What Do Parents Ask?
Flights & Cost
How do flights work?
Everyone meets in San José (SJO), where Program Leaders meet the group and coordinate pickup and departure.
Students travelling from outside the United States, or from a US city without a group flight, book independently and are met at San José within the published arrival window. Students taking a chaperoned group flight from a U.S. gateway airport meet a Rustic Pathways Flight Leader there and travel down together. Gateways are confirmed for each departure.
International airfare is not included in program tuition. After enrollment, our Personal Travel Advisors can help with booking whichever route you are on.
What's included in the price?
Included: All lodging including the homestay, all meals, Spanish tuition and materials, in-country transport and airport transfers, all activities and excursions, 24/7 staff support.
Not included: International airfare, travel insurance, personal spending money ($150 to $200 per week).
Do you offer financial aid or scholarships?
Yes. Monthly payment plans are open to every family, and Rustic Pathways offers both need-based financial aid and merit scholarships. Explore scholarships and financial aid.
Is travel insurance required?
Travel insurance is not included in the program fee and is not required, but Rustic Pathways recommends it. Medical insurance with overseas cover is required. Those are two different products and families often buy only the second.
What is the enrollment fee?
A one-time enrollment fee is charged when you enroll, separate from the program tuition. It covers enrollment processing, pre-departure advising and trip planning.
The fee is non-refundable after the first 24 hours.
What if my family has an emergency and we have to cancel?
March 31 is the date that matters. Cancel up to then and the program price is refunded, less the non-refundable enrollment fee and any airfare already booked. The enrollment terms carry the full schedule.
We know some things are outside anyone’s control. If your family faces a serious documented emergency, contact us; we review these situations individually and will do what we reasonably can to help.
Supervision & Safety
Who's supervising my child?
Rustic Pathways Program Leaders complete a four-month vetting process, and programs maintain a median of one staff member per 4.37 students (4.37:1), with no program exceeding 7 students per staff member (7:1). All Program Leaders hold current CPR and First Aid certification, and every program includes at least one leader with 3 or more years of field experience. Program Leaders range in age from 22 to 45.
On this program students sleep at their host family’s house rather than with the group. Program Leaders are based in Turrialba for the full two weeks, see every student at the school each weekday, and are reachable at any hour. Host families are vetted and have worked with Rustic Pathways for years.
Are rooms gender-separated?
Students live with a Costa Rican host family, two Rustic Pathways students to a household, in a room of their own or shared with the other student. Host families are vetted and have worked with Rustic Pathways for years. Program Leaders live locally in Turrialba, visit daily, and are reachable at any hour. On the first and last nights, when the group is together in a San José hotel, students room with same-gender peers and staff stay in adjacent rooms.
What about medical emergencies?
Turrialba has a regional hospital and Cartago is about an hour away, so definitive care is close. All Program Leaders hold current CPR and First Aid certification, and the nearest clinic and hospital are mapped for every location on the itinerary. Our health and safety team reviews all medical forms before departure and plans medications, allergies and dietary needs with families.
Communication
Can I reach my child?
Yes. Students can call, text or use WhatsApp during free time, and most host families have Wi-Fi. Coverage in Turrialba is good. Parents can reach the Rustic Pathways 24/7 emergency line at any time.
How will I know they're okay?
Program Leaders post daily photo updates through the program. Most students also message home themselves in the evenings, from the sofa, in a house where the television is in Spanish.
What is the phone/device policy?
Students keep their phones and we do not confiscate them. We ask that they stay away during activities, lessons and shared meals, and students are welcome to take photos. Outside those moments they can contact home as often as they like.
The one place we push is meals with your host family. That table is where the Spanish actually happens.
Group & Logistics
How big is the group and how old are the participants?
This program is capped at 20 students, ages 14 to 18. Rustic Pathways publishes a median of one staff member per 4.37 students (4.37:1) and no program exceeds 7 students per staff member (7:1).
Students are placed two to a host family, so the group is together at the Spanish school each weekday and split across Turrialba households in the evenings.
