Spanish, Environmental Protection, and Cross-cultural Learning
Improve your Spanish as you work alongside community members on a service project or enjoy a warm meal of gallo pinto with your host community.
Dive into the heart of the Rainforest. You’ll climb giant trees, forage for medicinal plants, learn Costa Rican homestyle cooking, and zip-line across the canopy.
Whitewater raft on the Savegre river, through deep canyons and lush tropical rainforest.
Relax, swim and take surfing lessons in the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean.
Focusing the group and laying foundations:
Spend your first days in Costa Rica experiencing the beauty of this nation in a rainforest lodge, a magical place well off-the-beaten-path and run by a generous and dedicated family.
Climb giant trees, forage for medicinal plants, zip line through the rainforest canopy, and learn how to make chocolate from cacao you gather with your own hands.
Cool off by taking a dip in the nearby river, rappelling down a cascading waterfall or exploring a local cave.
Spend time near a small rural village outside of San Isidro de El General. Here, in the hilly farmland of southern Costa Rica, you rise in the mornings to the sight of clouds enveloping the valley below. During the day, join your group and community members as you pass cinderblocks from hand-to-hand towards the completion of a construction project.
Practice your Spanish while playing soccer with local children, while helping your host community friends prepare gallo pinto (Costa Rican rice and beans) or while harvesting sugar cane on a family farm.
These daily moments in rural Costa Rica welcome you into the pura vida way of life.
You depart your host community after a big farewell celebration, or despedida, and continue on to the quiet beach town of Uvita.
Here, relax on tranquil tropical beaches, explore a local waterfall, and spend an afternoon learning to surf. At high tide the mighty Pacific Ocean draws near, extending an irresistible invitation for you to dive into its warmth. When it recedes at low tide you can follow its trail along a wide sandbar that extends far into the horizon.
As a final adventure, your group sets out on a whitewater rafting trip. This exciting stretch of rapids flows through a beautiful forested canyon, where waterfalls tumble from all directions into the Pacuare River.