My Friend Colette Did Ayahuasca in Peru. I Still Can't Decide If She's Onto Something or Lost Her Mind.

Everyone talks about ayahuasca like it's one thing.

It's not.

Look, I spent two years assuming the whole thing was tech bros who'd exhausted every biohack and needed something new to talk about at dinner parties. Luca went in 2022. He came back going on about "plant consciousness" and I stopped listening around minute three because he also thinks his $400 water bottle "restructures cellular hydration" and once tried to explain to me why he won't eat foods that "vibrate below 500 hertz." Whatever that means.

Then Colette went.

Colette is... okay so Colette once drove four hours to return a library book. Not because she couldn't afford the $2.50 late fee. Because "it's the principle." She fact-checks restaurant menus. When her sister got engaged she asked to see the GIA certificate before congratulating her. When I mentioned maybe trying NAD IV she sent me seven PubMed links. Unprompted. Within an hour.

Not a woo person.

She came back from Peru and something was different. I still can't really explain what. She stopped interrupting people mid-sentence which she'd been doing for the entire twelve years I've known her. Started actually listening. Her therapist told her she'd made more progress in two months than the previous decade which is either a testament to ayahuasca or an indictment of her therapist, I genuinely don't know.

Twelve days in the Amazon. Temple of the Way of Light. $3,200.

And now I've wasted like three weeks researching ayahuasca retreat cost because I can't stop thinking about whether she stumbled onto something real or just had a really expensive jungle hallucination.

What Does Ayahuasca Retreat Cost Actually Look Like

Here's the thing nobody tells you up front.

$695. That's what LaWayra in Colombia charges for four days.

$8,400. That's Rythmia in Costa Rica for a week.

Same plant. Same basic ceremony structure. Same vague promise of "transformation" or whatever they call it now.

Colette found this maddening when she was researching. One place charging $1,500, another charging $6,000, descriptions practically identical. "Four ceremonies, vegetarian meals, integration support." The expensive ones had nicer photos obviously. Infinity pools. "Farm-to-table everything." But is the ACTUAL experience different?

She couldn't figure it out. I've now spent weeks on this and I can't figure it out either.

Ayahuasca Retreat Peru: Where the Serious People Go

Peru made ayahuasca cultural heritage in 2008. Legal framework, real oversight, centers you can actually verify. This mattered to Colette because she was paranoid about ending up somewhere run by some guy who did a two-week certification in Tulum and calls himself a shaman now.

Most jungle places charge $1,500 to $3,500 for a week. Four or five ceremonies. The diet is STRICT by the way. No salt. No sugar. No pork. Limited spices. Colette lost eight pounds in twelve days and she wasn't trying to lose weight. They also do these flower bath things which I had to look up and still don't fully understand.

Arkana runs $2,520 for seven days shared, up to $4,500 if you want privacy. Over a thousand five-star reviews. Shipibo tradition, shamans who've been doing this for 45+ years. My coworker's friend Margaux went last spring. Said the ceremonies felt "legitimate" in a way she couldn't articulate. Also said the mosquitoes were absolutely brutal. Nobody's website mentions that.

Temple of the Way of Light where Colette went is $3,000 to $4,500 for ten to twelve days. Four healers per retreat. The screening process is what convinced her actually. They asked about medications. Psychiatric history. Family history. She said it felt like they cared whether she'd survive the experience rather than just processing credit cards.

Costa Rica Ayahuasca Retreat Cost: The Luxury Tier

This is where the prices get insane.

Rythmia. $4,900 to $8,400. For a week. Premium solo suite is the $8,400 one. They call themselves the only medically licensed plant medicine center in the world which sounds impressive until you think about it for three seconds and realize most countries don't have a licensing framework for this. What would they even license.

But okay. Two doctors. Six nurses. Medi-vac helicopter.

They claim 97-98% of their 17,000+ guests report a "life-changing miracle." Colette would've sent me twelve skeptical articles about that stat. I thought about sending them to her but decided against it.

Someone I sort of know went. Friend of my cousin's husband. Works in private equity. Very particular about experiences. The kind of guy who has opinions about thread counts. He said the infinity pool was stunning. Farm-to-table meals "genuinely excellent." Ceremonies? "Intense but well-managed." He paid $6,300 for a shared room.

Kelly Slater goes apparently. Andre3000. Jake Paul which honestly made me trust the whole thing less but maybe that's unfair.

Soltara is the other Costa Rica name. Five nights: $2,200 to $7,250. Twelve nights private goes up to $12,900 which is genuinely insane but their advisory board has Dr. Gabor Maté on it and his trauma work is actually respected so I don't know. They cap at 20-22 guests. Full year of integration support after.