Can international (non-U.S.) students join this program?
Yes. Rustic Pathways programs are open to students worldwide, with participants from 53 countries. Students travelling from outside the United States book their own flights to San José (SJO), arrive within the published window, and are met there by Program Leaders. Visa requirements vary by passport, so contact a travel advisor for guidance.
What is the accommodation like?
Two weeks with a host family in Turrialba, on full board. This is the programme, not a budget choice: living in a Spanish-speaking household is what moves a student’s Spanish. The first and last nights are in a hotel near the San José airport.
Can friends room together?
Yes. Students are placed two per host family and roommate requests are taken at enrollment. Students who ask can be placed three to a family instead.
How much Spanish does my child need?
Enough to get through a meal badly. Classes are grouped by ability, so a first-year student and a near-fluent one are not in the same room, and complete beginners are workable. 40 hours of instruction across two weeks.
What matters more than the starting level is willingness to be the person in the house who does not follow the joke yet. Host families are chosen for patience, not for English.
Do students come with friends, or on their own?
Most students come alone and do not know anyone. On this program students are placed two to a host family, so nobody spends the first evening on their own, and the whole group is together at the Spanish school every weekday. Friends are welcome to enroll together and can request the same family.
Program Details
Can the program itinerary change?
This itinerary is what we intend to deliver and we work hard to deliver it. Programs run in real conditions, so activities can move for weather, health and safety, transport, site availability or local circumstances.
If plans change, the team adjusts the schedule around student safety and the purpose of the program. We will tell you what changed and why.
Will my child have unsupervised time?
Yes, and deliberately. Afternoons in Turrialba include free blocks in a small town with Program Leaders nearby, and both Sundays and one Saturday belong to the host family with no Rustic Pathways programming at all. There is no unsupervised time in unfamiliar public places, and students are never alone with a single adult.
Can you accommodate dietary needs & food allergies?
Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and common allergies are accommodated with advance notice, and needs are collected at enrollment and passed to the host family and the school.
Be honest with us early. A host family cooks for a household, not a menu. Common restrictions are straightforward in Turrialba; a highly restrictive or unusual diet is harder in a family kitchen than in a hotel, and we would rather place a student well than discover the problem at the first dinner.
How much spending money?
$150 to $200 per week is recommended for souvenirs and incidentals. Tipping is included in the program fee. US dollars are widely accepted in Costa Rica, and the Costa Rican colón is used locally.
Do we need a visa?
US citizens do not need a visa for Costa Rica. Travellers on other passports may, so contact a Rustic Pathways travel advisor for guidance specific to your student’s nationality.
Support
What if my child gets homesick?
Homesickness usually lands in the first few days, and a homestay can sharpen it: a student is in someone else’s house, in another language, without the group around them at night. Program Leaders know this and check in daily. It generally turns somewhere in the first week, and often it is the host family that turns it. Read how we handle homesickness.
Do you support neurodiverse students?
Rustic Pathways welcomes all students and works with families ahead of departure to plan the support a student needs. Tell us early rather than at the airport, so Program Leaders arrive already knowing. Read about our approach to inclusion.
About This Program
Is Spanish Language Immersion Right for My Child?
Students at any level of Spanish, including none at all. Classes are grouped by ability, so a first-year student and a near-fluent one are not in the same room. What matters more than your Spanish is whether you are willing to be the person in the house who does not follow the joke yet. You will live with a Costa Rican family for most of two weeks.
Mornings are class. Afternoons are Turrialba, your host family, and the activities that get you using what you learned that morning. Two weeks in you will not be fluent. You will be able to hold a conversation you could not hold on day one.
Why Does Rustic Pathways Go to Costa Rica?
Rustic Pathways has taken more students to Costa Rica than to any other country. It is close to the United States, so flights are short and cheap, which makes it a sensible first international program for a lot of families.
More to the point for this program: we have long relationships with host families in Turrialba. A homestay program only works where you already know the families, and that trust took years to build. Costa Rica is also stable, safe and set up for student travel, so the logistics stay out of the way of the learning.
