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Atmosphere and feature ratings above are based on Best Retreats research (November 2026). They will be updated if 1heart Journeys submits its own information.

1heart Journeys: An In-Depth Review for Ayahuasca Retreats near San Isidro de El General, Costa Rica

1heart Journeys is a Miami-based company, 1heart Journeys LLC, founded by Brandon Evans, that runs eight-week programs for entrepreneurs and executives built around a seven-night retreat with three ayahuasca ceremonies for groups of 30 to 40 at Kinkara, a rented venue at the foot of Mount Chirripó in Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica, per its journey page. It interviews every applicant, includes airport transfers and runs weeks of online preparation and integration. Against that, its medicine team and lineage are never named, no medical staff, contraindication list or emergency plan is published for large groups, its best-known reviews come from paid affiliates or business partners, and its healing claims conflict with a 2025 Costa Rican health warning; it is pausing in 2026 with one retreat scheduled.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: Kinkara, a retreat venue near Santa Elena, Pérez Zeledón, about four hours south of San José and 20 minutes from San Isidro de El General; the venue is also used by Anam Cara Healing Retreat.
• Approach: Three ayahuasca ceremonies with a temazcal, cacao, breathwork, cold plunges, yoga, ecstatic dance and leadership workshops, plus online preparation and integration.
• Suitable For: Professionals wanting a large, polished group program who arrange their own medical screening. Not suitable for people taking antidepressants or with heart or psychiatric conditions.
• Costs: $5,500 to $8,777 by room, with other pages saying from $4,977 or $5,550. Refunds are full more than 100 days out, cost half the deposit at 60 to 99 days, and are not given within 60 days, with no exceptions “for any reason”. Lodging, meals and San José airport transfers are included.
• Overall Assessment: Polished logistics, interviews and integration support, offset by an unnamed medicine team, no published medical safeguards for up to 40 guests and a conflicted review base. Directory evaluation: C+.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

No independent platform rating was found. The company claims more than 200 five-star reviews since 2018 and shows about 50 positive testimonials. A 2019 Third Wave review was written after a free retreat by a site that earns commissions from 1heart, and praised the community while calling integration thin. A 2021 EntheoNation review, whose author later received business through the 1heart community, called one facilitator “an amateur” and criticized recorded music, a packed schedule and cost. No reviews of 3 stars or lower were found. If you have attended, we encourage you to share your experience through our submission form.

🚩 Incident Report

We searched review platforms and English and Spanish-language news for reports involving 1heart Journeys, Kinkara, Brandon Evans, its co-founders Barry Stamos and Tim Sae Koo, and its named facilitators.

• Deaths and serious injuries: None found.
• Sexual misconduct: No allegations found.
• Theft and fraud: None found.
• Legal action: None found.

The medicine team is unnamed and was not searched, so this absence offers limited assurance.

If you have experienced or witnessed an incident with this center, please report it confidentially.

🔍 Critical Notes

Who runs it. Evans leads the company with a staff of Western facilitators listed on its about page; the co-founders no longer appear there. The ayahuasca is served by a medicine team described only as Indigenous with “+50 Years of Training”, per its plant medicine page. No Costa Rican entity was found.

Screening and medical support. Every guest is interviewed, and the preparation guide says some medications and supplements must be stopped, but no list of excluded conditions, medical staff or emergency protocol is published. A doctor was present at one 2019 retreat, per Third Wave. The nearest hospital is in San Isidro de El General (unverified).

Health claims. Its marketing promotes healing results, while Costa Rica’s Health Ministry warned in 2025 that promoting ayahuasca for healing is not authorized, per the Health Ministry.

Status. Operating but pausing; its homepage says it is “taking 2026 to pause”, with one retreat from December 30, 2026 to January 6, 2027.

Legal context. DMT is controlled under Costa Rica’s drug law, Ley 8204, which sets 8 to 15 years in prison for unauthorized supply, per the law text.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

Ask for the full contraindication list and who serves the medicine before paying. ICEERS notes that ayahuasca’s MAOI component makes it dangerous with SSRIs and other serotonergic drugs and that it is contraindicated for people prone to psychosis. Never stop a psychiatric medication to qualify for a ceremony without your prescriber’s guidance.

🧪 Brew Substance

Ayahuasca served by an unnamed medicine team; its source is not published. Ayahuasca combines the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with a DMT-containing leaf, as Erowid explains.

📍 Location, Setting & Style

• Setting: Mountain foothills with creeks and waterfalls in Costa Rica’s southern zone.
• Rooms: “Eco lux” lodging priced by room type at a rented venue.
• Style: Large, Western-led group program for professionals.

Practical guidance: Fly to San José (SJO); transfers are included.

Should You Book?

Possibly, for those comfortable with a large group. Ask in writing who serves the medicine and their training, the list of excluded medications and conditions, who on site is medically trained, the emergency plan and hospital route, and the staff-to-guest ratio. Read our guide to verifying retreat facilitators.

The Team & Story

1heart presents itself as a transformational program for “heart-led” leaders, with more than 1,000 guests since 2018. We did not independently verify anyone’s training.

Prep & Integration Tips

Before you go: Disclose every medication and condition in writing and plan any change with your own doctor. After you return: Arrange support from a qualified therapist at home. Our guide on how to research ayahuasca incidents can help you check any center.

Pros & Cons

Book Your Ceremony

Programs are listed on its website. Best Retreats does not take bookings; learn more about our mission.

Last reviewed November 2026.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult a qualified medical professional.