earn a decent living from their work. They should not exploit underpaid assistants' desire to help, or turn the medicine into a loss leader. The question is not whether a price is "spiritual" or "not spiritual". The question is whether money is handled transparently, fairly and consistently.

Dogmatic or simplistic language

Spiritual language that is too lightweight and lacks nuance can become dangerous. "Everything is love", "risks exist only in fear", "the medicine knows better than you", "our lineage is superior": these statements may sound inspiring, but they often close down discussion just when it should open up.

A mature setting welcomes questions. It does not ridicule your concerns. It does not place itself above other traditions. It does not claim to save the world with ayahuasca or encourage you to recruit other people to drink.

Facilitator training sold too readily

Training facilitators is no small matter. This work requires years of personal process, supervision, humility, group experience, knowledge of crises, the ability to maintain a steady presence and an understanding of limits. A centre offering facilitator training to almost anyone, especially as a quick commercial product, sends a concerning signal about its understanding of responsibility.

5. Yellow flags: not necessarily deal-breakers, but worth clarifying

Not everything is black and white. Some factors do not mean a centre is bad, but they deserve a conversation before booking.

• A very strict diet imposed on everyone: dietary preparation can be useful, but if it becomes dogmatic or guilt-inducing, ask why.
• A very large number of participants: this can be well organised, but only with a strong staff-to-participant ratio, a suitable room and very clear rules.
• A frequently changing team: this can happen, but the centre must be able to explain who is responsible for what and what experience they have.
• Little public information: some places remain discreet for legal or cultural reasons, but discretion must not become opacity towards participants.
• A low price: this can make access more inclusive, but check the accommodation, food, number of guardians and team pay.
• A high price: this may be justified by the venue, privacy and follow-up, but ask exactly what is included.

A yellow flag becomes red when it comes with avoidance, pressure or contempt for your questions.

6. Green flags in a responsible setting

A good place does not try to impress you. It tries to inform you.

• It explains that ayahuasca carries risks, some common and others rare but more serious.
• It acknowledges that effects are unpredictable and vary greatly between people.
• It reminds you that you may become vulnerable and suggestible during and after ceremonies.
• It encourages you not to make major life decisions during or immediately after the retreat.
• It clearly distinguishes intense experience, insight, healing and integration.
• It discusses the setting, group, sleep, food, silence, music and follow-up after the retreat.
• It answers your questions simply, without making you feel inferior, too intellectual or "not ready".
• It knows how to say no, not just sell a place.

Humility is often the best sign. Truly experienced people rarely need to act superior. They know this work is bigger than they are, too.

7. Consent, touch and relational safety

This topic should have a much greater place in ayahuasca retreats. A person under the medicine may be vulnerable, suggestible, disoriented, overwhelmed by gratitude or unable to defend their boundaries clearly. Consent must therefore be considered before the ceremony, not improvised in the middle of a process.

You should know in advance whether the team may touch you, in what situations, on which parts of the body and within what limits. Touch must always be optional. Intimate touch has no place in a ceremony. Sexual or ambiguous relationships between facilitators and participants are incompatible with a responsible approach, even if presented as "sacred", "tantric" or "healing".

A responsible centre provides simple rules: no physical contact between participants during the ceremony, no sexual propositions, no isolation with a facilitator without a clear reason, access to a designated contact person, experienced women on the team where possible, and a procedure for relational discomfort.

This is not a moral detail. It is a matter of safety.

8. The group, language and collective integration

The experience in a ceremony is intimate, but a retreat is also collective. Other participants can become valuable support: hearing their insights, sharing your own experiences, feeling that you are not alone and building connections that sometimes continue after you return home.

For a first retreat, groups that are too small may lack a supportive dynamic. Groups that are too large, particularly beyond around twenty people, can make individual support more difficult. What matters is not just the number, but the ratio between participants, facilitators, guardians and people who are genuinely available.

Language is another essential criterion. If you are French-speaking, being supported in French changes many things. In an intense altered state, searching for words in a foreign language can increase anxiety or prevent you from expressing what is most vulnerable. It is also valuable for the group to share a common language, so that sharing circles become a real space for integration.

Be wary of retreats without a genuine sharing circle, or where integration reduces all experiences to an overly narrow conventional psychology. Some visions, sensations or inner encounters go beyond familiar frameworks. They should not be idolised, but they must be expressible without immediately being reduced to a simplistic explanation.

