Atmosphere

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

AyaSpirits: An In-Depth Review for Sessions in Hurwenen, Netherlands

AyaSpirits runs small, four-day ayahuasca weekends on a converted farm in the Dutch village of Hurwenen, in the river country near Zaltbommel. Groups are capped at seven, the facilitators are Dutch-based and non-indigenous, and the program pairs two ayahuasca ceremonies with rapé, breathwork and sharing circles. Its reviews are excellent but come from a single platform: Retreat Guru shows a 4.95 average from 21 reviews, and we found no listings on Tripadvisor, Google, Trustpilot or AyaAdvisors, and no press. The bigger issue is legal. Ayahuasca is treated as illegal in the Netherlands because it contains DMT, and the country’s Supreme Court confirmed in 2019 that importing it is illegal. Our earlier profile overstated some of the legal history and carried an outdated price and rating; both are corrected here.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: A farm at Jannestraat 1 in Hurwenen, in the Waal river floodplains near the Hurnse Kil nature reserve, according to AyaSpirits’ Retreat Guru page. The nearest train station is Zaltbommel, reachable from Schiphol or Eindhoven.
• Approach: A Western-facilitated weekend format. Each four-day retreat, Friday to Monday, includes an intake, two ayahuasca ceremonies, two rapé ceremonies, Connected Breath sessions, opening and closing circles and an integration session, according to its June 2026 event page. AyaSpirits does not claim an indigenous lineage.
• Suitable For: People in Europe who want a short, very small-group ceremony weekend without long-haul travel, and who understand and accept the legal risk. Less suited to anyone wanting a traditional indigenous setting, medical staff on site, or a legally settled environment.
• Costs: €640 for the June 12 to 15, 2026 retreat, covering the program, brews, rapé, food, drinks and three nights’ lodging. A November 2024 retreat was listed at €525. Our earlier profile listed €575, which we could not find anywhere. Deposit and refund terms are not published.
• Overall Assessment: Small, affordable, well reviewed and close to home for European guests, but operating with a substance the Dutch state treats as illegal, with no named medical staff, no published contraindication list or refund policy, and reviews from only one platform. Directory evaluation: B-.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

Here is how AyaSpirits rates across review platforms in October 2026:

The positive picture. Every review we could read is five stars. Guests describe the facilitators as caring and professional, say they felt safe, and several mention follow-up contact after the retreat. One reviewer describes a group of five. Our earlier profile quoted a review naming Fred, Ceylo and Martijn; we could not relocate that review among those currently visible, so treat it as unverified. Our earlier profile also claimed “consistent 5-star reviews across all platforms”; we found only one platform.

Who is writing the reviews. The sample is small and from one booking platform. All visible reviews are five stars while the average is 4.95, so at least one lower-rated review is not displayed. Two reviews are dated the same day in July 2026, which fits a single retreat group posting together. We found no affiliate program or review incentives. AyaSpirits’ own website, ayaspirits.com, showed only a hosting placeholder page in October 2026, so Retreat Guru is effectively its public face. If you have attended, we encourage you to share your experience through our submission form.

🚩 Incident Report

We searched review platforms, Dutch and English news, and legal sources for reports involving AyaSpirits and its facilitators. We found none. Given how small the operation and its public footprint are, that is an absence of reports, not proof of safety.

• Deaths and serious injuries: None linked to AyaSpirits. For context, ICEERS reviewed six deaths that Dutch media associated with ayahuasca between 2018 and 2022, three of them in 2019, and concluded there is “no direct evidence to attribute any of these deaths to ayahuasca.” None involved AyaSpirits.
• Sexual misconduct: No allegations found.
• Theft and crime: No reports found.
• Legal or regulatory action: None found against AyaSpirits (see Critical Notes for the legal context).

If you have experienced or witnessed an incident at AyaSpirits, please report it confidentially.

🔍 Critical Notes

Ayahuasca is treated as illegal in the Netherlands. According to ICEERS, ayahuasca is not named in Dutch law but is treated as illegal because it contains DMT, which is on Schedule I of the Opium Act. Dutch courts dismissed charges against Santo Daime church members in 2001 and 2009 on religious-freedom grounds, but in 2014 the European Court of Human Rights upheld the Dutch ban as “necessary in a democratic society for the protection of public health.” In October 2019 the Dutch Supreme Court ruled that ayahuasca falls under the Opium Act and that importing it is illegal, as DutchNews reported. ICEERS notes that prosecutors have taken a “proactive approach” to seizures. Our earlier profile said consumption was “banned since October 2019” and that the Netherlands “previously allowed” ceremonial use; both overstate the history. There was never a general permission, and the 2019 case concerned importation. We found no public record of retreat organizers being prosecuted, but guests should understand the risk. See our country-by-country legal guide.

