TRAVELLING SPANISH CLASSROOM | COSTA RICA

21 days

Included

  • Pick.up in Juan Santamaria Airport Alajuela & transfer to Hostel in San José
  • Three weeks (15 days) of Spanish lessons
  • The company of an instructor
  • Transportation between locations
  • Daily breakfast
  • Weekly introduction to the new location
  • 3 Latin dance class (Playa Grande, Turrialba, Puerto Viejo)
  • 2 local food cooking class (Turrialba, Puerto Viejo)
  • 2 Friday’s Happy Hour (Turrialba & Puerto Viejo)
  • Playa Grande Adventure: Beach picnic
  • Turrialba Adventure: Visit Irazú Volcano, Rafting on the Pacuare River & overnight stay (1 night) at River Camp, Nature talk & Tree climbing
  • Puerto Viejo Adventure: Caribbean zumba, Tortuguero Expedition (1 night)

 

Not included

  • Flight ticket
  • Insurance
  • Lunch and dinner (at River camp this ís included)
  • Snacks and drinks on outings
  • Additional activities & excursions
  • Souvenirs
  • Additional (bus or flight) tickets  or into Costa Rica as a prerequisite to enter
  • Taxes at borders (if any)
  • Upgrades on rooms (from shared to private)
  • Upgrades on classes (private instead of group classes or extra private classes besides the
  • included group classes)
  • Extra nights before or after the Travelling Classroom that starts on Sunday 5 pm and finishes on Sunday around 3 pm in Siquirres

 

Full description

San José - Playa Grande

This educational adventure starts with arriving in San José and meeting your travel buddies. On Sunday 5 pm we dointake evaluation in order to place you all in the correct level or teach you individually if there are no others with the same level. At 6 pm there is an introduction talk with some drinks and snacks and receive a detailed itinerary. This is also the moment to address all questions. Monday morning we leave early for the trip to Playa Grande and in the afternoon you will have the first four hours of Spanish classes that will get you speaking your first Spanish words or if you are an advanced student, “back on track”. At night we will have a meeting with the surf and the yoga instructors to get all detailed information of all the options for surfing and yoga. From tuesday till Friday you will be able to enjoy surf and yoga as optional activities in the program. On tuesday night, you will enjoy a beautiful beach picnic. Friday night we organize your first Latin dance class; time to learn the salsa moves! On Saturday you can also surf and do yoga or enjoy another, optional excursion. In the turtle season which on this side of the country is from october till march, we recommend you to go and see the leatherbacks and hawksbill turtles. 

 

Turrialba

On Sunday we leave early for Turrialba, passing by the Volcano Irazú where you can walk a short trail to the lookout point over the craters. Once in Turrialba, with a refreshing drink, we give you an introduction about Turrialba and all the options for activities. Here we most probably meet other students and from new groups. Classes here will be from Monday till Friday and a Latin dance class as well as a cooking class will make you practise your language and other skills! On Monday we will visit a Cacao Finca where you will get a farm-to-table experience, learn about sustainable farming and also make your own chocolate in the workshop that is included in this tour. Friday is a great day to visit the local farmers market and buy produce to share on the Friday night's potluck barbecue in our hostel where we also invite you to some drinks!  On saturday, we embark on a spectacular excursion: the rafting trip on the Pacuare; a thrilling ride down the river filled with stunning natural beauty and exciting
rapids. The campsite, located in the heart of the jungle, will provide an opportunity to learn aboutthe rainforest and will give us some time to relax in a hammock, check out the toucans and sloths. On Sunday, we finish around 2 pm in Siquirres, have lunch and continue our way to the caribbean coast, the town of Puerto Viejo. 

 

Puerto Viejo

In Puerto Viejo you will find yourself in a totally different surrounding then in Turrialba. From a typical mountain town with mostly local people, to a laid back beach town with not only local people but also tourists that are attracted to the easy going, reggae vibes that you find here. On Sunday night you will have a Welcome talk with drink with introduction to the town and the Surf instructor will be there as well to tell you everything about the waves at the moment and the different surfspots, transportation etc. You will also get all the details about the yoga options at this time. You will have Spanish classes from Monday till Friday and on Monday night you can join the caribbean Zumba class of Enzo, in the Casa de la Cultura in the center of town. Everyday we offer the option of taking surf classes or just rent a board if you are already a good surfer. On friday we do a potluck barbecue with the students from the past week and on Saturday morning early we leave for the Tortuguero Expedition.Tortuguero is one of the most important nesting sites in the Caribbean for various species of sea turtles. July to October is the best time to witness the turtles arriving at the beach to lay their eggs. In November you can see the baby turtles come out of their eggs and make their way to the ocean. Other than that, Tortuguero is also famous for its abundant wildlife: you can observe howler monkeys, jaguars, sloths, birds, river turtles, crocodiles, among others. A tour in town and 1 canoe tour (with a noiseless outboard engine) in the many canals early in the morning is included. It's here that we celebrate our last night cause on Sunday the trip has finished and you can decide to be on the shuttle back to Puerto Viejo for example to do an extension in Bocas del Toro or on the shuttle to San José if your trip has finished or if you want to see more of Costa Rica or Central America!