Arcos: Programs for Teens in Costa Rica

Arcos provided an incredible experience for my daughter, who visited Costa Rica with this program. She was able to experience an entirely new culture from the perspective of those who live there. Arcos was communicative regarding all programs and guidelines and put our minds at ease as parents. The host family was friendly, and took very good care of my daughter and her friends. We highly recommend this program, as it was a tremendous benefit for my daughter. She learned a lot and had wonderful stories to share upon her return.

My daughter said: I had a great time and a wonderful volunteer experience. My host family was caring and excellent cooks. We were in a great location and the kids were all fun to be with. I loved the outdoor experiences and realized I could do hard things. The beaches were really nice and the water was super warm. My host family was super nice and made great hand-pressed juice every day. The only challenges I found were language barriers because I don’t speak good Spanish but was still able to communicate using Google Translate.

This program was the cause of some of the best two weeks of my life. I made incredible friends, learned a lot of Spanish, immersed in the culture, and made some unforgettable memories. We went to school, learned the grammatical rules of Spanish, then used that knowledge in a local setting. I gained a lot of independence in this program, as well as learning how to use my language skills by interacting with the local people. I also loved my homestay mom dearly and had a very special time there. Highly recommend!

The family was very welcoming and kind! All of the meals my host mom gave me were very delicious. The environment was very nice and the surrounding nature was very pleasant to see. The people were very friendly and the excursions like to the waterfall and zip lining were very fun to do! If I had the choice, I would definitely come back to Costa Rica because the experience was so fun and memorable. I would recommend trying new things even if you feel a bit uncomfortable at first. Remember that all of the other kids are just as nervous as you!

My son traveled to Costa Rica with this program in July. He loved being there and especially living with a host family and practicin Spanish daily. As a parent, I found the program staff to be very helpful and readily available by phone to answer my questions. My son said he would love to travel again with this program and highly recommends it to all teens who might be interested. This program was a great balance between doing community service hours in the local village and getting to experience eco-adventure/fun as a group of teens.

When I first arrived at my homestay at 6 in the morning, I was greeted by a lovely sweet old couple. Throughout my two weeks staying with them, Carlos and Genia proved that they were the perfect host family. They made an effort to connect with us and challenged us to improve our Spanish speaking skills. They would make jokes and make the most delicious home-cooked meals. They washed our clothes when we asked and it was overall a great experience. As for the schooling, I loved the outdoor learning environment and the teachers were outstanding and very fun. Though it was challenging at some times, having a teacher that only spoke Spanish really helped me. Throughout the program, I made so many close friends that I have continued to stay in touch with and they all helped make the program more fun. On weekends, we went on excursions to different parts of the area. We would take a bus to go zip lining, visit a waterfall, or go surfing at one of the beaches. I loved learning new skills while also having fun and goofing around with my friends. One night we even stayed at a hotel where we each had separate rooms with our roommates. One thing I noticed throughout the Arcos experience was that everyone was so kind and fun to be around. I felt safe in the Atenas community and I loved the freedom/independence we were given. We had to navigate the taxis and speak almost all in Spanish, but I could tell that everyone was having such a fun time. By the last day, I never wanted to leave.

I loved my trip to Costa Rica with Arcos, I found the activities such as zip lining, cooking, dancing, etc. super fun and helpful to appreciate the culture. The family I stayed with for the majority of the trip was super sweet and accommodating to me even though communication was a challenge(I don’t speak Spanish). The trip was very well organized, with the group leaders Catalina and Laura always being on top of everything and perfectly timing activities. The volunteer work was rewarding in itself and felt productive.

Our daughter attended the Arcos trip in Costa Rica for 4 weeks, doing two homestay programs focused on language and culture. We did not know anything about the company, but were provided with endless contacts to call and all our questions were followed up with by the company so we decided to give them a try after overwhelmingly positive feedback. Our daughter had a wonderful time. I do think much of it was because of her first host family; they were a wonderful match. She stayed with a family and several kids from the program as it was a small session. They embraced our daughter and made her feel truly at home so much so that months later they still talk on a regular basis. The second home stay in a different area was not a good fit, but Brent and his team swiftly took action and the rest was wonderful as well. I really valued how accessible the team was especially on this and one other item that came up. Things happen, but how a company deals with it matters. My daughter had real opportunities to work on her Spanish with the teachers, but we stressed to Brent that that was a priority. I think the excursion trips and travel timing could be spaced a bit better, but I love that in each session the kids went somewhere else. My daughter had plenty of food and chances to shop and eat out with other students. It was a great program and good value for the cost, but it is really what the right child makes of it.