Vine of the Soul Retreats

Vine of the Soul Retreats runs trauma-informed ayahuasca, psilocybin, Bufo Alvarius and San Pedro retreats from a centre in the Algarve, about 35 minutes from Faro Airport in southern Portugal. Occasional retreats also take place in Spain and the Netherlands.

Approach

Bianca founded the organisation in 2022 after twenty years in corporate consulting. She came to this work as a guest herself, after conventional approaches had not helped her, and she can relate to many customers through her own experience. She is a certified RTT therapist, hypnotherapist and human potential coach, and says she is not a shaman. The retreats are led by the organisation’s own team of facilitators, featuring small group size and a 3:1 guest to facilitator ratio.

Vine of the Soul Retreats’ method draws on the window of heightened neuroplasticity that psychoactive plants and substances appear to open, giving guests a psychological framework for integrating the altered states and mystical experiences that Western culture offers little language for. Taita Juan, a Kamëntšá elder from Colombia’s Sibundoy Valley, mentors the team and joins selected retreats. The team brews its own ayahuasca from the two traditional plants.

The signature programme is the 5-day Flexible Retreat. It includes two ceremonies of the guest’s choice, with daily breathwork, meditation and sharing circles; most guests add a third ceremony. Other formats include private retreats, psilocybin retreats, alumni retreats, and a retreat for therapists and helping professionals.

For guests who want more support around the retreat, the BioPsyche Renewal Protocol™ extends the work in both directions: a structured preparation phase beforehand (Stabilize) and a guided integration phase afterwards (Embody), with the retreat itself in between.

Who it is for

The retreats target English and German speakers from all over the world, many of whom are professionals undergoing a transformation or working through anxiety, depression, trauma or grief. Where a retreat is not the right fit, the organisation may recommend a different medicine, a later date or another provider.

Practical details

The five-day retreat costs €1,840 in a double room or €1,600 in a glamping tent or caravan; a limited number of single en-suite rooms are available at €2,945. Private retreats cost from €1,200 for one ceremony to €2,850 for three. Groups take at most eight guests. Portugal decriminalised personal drug use in 2001, though the organisation describes ayahuasca’s legal status there as ambiguous; in the Netherlands it works only with legal psilocybin truffles.

Care and safety

Applicants complete an intake form covering health, medication, psychiatric history and past psychedelic use, followed by a paid 45-minute preparatory call with Bianca (€40, deducted from the retreat fee). Facilitators stay sober in every ceremony and have completed the ICEERS AyaSafety course. Aftercare includes a post-retreat WhatsApp group and a one-to-one follow-up call, with the possibility to book more sessions for a fee.