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

MindTravellers: An In-Depth Review for “Ayahuasca” and Psilohuasca Retreats in Culemborg, Netherlands

MindTravellers is a plant medicine center on an industrial estate at Nijverheidsweg 7 in Culemborg, Netherlands, hosted by Rob Kriegsman, that sells two to five-day retreats from €395 to €1,595. Its marketplace listings sell an “Ayahuasca” retreat and a brew called “Pachamama (Ayahuasca)”, per BookRetreats, while its own website says “we don’t use Ayahuasca” and offers psilohuasca, psilocybin truffles taken with an MAOI, per its site. It has hundreds of positive reviews and a self-described psychiatric nurse among its guides. Against that, the brew’s contents are undisclosed, it advises stopping antidepressants weeks ahead without described medical supervision, it has no doctor or published emergency protocol, and it makes inaccurate legal claims.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: A converted building on a business estate about 1 km from Culemborg station, Gelderland, Netherlands, with a garden house for private stays. City pages titled “Ayahuasca Ceremony” for Almere, The Hague and other towns all point to Culemborg.
• Approach: Psilohuasca, magic truffles and a “Pachamama” brew described as containing “a natural MAOI”, with Hawaiian Baby Woodrose and cannabis listed by one guide; no shamanic lineage is claimed.
• Suitable For: People seeking a non-shamanic psilocybin retreat near Amsterdam who confirm in writing what they will drink. Not suitable for people taking antidepressants or with heart or psychiatric conditions.
• Costs: €395 for two days to €1,595 for the five-day initiation with Pachamama; private options from €1,050 to €4,500, per its rates page. Deposits are refundable until a day before.
• Overall Assessment: Strong reviews, flexible refunds and an accessible location, offset by contradictory ayahuasca marketing, weak medical safeguards and unsupported legal and research claims. Directory evaluation: C-.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

BookRetreats shows 4.96 from 455 reviews, including one 3-star and one 2-star review whose text is not shown, and the site’s Google widget shows 5.0 from about 460; at least some reviews appear on both, so they are not independent. Guests praise attentive guides, preparation and a cosy space. Critical comments mention a high price, an unsettling industrial setting, overwhelming experiences and thin integration, and one Google review “raises serious questions regarding aftercare and medical supervision during the ceremonies” and asks for an independent complaints committee. Several recent reviews describe “ayahuasca” journeys there (unverified). If you have attended, we encourage you to share your experience through our submission form.

🚩 Incident Report

We searched review platforms and English and Dutch-language news for reports involving MindTravellers, Rob Kriegsman and Suus Brouwer.

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

Most guides are named by first name only, so this absence offers limited assurance.

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

🔍 Critical Notes

Is it ayahuasca? Its listings and own price headings sell “Ayahuasca Initiation”, while its site says it “no longer” offers ayahuasca and names no ingredients for Pachamama. Its listings also disagree on whether its MAOI comes from Syrian rue or the ayahuasca vine. Either the word ayahuasca is used for a non-DMT brew, or a DMT brew is served despite Dutch law; we have not confirmed which.

Who runs it. Rob Kriegsman is the host and contact on every listing and is called the founder in reviews. Guides include “Jacqueline”, described as a psychiatric nurse with no surname or registration shown, and therapist Suus Brouwer (unverified). The advisory board lists psychologists by first name only. No company registration appears.

Screening and medical support. A health questionnaire is sent after booking. The FAQ asks guests to “stop taking antidepressants completely at least several weeks beforehand” and suggests consulting a doctor or pharmacist, but describes no supervised taper, and the psilohuasca page promises a contraindication list that is empty. There is no doctor or published emergency protocol.

Claims. The site says ayahuasca is “also legal” and calls itself the largest provider of legal ceremonies in the Netherlands, and listings claim a Maastricht University collaboration that its own research page does not support.

Status. Operating, with reviews through October 2026.

Legal context. DMT is on List I of the Dutch Opium Act, and in 2019 the Supreme Court upheld a conviction for importing ayahuasca even for church use, per Bijzonder Strafrecht. In 2025 a court convicted a man of preparing and supplying ayahuasca at paid retreats in Eersel, per Rechtspraak. Psilocybin truffles are legal and unregulated, per Drugsinfo.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

Psilohuasca and Pachamama both contain an MAOI, so the same drug interactions apply as with ayahuasca. 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

Psilohuasca, psilocybin truffles with an MAOI, and “Pachamama”, whose ingredients are not published. Traditional ayahuasca combines the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with a DMT-containing leaf such as chacruna, as Erowid explains.

📍 Location, Setting & Style

• Setting: Temperate Dutch river town, on a business estate near the station.
• Rooms: Guests sleep in the ceremony room or bunk rooms; a private garden house with a hot tub is reserved for VIP stays.
• Style: Non-shamanic, research-framed sessions with live music and art integration.

Practical guidance: Take the train to Culemborg, about an hour from Schiphol (AMS); station pickup can be arranged.

Should You Book?

Only with caution. Ask in writing exactly what each brew contains, the full contraindication list, the medical credentials and registration of the nurse, the emergency plan and nearest emergency department, and whether a doctor has reviewed any medication change. Read our guide to verifying retreat facilitators.

The Team & Story

MindTravellers presents itself as a safe, professional and legal plant medicine provider combining traditional knowledge with modern research. 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

The center is listed on Retreat Guru. 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.