Gap Year in San Jose, Costa Rica
Imagine living in a busy, international city but also being able to pop to the rain forest or climb an active volcano at weekends. Imagine returning home after your gap year fluent in another language and having learned to salsa like a pro. It might sound like something that’s out of reach for most people, but San José, Costa Rica, offers all of the above – and it doesn’t have to break the bank.
Relatively few people live in the city centre of this Central American capital, but morning and evening rush hours attest to just how many commute from the suburbs to work there. It can seem chaotic at first, but it’s better organized than many Latin American cities -- and safer. While English is spoken in many of tourist spots, expect to be thrown in at the deep end with your Spanish if you want to get around on your own.
A gap year in San José really is the perfect choice for many -- it offers all the convenience of living in a modern city, but it’s just a couple of hours from Costa Rica’s famous beaches, volcanoes and rain forests – pura vida!
Choosing San José for your gap year may be a no-brainer, but picking the right kind of gap year for you might require some more thought. Perhaps the best place to start is by deciding what you want out of the experience. Some quick ideas:
- Study Spanish
- Teach English
- Volunteer (with education, helping street children, etc.)
- Work with tourism, a non-profit, or journalism
- Adventure travel
- Grad school
Most activities overlap (for example, if you volunteer you'll have opportunities to learn Spanish -- either in a class or on your own), but it’s always a good idea to have one clear goal in mind from the beginning to help you structure your gap year in San José.
If you want to learn Spanish you can find a range of language schools in Costa Rica that usually offer a range of courses that can be combined with volunteering or adventure traveling. Do note, however, that aside from a couple of nearby volcanoes, most adventure travel in Costa Rica will take you outside of San José. You should absolutely get out of the city and explore the rest of the country, but we're assuming that you're making your home base here.
If your focus is volunteering you should be able to find something to match your interests and skill sets, which will lead to a more rewarding experience for everyone involved. You could either aim to use a skill or qualification you already have or learn something new as you volunteer your time and energy. Again, Go Overseas has some opportunities listed.
Costa Rica also has an active WWOOF community, with some opportunities in or near San Jose. If you're looking to stay within the city, however, you might have better luck finding a job teaching English or working in tourism.
Most English teaching jobs in San José do ask for a 6-month minimum commitment, are predominately focused on teaching business English, and the pay -- though enough to break even -- won't give you much savings. Make sure you have money saved up when you enter to travel with afterward.
With tourism, you could do a work exchange with a local hostel (where you work in exchange for a room/bed), or search international job boards for something more advanced. Do note, however, that most of these jobs will require you to have a higher level of Spanish, and for beginner to intermediate speakers, you're probably better off looking for volunteer work.
Since tourism is the backbone of the Costa Rican economy, travel to and within Costa Rica tends to be pretty easy and straightforward -- which is especially nice for first time international travelers.
Literally, planning a trip to San José, Costa Rica can be as simple as booking a flight, a hostel for your first few days, and getting on. Definitely brush up on a little Spanish before you go and have some savings, but ultimately taking a gap year here takes far less planning than other destinations.
Visas
Visitors from the US and most European countries can enter Costa Rica without a visa. You will be granted a three-month Tourist Visa on arrival, which can be renewed by leaving the country (for example crossing into Panama and returning).
Contact your nearest embassy if you wish to arrange a visa for a longer period of time or wish to work in Costa Rica. If you are traveling as part of an arranged program, the organizers should be able to give you more specific guidelines.
One thing that is strictly enforced is the rule that you will be denied entry if you do not have a valid onward ticket which shows how you will leave the country when your visa expires. If you don’t want to get a return plane ticket, a cheaper option is to purchase a bus ticket to Panama from a company such as Tica Bus.
