Behold Retreats Reviews and Cost, Compared to Harmonica Retreat
Behold Retreats charges $7,800 for a private room on its Portugal ayahuasca retreat and caps it at eleven people. Our cap is twelve and our week starts at $1,350. The gap is location and accommodation. Group size is almost the same.
Side-by-Side Comparison between Behold Retreats and Harmonica Retreat
Behold runs small-group retreats in Portugal, Costa Rica and Mexico across three different medicines. Harmonica runs one medicine in one place. The two differ on price, medicine range and whether a lineage sits behind the ceremony.
| Behold Retreats | Harmonica Retreat | |
| Location | Portugal, Costa Rica, Mexico | Colombia, near Medellín |
| Medicines | Ayahuasca, psilocybin, 5-MeO-DMT | Yagé only |
| Tradition | Peruvian and Brazilian practices, varying by location | Kamsá Biyá Colombian yagé |
| Group size | 7 to 11 for ayahuasca in Portugal, max 4 for 5-MeO-DMT | Max 12 |
| Access | Invite-only vetting, consultation required | Free consultation call, no gate |
| Price | $7,800 private room, Portugal ayahuasca retreat | From $545 weekend, $1,350 week |
| Setting | Historic estate on the southern Portuguese coast | Mountain setting near Medellín |
- Rigorous screening - Behold runs medical, physical and emotional screening and an invite-only vetting process before accepting anyone
- Choice of medicine - ayahuasca, psilocybin and 5-MeO-DMT across Portugal, Costa Rica and Mexico
- A premium European setting - a historic estate on the southern coast of Portugal, with direct flights from North America and the UK
- Structured preparation and integration - both are built into the programme around the retreat
- A vetted client base - Behold describes supporting athletes, leaders and public figures through an invite-only process
- Small groups - seven to eleven guests for the Portugal ayahuasca retreat, and no more than four for the 5-MeO-DMT weekend
- Legal siting - Behold states it only operates where the medicines it works with are not scheduled as illegal
Where our bias sits
We have used Behold’s own published figures throughout, and linked them, because a comparison page that guesses at a competitor’s numbers is worthless. Where they publish nothing, we say so rather than filling the gap.
Behold Retreats Reviews: What They Publish, and What They Do Not
Behold publishes more than we expected and less than you need. Group sizes are on the site: seven to eleven guests for the Portugal ayahuasca retreat, and a maximum of four for the weekend 5-MeO-DMT retreat. So is the price: $7,800 for a private room in Portugal, and $4,500 for the 5-MeO-DMT weekend.
What is not published is which property you stay at, or which entity runs it. The Portugal setting is described as a historic estate on the southern coast, and the venue is named after a consultation rather than before one. That is a deliberate choice and a common one at this price point. It also means you cannot look up reviews of the place you will actually sleep.
Their positioning is around vetting rather than volume: an invite-only process, medical, physical and emotional screening before acceptance, and a client base they describe as athletes, leaders and public figures. They feature the ayahuasca journeys of NFL players Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Poyer on their site.
Before booking anywhere, read the reviews of the specific retreat rather than the brand. That is harder here than usual, for the reason above.
Why People Look for Alternatives to Behold Retreats
Behold is a good fit for some people and the wrong shape for others. The reasons people look elsewhere are consistent:
- Price - $7,800 for a private room in Portugal is a different market from most retreats, ours included.
- Travel - Portugal and Mexico suit European and North American flyers, and some people want South America
- Tradition - the lineage changes with the location, Peruvian or Brazilian depending on the retreat. Some people feel specifically called to one, particularly the Colombian yagé tradition
- Venue disclosure - the property and the operating team are named after a consultation, so you cannot research where you will actually stay.
Why Harmonica Retreat Is a Popular Alternative to Behold Retreats
People who choose us instead tend to name these:
- Intimate group sizes - max 12 participants
- Medical screening and supervision
- Traditional ceremonies led by Yagecero Sergio Henao with 16+ years of experience (Colombian Yagé tradition)
- Track record over 1000+ participants hosted, 250 verified 5 star reviews
- Price Point starting at 545 USD for a weekend retreat with 1350 USD for a one week retreat, a combination of affordability and quality you won't find elsewhere.
- Integration Support free monthly online community calls for ongoing support
The two caps are eleven and twelve, so group size is not the deciding factor here. That surprises people who assume a premium price buys a smaller room.
The real gap is price. Their Portugal private room is $7,800 for six to seven days. Our week is $1,350. That is still not quite like-for-like, because theirs is all-inclusive on the southern Portuguese coast with European logistics and ours is a mountain house in Antioquia. But roughly $6,400 is a lot of difference to account for, and what it buys is location, accommodation and discretion rather than more medicine or more care.
The second gap is how lineage works. We run one tradition in one place, with a shaman trained inside it. Behold honours Peruvian and Brazilian practices, and which one you meet depends on where the retreat is held. Both use Indigenous-trained facilitators and live icaros. Behold sells range and setting. We sell one lineage at a sixth of the price.
What would change our answer: if Behold published which property and which operators run each retreat, the strongest reservation on this page disappears, and the choice becomes purely about price and tradition. We will update this page if they do.
Above the mid range, the extra money buys the property, the location and the food. It does not buy a different ceremony, because the ceremony is one person and one plant in both places. Our cost guide sets out what each tier includes, region by region.
That is not an argument against paying it. If a week on the Portuguese coast finally lets you stop and do the work, the money bought you what you needed. Plenty of people cannot switch off in a mountain house in Antioquia.
It is an argument against reading price as a proxy for care. The questions that predict how your night goes are who pours, how many people are in the room, and whether anyone screened your medication list. All three are answerable at $1,350 and all three are answerable at $7,800.
The fairest comparison is the one about safety. Both retreats screen properly, both cap the room in single figures or low teens, and both build preparation and integration around the week. On the things that decide how your night goes, there is very little between them.
So the choice comes down to two questions that have nothing to do with quality. Does a European estate serve you better than a Colombian mountain house, and is the difference worth roughly six thousand dollars? For some people the answer is plainly yes, and we would rather they went to Behold and did the work than came to us and did not.
You want a choice between ayahuasca, psilocybin and 5-MeO-DMT
Europe or Mexico suits your travel better than South America
The budget is there and an estate on the Portuguese coast is part of what you want
Discretion matters, and an invite-only process is part of the appeal
The price gap matters more to you than the location does
You want one medicine held inside the tradition it came from
You want the property and the people named before you pay
You are drawn to the Colombian yagé lineage specifically
Free 30 minute consultation with our lead female facilitator
Reach out today to get a free consultation with Jenna Ram
WHAT TO EXPECT ON THE CALL:
1.Who you are and what draws you to Ayahuasca
2. Whether Ayahuasca feels right for you now
3. What you’re looking for in a retreat
4. Any questions about Ayahuasca or our retreats