9. Preparation and integration after the retreat

A responsible retreat does not begin on the evening of the first ceremony or end at the last breakfast. It includes a before, a during and an after.

Beforehand, you should receive clear guidance: contraindications, medicines to disclose, recommended food, sleep, substances to avoid, intention, emotional state and logistics. Preparation rules can be useful, but they must remain proportionate. A week of extremely strict dieting, presented as mandatory for everyone, can sometimes reveal more dogmatism than competence.

Afterwards, you should have access to genuine support: an integration circle, a video call, written resources, opportunities to ask questions and reminders of precautions. Many things continue to shift in the days and weeks that follow. Being left alone with a very powerful experience can be destabilising.

Ayahuasca is a catalyst. It can open a door. But what you do afterwards matters as much as what you experienced during it.

10. The ceremony: rules, safety and the right measure

Clear rules protect the group

A ceremony is not a space where everyone does whatever they want. Rules such as not talking during the process, not leaving the energetic circle without telling someone, not touching other participants, asking guardians for help and respecting silence are not there to control people. They protect everyone's safety.

If a centre does not give precise rules, or if the rules change with the facilitators' moods, that is concerning. The framework must be stable before the experience becomes unstable.

A real emergency plan

Ask what happens if someone becomes unwell, gets injured, panics, becomes severely disorganised or needs medical assistance. Who decides to call emergency services? Where is the nearest hospital? Does the team have a first-aid kit? Does anyone know basic first aid? Does the room allow people to move around quickly? Are vehicles and access routes available at night?

These are very practical, almost down-to-earth questions. That is precisely the point: they show whether the centre understands that spirituality does not cancel out reality.

Guardians able to handle the unexpected

Most people go through a recognisable process: emotions, visions, purges, insights, fatigue, peace and resistance. But some rare cases can be bewildering: a person may connect with something they do not understand, speak an unfamiliar language, make sounds or gestures, or experience an overwhelming state that disrupts the group.

This is not necessarily a problem if the team knows what to do. But you need to ask: who intervenes? How? With what experience? Are guardians available who can contain without humiliating, help without dramatising and protect the group without abandoning the person?

Connected facilitators, but an operational team

I am wary of settings where the people leading the ceremony seem entirely outside the state they are supporting. To hold a space energetically, you need to know from within, at least partly, what ayahuasca opens.

But this does not mean the whole team should drink heavily. A responsible retreat must also retain operational capacity: guardians able to stand up, intervene, recognise an emergency, call for help, protect an individual and protect the group. Maturity means distinguishing connection with the process from a loss of clarity.

The question of dosage

The right dose is neither a standard quantity nor a performance. It depends on the person, their history, their current state, their mindset, their sensitivity and the dynamics of the ceremony.

In some settings, too much may be given too quickly, without considering the integration needed afterwards. In others, particularly large groups, too little may be given for fear of an accident, followed by telling the participant that their lack of experience is solely down to frustration or their mind. In both cases, careful listening is missing.

Ideally, the person serving ayahuasca should remain the same throughout the retreat. This allows them to observe, adjust and sense how each person responds from one ceremony to the next. Always ask who serves, and whether that person will remain the same throughout the retreat.

11. Music: a detail that is not a detail

Music is one of the pillars of the ceremony. It accompanies the collective energy, supports difficult passages, sometimes opens very deep spaces, and can also break a connection if poorly chosen.

A good setting knows how to combine live and recorded music. Live music can bring cohesion to the group and allow more embodied processes. Recorded music sometimes helps people reconnect after the retreat with emotions they experienced, integrate them gradually and return to what was opened.

But music must serve the process, not the singer's ego. A ceremony is not a concert. Some singers take up too much space, sing all night, talk between songs, seek attention or project their need for recognition onto the group. Participants are not there to fill an artist's emptiness. They are there for their inner process.

Volume matters too. Under ayahuasca, hearing can be heightened. Music that is too loud can feel aggressive rather than supportive. Certain songs or icaros can be too powerful for beginners and open processes that are difficult to contain. The order of the music, changes in rhythm, silences and transitions require real sensitivity.

At the end of a retreat, it is reasonable to ask whether the organisers can share the music used. This often helps integration.

12. Price, comfort and ethics

The price of a retreat depends greatly on the venue, accommodation, number of nights, team size, food quality, follow-up and level of privacy. As a guide, many responsible retreats cost around 200 to 300 euros per night in simple shared accommodation, while premium formats with a private room, small group and quality venue can reach around 500 euros per night. Shorter or more accessible formats may cost less: what matters is understanding exactly what is included.

