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Participant, CLF 2022-2023 Director, CLF 2023-2025 Harvard College Class of 2029
August 7, 2025
June 19, 2025
Enhance your Spanish skills while living in a homestay and participating in adventure activities in Costa Rica.
Enhance your Spanish in this program designed for students of all skill levels. Learn from a native speaker in a level-appropriate classroom setting. Classes will focus on conversational skills to prepare you for interacting with native speakers. Live with a local family in a carefully-selected homestay to enhance the linguistic and cultural elements of your trip. Continue practicing your skills during adventure activities around Turrialba. Rappel down waterfalls, zip line through the forest, and raft the Pacuare River. This culturally immersive two-week program is a great way to improve your Spanish before embarking on any of our other programs in Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, or Peru.
Perfect start to service adventures
Age 12-18
$2495 plus Airfare
Surf & serve on a jungle getaway
Age 14-18
$3295 plus Airfare
Spanish Language Immersion
Meet your Rustic Pathways Flight Leader at the hub airport, where they will help get you checked in and through security before traveling with your group to Costa Rica. Get acquainted with fellow Rustic travelers before boarding your flight. Arrive at San Jose International Airport (SJO) and meet your Program Leaders who will be with you for the duration of the program. Join the group for an orientation discussion about the week ahead, expectations for your adventure, and an introduction to the local culture.
Settle into your hotel for the first night in San Jose, relaxing after your long flight. You’ll share rooms with your fellow Rustic travelers with private bathrooms.
Journey to Turrialba, a peaceful mountain town with all the quaintness of home yet all the flair of true Tico culture. Upon arriving in Turri (as it is called by the locals), meet the director of the Spanish school and complete placement tests to determine your level of Spanish. After, have lunch and take a walking tour around Turrialba before meeting your new host family. This will be your home for the next two weeks!
You and at least one other student for your program will be living, eating, and relaxing with this friendly and carefully selected Tico family. The evening will be spent getting to know your family and practicing conversational Spanish skills.
Begin the regular morning schedule of breakfast with your host family followed by 3 to 4 hours of Spanish classes and a fun activity with your group. You might have class from 8:00 to 12:30 and then reunite with your group over lunch at a local restaurant before setting off for an afternoon activity which will be selected by the Rustic Pathways guides depending on weather and group interest. Activities may include canyoning, hiking to a beautiful nearby waterfall, taking a tour of a coffee plantation, playing soccer with locals, learning some salsa moves, scaling an indoor climbing wall, and mountain biking. Around 6 p.m., head home for dinner and quality time with your host family.
Spend a day of quality time with your host family. Join them on a trip into town, to the local pool, or to watch a local soccer match. Enjoy this great opportunity to integrate yourself into Costa Rican culture and family life.
After a day out of the classroom, return to the Spanish school and continue your regular morning schedule of breakfast at home, then class for the next week. Participate in more afternoon activities with your group and Rustic Pathways staff. In the evenings, enjoy dinner and another relaxing evening with your host family.
Take a break from class and join the group on an exciting rafting adventure. Spend the day cruising down the white-water rapids of the world-famous Pacuare River. Take in the green scenery, the wonderful canyons, and Costa Rica’s plethora of wildlife. Then have a delicious lunch with your rafting guides as you share stories from your adventure.
Spend your last Sunday in Turrialba enjoying quality time with your host family. They may take you to visit a family member, out to their favorite restaurant, or for a nice stroll in town.
After breakfast with your family return to the Spanish school for your normal schedule of classes followed by an afternoon excursion. This evening, enjoy another fun group activity with your peers and reminisce about your two weeks in Turrialba.
Participate in one last morning of class. After lunch, say goodbye to their new family, friends, and teachers and head back to the hostel in San José. Have dinner at the hotel, and prepare for a day of travel. At the end of each program, students reflect on their experiences and the issues they engaged with, and talk about how to apply this new understanding to their own worlds. During or after their closing discussion, groups participate in Rustic Ties, a unique and powerful activity that allows students to capture the memories and learning moments of their program to process and share with their communities back home.
Spend your final night in a hotel with shared rooms with private bathrooms.
Your Program Leaders will take you to the airport for your flight home or to your next Rustic program as you say goodbyes and reflect on your adventure.
If you’re staying in Costa Rica, your Program Leaders will take you to your next accommodation to meet your new group. If you’re continuing on to another Rustic Pathways destination, you’ll board a connecting flight to that country.
Packing the right gear (and the right amounts) is the first step to an incredible travel experience. Follow these tips to pack like a pro:
Travel light. Pack only the essentials. You’ll need less than you think! Bring the right clothes. Pack clothes that are culturally appropriate for your destination and acceptable for service projects. This means bringing long shorts (think Bermuda and basketball shorts), t-shirts with sleeves to cover shoulders, and appropriate footwear. Leave your valuables behind. While traveling, it’s easier for things to get lost, stolen, or damaged. Keep any prized possessions safe at home. Check with TSA. Make sure your luggage complies with TSA regulations, especially your carry-on. Useful tip: Pack an empty water bottle and fill it up after security. Extra paperwork? If you need additional forms filled out to get credit for your service hours, no problem! Bring these forms with you so they can be completed in-country.
A school backpack is ideal as it will be used for day trips.
A 50-70 Liter duffel bag or backpack is ideal.
Clothes
Toiletries
(travel sized in ziplock bags)
San Jose Hotel Students stay in a hotel with shared rooms. Private bathrooms with hot water and Western-style toilets.
Homestay Students will be staying with host families in typical Costa Rican homes. They will have access to electricity, their own bedroom, hot showers, and flush toilets. Two or more students of the same gender will stay with each family. From years of experience, these homestay families have long been a favorite of our students.
Very little physicality required–mostly traveling or learning.
Each location has its own resident chef and team of cooking staff. Participants will eat a combination of local Costa Rican dishes and western-style dishes. Breakfasts typically include cereal, bread, eggs, crackers, rice and beans, and fruit. Lunches and dinners range from traditional Costa Rican casado (rice, beans, vegetables, green salad and different types of meat) to pasta and stir-fries.
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. Since Turrialba is located in the mountains, the temperature will 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 – 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 spend most of your time in one place. 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 town of Turrialba. 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. Personal gifts, Laundry, phone calls, and snacks are not. Students will have the chance to visit a few 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 should pack enough clothes and personal items to last for one week. Host families will do laundry and the cost will go from $3 – $8 depending on the size of the load.
In general, Costa Ricans dress modestly and as polite visitors, we will dress accordingly. While Turrialba town can be a little more relaxed, it is important that we show respect at all times, particularly in the homestay. 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.
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.
School Supply Pack Type 1
School Supply Pack Type 2
2-3 notebooks
1-2 packs of construction paper
1 geometry set
Scissors
Box of pencils
Set of pens
Glue
Set of color markers
1-2 packs 3-hole-punched lined paper
Box of coloring pencils
Pack of erasers
Pack of pencil sharpeners
Set of whiteboard markers
Box of crayons
Didactic learning games for kids
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!