Aaron Rodgers did Behold Retreats. 2024. His Netflix thing documented it. Called ayahuasca "the hardest medicine possible." Their packages run $3,000 to $8,000 for six nights. Only eleven guests at a time. Much smaller than Rythmia's 35-55.

Ayahuasca Retreat USA and Colombia Budget Options

Colombia is where people go when they want cheap.

LaWayra near Medellín. Four days. $695. Not a typo. Group lodging, ceremonies every night, basic meals. No infinity pools. No medi-vac helicopters. No Dr. Gabor Maté.

Colette considered Colombia. Got nervous about medical oversight. Her friend Béatrice went somewhere budget (wouldn't say where exactly, think there were legal concerns) and said it was "fine but disorganized." Which for something involving a potent psychoactive brew... yeah Colette went with the more expensive option.

Ayahuasca retreat USA is legally complicated. Some places operate under religious exemptions. UDV church. Santo Daime. Weekend retreats run $500 to $1,000.

Ayahuasca retreat Florida specifically has Tikkun Healing Center in Loxahatchee at $750 to $2,800. Pachamama Sanctuary in Maine at $750 to $850 seems to have a following.

The Hidden Costs Nobody Mentions

Colette keeps spreadsheets for everything. I told you. Not a woo person.

Her $3,200 covered: ceremonies, twelve nights, meals, flower baths, group integration, individual consultations, airport pickup from Iquitos.

What it didn't cover: flights ($900 round trip from New York), travel insurance ($120), one night hotel in Iquitos before ($65), tips ($150), two weeks of special diet at home beforehand (free but annoying apparently).

Her actual total: $4,400.

Budget Colombia all-in: probably $2,000 to $3,500. Mid-range Peru: $4,000 to $6,000. Luxury Costa Rica: $7,000 to $15,000.

The Science Part (Since I Know You're Wondering)

2024 systematic review in Cureus found "significant antidepressant, anti-addictive, and anti-anxiety effects." A 2020 Scientific Reports study showed 80%+ clinical improvements persisting at six-month follow-up.

Colette quoted these at me approximately twelve times.

What she didn't mention: sample sizes small. Placebo effect in ceremonial settings basically impossible to control for. We don't have the long-term data that exists for hyperbaric oxygen therapy or conventional treatments.

Cleveland Clinic says complications in controlled settings are "quite low." Reassuring. Also not the same as "safe."

Who Should Actually Consider This (And Who Shouldn't)

Séraphine asked me about it last month. Treatment-resistant depression for years. Tried everything conventional. Has money. No psychiatric contraindications. Told her she was probably an ideal candidate honestly. She's looking at Soltara.

My cousin absolutely shouldn't do this. She takes Prozac. Six-week washout minimum. Serotonin syndrome risk is real. Potentially fatal. Anyone on SSRIs, SNRIs, MAOIs, lithium, antipsychotics, stimulants needs to either work with a doctor on tapering or skip this entirely.

Bipolar. Schizophrenia. Severe dissociative disorders. Strong family history of psychosis. Absolute contraindications according to every reputable center.

Will Smith did fourteen ceremonies. Called it "the individual most hellish psychological experience" of his life. Lindsay Lohan said she saw herself die. This isn't silent meditation retreat territory where worst case you're bored with sore knees.

I Still Haven't Booked Anything

Colette thinks I should go. Obviously.

She keeps texting me retreat links. Temple has spring availability. Soltara has a "seekers" rate for people who demonstrate need. Whatever that means.

But I'm still skeptical honestly. Not about whether it worked for HER. Something clearly shifted. But whether it would work for me. Whether $700 versus $8,000 actually produces different outcomes. Whether I'm romanticizing my friend's transformation because I want to believe dramatic change is possible at 34.

Best ayahuasca retreat for me if I ever do it is probably Peru. $3,000 to $4,500 for somewhere with real screening and experienced Shipibo healers. Temple or somewhere similar.

Or maybe I just keep researching forever. That's also possible. Probably likely actually.

What matters: screening process more than price point. Places that ask thorough questions about medical history, medications, psychiatric background. Small groups. One facilitator per five to seven guests. Real lineage. Not some guy who did a weekend workshop.

Red flags: no medical screening, pressure to commit, "cure" guarantees, large groups without support.

Colette's therapist thinks the transformation was real. Research suggests something happens neurologically. But I'm standing outside the whole thing taking notes.

Laurent thinks I'm overthinking it. Says just pick one or don't. Stop treating it like an investment.

Easy for him to say. He's done three ceremonies already. Won't stop talking about his "ego dissolution."

What about you though. Would you actually do something like this?

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Ayahuasca is a controlled substance in many jurisdictions. Always consult with a healthcare provider before considering any psychoactive substance, especially if you are taking medications or have mental health conditions.