Thin paper trail. A Dutch business register search turned up no registered company for AyaSpirits. We also found no surnames for two of the three facilitators and no published deposit, refund or contraindication policy. The earliest dated retreat we found was in September 2024, although the facilitators say they have worked with plant medicine since 2015 to 2017.

Earlier claims we could not support. Our earlier profile said each retreat uses two different brews; we found no source for that. Retreat Guru’s amenity checklist lists a pool, spa, sauna and hot tub, which does not match any description of the farm and appears to be a generic template, so we do not rely on it.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

AyaSpirits says applicants complete an intake form, including medications, that is reviewed before registration. That is the extent of what is published. We found no list of excluded medications or conditions, no named doctor or nurse, and no emergency protocol. One facilitator’s bio mentions “medical studies” without stating a qualification. That gap matters because ICEERS notes that combining ayahuasca’s MAOI component with SSRIs or other serotonergic medications is contraindicated, and that ayahuasca is contraindicated for people with severe psychiatric disorders, particularly those prone to psychosis. Erowid warns of extreme, possibly fatal reactions with some prescription drugs, and DanceSafe notes a higher risk of psychological distress for people with a personal or family history of mood or psychotic disorders. Before booking, ask who reviews your intake, which medications and conditions are excluded, and exactly what happens if someone needs medical help during the night. Never stop a psychiatric medication to qualify for a retreat without your prescriber’s guidance.

🧪 Brew Substance

AyaSpirits serves ayahuasca, which its facilitator Fred Cozijn, who also brews, describes as “Motherplant” medicine, along with rapé (ceremonial tobacco snuff). It does not disclose the brew’s ingredients or where they come from. Ayahuasca is traditionally made from the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and DMT-containing leaves; as Erowid explains, the vine’s MAO inhibitors make the DMT orally active, which is why medication interactions matter. We found no kambo, bufo or San Pedro on the program. Given Dutch law, ask how the brew is sourced and prepared, how doses are set, and whether you can decline a second serving.

📍 Location, Setting & Style

• Netherlands: A converted farm in Hurwenen, in the flat river landscape of the Waal near the Hurnse Kil nature reserve. AyaSpirits describes a ceremony room with a wooden floor, a conservatory for meals, a fire pit, and one- and two-person bedrooms upstairs. The climate is temperate and the setting is rural lowland, not mountains. Farmhouse Simple.
• Style: Small and contemporary. Groups are capped at seven (six in 2024), the facilitators are Dutch-based, and the program mixes ceremony with Connected Breath, sharing circles and integration talks. Meals are simple, organic and vegetarian: fruit, soup, rice and corn waffles, hummus and pesto, according to Retreat Guru.

Practical guidance: Take the train from Schiphol or Eindhoven to Zaltbommel. In 2024 AyaSpirits offered free pickup at Zaltbommel station; its 2026 listing does not say, so confirm before you travel.

Should You Book?

AyaSpirits may appeal to European guests who want a short, intimate ayahuasca weekend without flying to South America, at a modest price, with facilitators guests describe as caring. The trade-offs are significant: ayahuasca is treated as illegal in the Netherlands, there is no named medical professional or published emergency plan, the contraindication and refund policies are not published, and all the reviews sit on one booking platform. If you are considering it, weigh the legal risk carefully, and ask for the intake criteria, the emergency plan and the refund terms in writing. Our guide to verifying retreat facilitators covers what else to ask.

The Team & Story

AyaSpirits is run by three facilitators, according to its Retreat Guru pages. Ceylo, born in Kandy, Sri Lanka, is described as having done medical studies in the Netherlands, working with plant medicine since 2015 and leading retreats with Martijn since 2018. Martijn co-facilitates with her. Fred Cozijn says he first drank ayahuasca in 2009 during a period of depression, trained and facilitated at The Sacred Voyage, has led ceremonies since 2017, brews the medicine and coaches Connected Breath. These bios are written by the center, and we did not independently verify them. No founding year or legal entity is published.

Prep & Integration Tips

Before you go: Complete the intake form fully, list every medication and supplement, and talk with your own doctor well before the retreat. Ask about any preparation diet, and confirm travel from Zaltbommel station. Bring warm layers for Dutch evenings, an eye mask and a notebook. After you return: AyaSpirits includes an integration session, and some reviewers say the facilitators followed up afterward. Arrange support from a qualified therapist at home if difficult material comes up. Our guide on how to research ayahuasca incidents can help you check any center.

Pros & Cons

Book Your Ceremony

AyaSpirits takes bookings through its Retreat Guru page. The most recent listed retreat, June 12 to 15, 2026, cost €640 all-inclusive; Retreat Guru shows no confirmed future dates at the time of writing. Before paying, confirm in writing the dates, the deposit and refund terms, the medication and condition exclusions, who handles medical emergencies, and whether station pickup is included. Best Retreats does not take bookings; learn more about our mission.

Last reviewed October 2026.

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