The short answer
Choose on travel, days and price. The program is the same.
Both countries run the same comprehensive, research-backed program with two guided psilocybin sessions. Jamaica is warm, remote and a longer flight from Europe. The Netherlands is close to Amsterdam, offers a four-night option, and starts at a lower price.
Whichever you choose, the four weeks of preparation and six weeks of integration are the same, online and at your own pace, one to two hours a week, and so are the screening, the ratio in the room and the team's backgrounds.
- $5,500from, Jamaica, five nights
- $4,250from, the Netherlands, four nights
- 45 minfrom Montego Bay to Good Hope
- Under 1 hrfrom Amsterdam Schiphol to De Hoorneboeg; The Place To Be is further east, in the Achterhoek
Side by side
What is different, and what is not.
| Jamaica | The Netherlands | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Psilocybin mushrooms are legal to cultivate, gift and consume | Psilocybin truffles are legal to buy, possess and consume |
| Formats | Signature Program, five nights | Signature Program, five nights, and the 4-Night Program |
| Price per guest | $5,500 to $12,500 | $4,250 to $7,800 (4-Night) · $6,750 to $9,500 (Signature) |
| Venue | Good Hope, a restored estate in the hills of Trelawny: thirteen rooms, every one with its own bathroom, two pools, a river and a private beach | De Hoorneboeg, on the heathland of het Gooi near Amsterdam, and The Place To Be, a rebuilt 1921 farm on the Slangenburg estate in the Achterhoek |
| Getting there | Fly to Montego Bay (MBJ). Private transfer, 45 minutes | Fly to Amsterdam Schiphol (AMS). Private transfer: under an hour to De Hoorneboeg, longer to The Place To Be in the east of the country |
| Care on site | Nurse on site during every session, doctor on call | Public emergency services minutes away |
| Climate | Warm all year | Four seasons; the heather turns purple in late summer |
| Group | Up to 18 guests | Up to 18 guests |
| Who tends to choose it | Guests from the US and Canada, and anyone who wants distance, warmth and a full week away | Guests from the UK and Europe, anyone with less time to take, and anyone for whom the entry price matters |
Deciding
Three questions settle it for most people.
1. How far do you want to travel?
From the US East Coast, Montego Bay is a direct flight of about four hours and the retreat feels a long way from your inbox. From the UK or most of Europe, Amsterdam is an hour or two in the air and you can be at the venue the same day.
2. How many days can you take?
Jamaica is five nights plus travel days. The Dutch 4-Night Program is the same two sessions, the same team and the same weeks before and after, in a more compact retreat: the choice when a full week is hard to clear. First-time guests do best on five nights in either country.
3. Does the price difference matter more than the setting?
Like for like, five nights in the Netherlands starts $1,250 higher than five nights in Jamaica ($6,750 against $5,500), because the Dutch venues are smaller and rooms cost more to run. The lowest entry price in either country is the Dutch 4-Night Program at $4,250. Jamaica's range reaches highest, to $12,500, because Good Hope has the widest spread of rooms up to private villas. Within each range, the room you choose is the only variable.
What does not change. The program itself: preparation before, integration after. Two guided sessions on separate days, each followed by a day to make sense of it. At least one facilitator for every four guests, usually one for every three. Practitioners with backgrounds as psychotherapists, psychologists and physicians, not acting in their licensed capacity on retreat because Beckley does not provide medical treatment, but with that training in the room. Every applicant screened, and a suitability call before anyone is approved.
The places
A closer look at each.
Jamaica
Good Hope is two centuries-old cut-stone villas on open mountain views, 45 minutes from Montego Bay, where the group watches the sunrise and the sunset. Thirteen rooms, every one with its own bathroom. Two pools, a river, a private beach and a yoga room. Jamaica is one of the few countries where psilocybin mushrooms are legal, and the Signature Program runs there through the year.
The Netherlands
De Hoorneboeg is a quiet, wooded retreat centre on the heathland of het Gooi, 25 miles from Amsterdam and easy to reach by train or taxi from Schiphol. The Place To Be is a farm from 1921, rebuilt a century later inside the Slangenburg estate in the eastern Netherlands, with the session hall in the old stable. Truffles are legal in the Netherlands, and both the Signature and 4-Night Programs run there.
Before you apply
Questions people ask when choosing.
Is one country safer than the other?
The standards are the same in both: the same screening, the same ratio in the room, the same team backgrounds, and psilocybin that is legal where we use it. In Jamaica a nurse is on site during every session with a doctor on call. In the Netherlands, public emergency services are minutes away.
Is the experience different with truffles rather than mushrooms?
Mushrooms grow above ground; truffles are the part of the same organism that grows underground. Both contain psilocybin. In each session every guest receives a custom amount within a predefined range, around what you would see in a clinical trial in the US, whichever form is used. This is not medical treatment.
Can I do a four-night retreat in Jamaica?
Not at present. The 4-Night Program runs in the Netherlands. Jamaica runs the five-night Signature Program. Every open date is on Upcoming Retreats.
Which do first-time guests choose?
Either country, on the five-night Signature Program. The longer retreat carries the most preparation and support on site, which is why we recommend it to first-time guests over the 4-Night Program.
Do I have to choose before I apply?
No. You apply once, have your suitability call, and choose your retreat after you are approved. Many guests decide on the country during the call.
Upcoming retreats
Sep 27 to Oct 1, 2026
4-Night Program
Place To Be, the Netherlands
4 nights · 2 guided psilocybin sessions · from $4,250
1 spot left
See this retreatOct 11 to Oct 16, 2026
Signature Program (MEA × Beckley)
Good Hope, Jamaica
5 nights · 2 guided psilocybin sessions · from $5,500
Places open
See this retreatOct 11 to Oct 16, 2026
Signature Program
De Hoorneboeg, the Netherlands
5 nights · 2 guided psilocybin sessions · from $6,750
Almost Full
See this retreatSee all 23 datesNot sure yet? Book a call and talk it through with the team.
Still deciding?
You do not have to choose before you apply. Apply once, have your suitability call, and choose your retreat after you are approved. Prefer to talk it through first? Book a call.