A high price is not automatically exploitative. A low price is not automatically virtuous. The question is: what is actually included? How many participants? How many team members? What accommodation? What food? What preparation? What integration? Are team members paid properly?

Avoid retreats where you will be crowded into a dormitory or a ceremony room that is too small. The body needs space to move through the process. Intimacy needs dignity.

Also look at the cancellation and postponement policy. Every cancellation has a cost for the organisation, and a non-refundable deposit can be understandable if it genuinely reserves a place. But all the financial risk should not be passed on to you: there should be a clear rule for postponement or exchange when you cancel sufficiently early. A policy allowing no postponement, discussion or fair solution, even long before the retreat, deserves discussion. A responsible setting explains its rules clearly and seeks fairness.

13. Spain, legality and caution

As many people look for an ayahuasca retreat in Spain, nuance matters. Recent court decisions have strengthened the view that ayahuasca, as a complex plant preparation, cannot automatically be treated as a prohibited substance simply because it naturally contains DMT. But this does not mean there is a general, simple and fully secure right to organise any use of ayahuasca.

ICEERS points out that Spain remains in an area of legal uncertainty: situations may be assessed case by case, depending on context, intention, quantity, organisation, risk to public health and other civil, administrative or criminal responsibilities. A responsible centre should therefore not say: "everything is legal, there is nothing to discuss". It should speak precisely, cautiously and transparently.

Legality does not replace safety. Even if a setting is legally defensible, it must remain medically cautious, humanly responsible and ethically clear.

14. How to check reviews without being manipulated

Reviews are useful, but they are not enough. Look for detailed, nuanced accounts written some time after the retreat. A credible review can say the experience was beautiful while mentioning areas for improvement. A wall of perfect, very short reviews, posted in batches or written in the same style, should make you attentive.

• Compare reviews on the official website with Google, Trustpilot and specialist platforms.
• Look at whether the profiles seem genuine and varied.
• Look for negative or average reviews: the way the centre responds is very revealing.
• Be wary of insistent recommendations on forums, especially from recently created accounts.
• Ask whether you can speak to a former participant without the team imposing an overly rehearsed testimonial.

A good centre does not need to be perfect. It must be transparent, able to acknowledge its limits and stable enough not to manufacture an artificial image.

15. Your own preparation

Choosing a good centre is essential, but there is also personal responsibility. Before booking, ask yourself: why now? What am I expecting? Am I seeking inner support or a magical solution? Am I prepared to go through something different from what I imagine? Will I have support after the retreat?

Avoid arriving having already decided that ayahuasca must save your relationship, change your career, make pain disappear or confirm a belief. The more rigid the expectation, the harder the experience may become to integrate.

Prepare for afterwards too: a few quieter days, fewer important decisions, less screen time if possible, sleep, writing, someone you trust, a therapist or an integration space. A retreat does not end when you board the plane home. It ends when what was opened finds a place in your life.

16. Final checklist: practical questions to ask before booking

The way you are answered matters as much as the answer itself. If your questions are unwelcome, if you are made to feel too intellectual, too demanding or not spiritual enough, listen to that signal.

17. FAQ: choosing a responsible ayahuasca retreat

18. Intuition remains central

A list of criteria will never replace what you feel. You should feel understood, respected and free. Not seduced, rushed or intimidated. Trust does not come only from words. It comes from consistency between the words, the setting, the people and the energy you perceive.

This work requires humility. From participants, because no one knows exactly what will open. From those supporting them, because they are not the heroes of your healing. They hold a framework. They serve a process. They remain responsible for what they offer.

If you feel called to a retreat, take your time. Ask your questions. Check the information. Talk to the team. Look at external reviews. Notice your body as you speak with the people who will support you.

And if you need a conversation to clarify your situation, you can contact us or see the upcoming dates for our ayahuasca retreats in Spain. The right decision is not always the quickest. It is often the one that lets your inner system breathe.

Sources and further resources

• PLOS Global Public Health - Adverse effects of ayahuasca: Results from the Global Ayahuasca Survey
• ICEERS - Ayahuasca Good Practice Guide
• ICEERS - Can Ayahuasca Be Used Legally in Spain?
• Toxicokinetics and Toxicodynamics of Ayahuasca Alkaloids - scientific review
• Chacruna - Ayahuasca Community Guide for the Awareness of Sexual Abuse
• MAPS - Psychedelic Psychotherapy Code of Ethics