Soccer and Service in Costa Rica

Base House
Students share rooms with 2-3 students of the same gender per room. Shared bathrooms with hot water.

San Jose, La Fortuna, Manuel Antonio
Students stay in comfortable hotels. 2-3 students per room in each location. Private bathrooms with hot water and electricity.

Homestays
Students stay with carefully hand-picked families that we’ve been working with since 2008. Students stay with at least one more student of the same gender per house.

Rustic Pathways works with local community leaders and organizations to identify and prioritize the needs of each community. Please note that while we try our best to ensure we provide our advertised projects, some changes may occur due to the communities and project partners we work with.

The community service projects in this program are divided into two parts:

Turrialba – Students will be working in the construction of brand new changing rooms and maintenance of a playground. Cement mixing, carrying materials, shoveling, and hammering are usually the activities we do. 

Homestay Community – Students will be working in the construction of a sewer system to drain out water from rain and avoid the destruction on the new road to the soccer field. Cement mixing, carrying materials, shoveling, and hammering are usually the activities we do.

This program involves sports and service activities that require students to be physically active

Each location has its own resident chef and team of cooking staff, as well, at the homestay families, the participants are going to have the opportunity to have some real traditional local meals. Participants will eat a combination of local Costa Rican dishes. Breakfasts typically include “Gallo Pinto” which is rice and beans mixed, cereal, bread, eggs, plantains, pancakes, and fruit. Lunches and dinners range from traditional Costa Rican casado (rice, beans, vegetables, green salad and different types of meat) to pasta, stir-fries, potatoes, and tacos.

Dietary Requirements/Food Allergies – We can easily accommodate vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and other common dietary requirements on this program. Please make sure to include this in your medical form so that our staff can prepare and we recommend bringing along some of your own favorite snacks!

Water from the tap is safe to drink. Don’t forget to bring along your own reusable water bottle, so we can minimize our plastic usage.

Students should be prepared for hot, humid weather in the 80s and 90s (Fahrenheit) during the day with occasional rain showers, the temperature could go down into the 60s in the evenings. The weather does not vary much between June and August. Synthetic fiber clothing is recommended, because it dries quickly.

Flights – Direct flight from Houston (IAH) or Newark (EWR) to San Jose. This program does not have any internal flights. The advertised dates for this program include travel time from the USA. Students from the USA will depart on a Tuesday afternoon and return on a Wednesday afternoon. The program within Costa Rica runs from Tuesday to Wednesday. Please refer to the itinerary for further details.

Visa –There are no visa requirements in Costa Rica for students traveling on United States passports. Students traveling with Rustic Pathways on passports not issued by the United States are responsible for determining their own visa requirements. Please check with the appropriate consulate or embassy.

Internal Travel – You’ll travel to a few core places while traveling every 3-4 days. This will offer a chance to know a few places well. Traveling to your destination internally can require several hours on a bus ride with the group.

We want to encourage students to disconnect in order to fully immerse themselves in the experience and get the most out of their program. That being said, students will have access to wifi twice during this itinerary while in the larger cities. Parents will have access to our 24/7 emergency number and will also receive updates from our staff once your student is in country.

All activities in this itinerary are included. Checked luggage fees, personal gifts, Laundry, phone calls, and snacks are not. Students will have the chance to visit markets during this itinerary, in addition to small snack shops and purchasing handicrafts from the local community. We recommend $250 per week to cover souvenirs and incidentals.

Students will have the opportunity to do laundry twice (or more) during this trip. The cost will vary per load, but approximately $7-$15.

In general, Costa Ricans dress modestly and as polite visitors we will dress accordingly. Some towns can be a little more relaxed, it is important that we show respect at all times. The requirements are fairly straightforward and the same for both boys and girls:
Shorts: Basketball-style only; no running or soccer-style shorts. Rule of thumb is that the bottom of the shorts should be approaching the kneecap.
Leggings or yoga pants: Only if paired with a long T-shirt.
Loose-fitting pants, capris, and long skirts: Acceptable and preferred
Tops: Shoulders must be covered – No tank tops or spaghetti straps.
If you arrive and your clothing is deemed unacceptable by your program leaders, you’ll have to purchase appropriate clothing before service work begins in the village.

On this program, students will be able to practice their Spanish while interacting with the local community and our staff, but will have no formal instruction.

Please know that your service contribution is an essential part of achieving the development goals we have established in collaboration with our partners and no donations are required.

If you do wish to bring donations, we are collecting donations of basic school supplies that will be distributed through a local organization to Costa Rican students with limited resources. In order to ensure what is brought is most useful and easily able to be distributed, we ask that you only bring a “school supply pack” as listed below. There are two types of packs needed, please select one and bring all the items on that list bundled together in a simple grocery bag or similar.

Please be aware that we are unable to accept donations sent by mail after your program ends. If you are interested, please bring them along with you on your program (and be mindful of baggage allowances).

Our Costa Rican staff will collect any donations from you on your arrival day. Thank you for your contribution!