Location
  • Costa Rica
Length
2 - 12 weeks
Financial Support
Need-based funding, General grants/scholarships, Payment plans
Health & Safety

Program Details

Program Type
Provider
Timeframe
Summer
Housing
Apartment Host Family Hotel
Language
English
Age Min.
14
Age Max
18

Pricing

Starting Price
6395
Price Details
PROGRAM COST: $6,895. Travel expenses to and from Costa Rica are not included.

FINANCIAL AID IS AVAILABLE: We offer between 10-50% financial aid based on need. Please submit our financial aid application if interested.
What's Included
Accommodation Activities Airport Transfers Meals Transportation
What's Not Included
Airfare Travel Insurance Visa
May 01, 2023
Aug 14, 2023
20 travelers are looking at this program

About Program

Join this legacy Global Routes program that has been running for over 20 years! Enhance your international experience by contributing to a host community, building deep connections, and participating in meaningful exchange. On the Leaders-in-Action program, students are hosted by one of our partner communities in Costa Rica.

There, you'll build leadership, education, and implementation skills by developing and running a free "friendship" camp for local youth. Along the way, you'll develop genuine relationships and connections with your Costa Rican host community, take part in host family traditions, practice your Spanish, and gain real-world skills.

After time in the community, go on an adventure that can only happen in Costa Rica - white water rafting, rappelling in the rainforest, and spending time with warm and hospitable partners.

Leave more independent, inspired, and confident as a leader!

Video and Photos

Diversity & Inclusion

BIPOC Support

We recognize that we are a long way from the diversity we aim for within our students, staff, and partners. We want and need more diversity to truly become the organization we would like to be. We recognize that this will not happen overnight or without dedicating time, attention, and resources. To that end, we have created a strategic plan to address our current shortfalls and to make significant improvements, which you can see on our Diversity & Inclusion page.

Neurodivergent Support

At Carpe Diem, each applicant reads through our extensive Essential Eligibility Criteria prior to enrollment. This criteria allows applicants to determine if the organization is an appropriate fit for their gap semester/year goals and their individual needs. During the interview and application process, we have honest and direct conversations with students and families about the support that our staff is able to provide throughout the program experience. We are committed to creating a culture of acceptance and support. To that end, our Overseas Educators and local leaders are selected for their skill in group facilitation and promoting inclusive group dynamics.

Accessibility Support

At Carpe Diem, each applicant reads through our extensive Essential Eligibility Criteria prior to enrollment. This criteria allows applicants to determine if the organization is an appropriate fit for their gap semester/year goals and their individual needs. We have honest and open conversations with applicants about our ability to support individual needs on each program, with the ultimate goal of a healthy and successful experience for all students. In the past, we have worked with students with severe allergies, diabetes, chronic injuries, and mental health diagnoses. We know each student's journey is individual and we work with families to support these individual needs where possible to help determine if the program is a good fit for their gap semester goals.

Impact

Sustainability

Global Routes - and our sister organization, Carpe Diem Education - is committed to maximizing the net positive impact while minimizing the carbon footprint of every program. In our office, on our programs, and through our carbon offset match, our programs are geared toward environmental education to empower future leaders to move their communities to take action. During our programs, students learn more about their impact as individuals and a travel community - then take a solution-oriented lens to tackling key issues. We also contribute to and amplify the voices of organizations and partners who focus on permaculture, natural building, and sustainable solutions.

Ethical Impact

Global Routes - and our sister organization, Carpe Diem Education - is designed to connect to our local communities and provide reciprocal exchange and engagement. Through engaging in experiential education, community engagement, and intercultural exchange, our students develop enhanced perspectives, deeper cultural understanding, and a profound sense of self-discovery and personal growth. We work with vetted local providers to build their businesses as they provide value to our students and programming. With our homestay families, we ensure we minimize our footprint by regularly rotating the communities we work with and evaluating our social impact alongside their community leaders.

Program Highlights

  • OUR MODEL: Our hallmark model includes meaningful community service, cross-cultural exchange, and living and volunteering in rural homestay communities.
  • COMMUNITY SERVICE: Students receive a certificate for 40 to 60 community service hours.
  • LEARNING GOALS: Camp counseling, cooking, leadership, construction
  • GROUP SIZE: 12-18 students, 2-3 U.S. leaders, 2 local partners

Program Reviews

5.00 Rating
based on 11 reviews
  • 5 rating 100%
  • 4 rating 0%
  • 3 rating 0%
  • 2 rating 0%
  • 1 rating 0%
  • Growth 4.9
  • Support 4.85
  • Fun 5
  • Housing 4.9
  • Safety 4.9
Showing 9 - 11 of 11 reviews
Kyla
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Absolutely Life Changing Experience

Despite having gone on this program 6 years ago, it's still something I think about all the time and rave about to friends and family. I had never really traveled abroad before, and if I had it was purely for tourism purposes. This program really pushed me to become a better leader and a better person. Not only did I make lifelong connections with the people in my group, but I got to experience a way of life I never could have imagined.

Running a day camp for the kids who lived on St Vincent and Bequia was not only incredibly fun, but also pushed me out of my comfort zone. Before the trip I was someone who was hesitant to take initiative or contribute to a group effort because I doubted my abilities. Being put in a position of responsibility really pushed me to grow into a more confident and adventurous individual.

Not only did we get to spend significant time with local residents, but we also were able to take part in their cultural scene. We had the opportunity to go to a local basketball game, attend our host family's church service on Sunday, and even got to be guests at a local family reunion. Feeling immersed in the culture of St Vincent and Bequia was an experience that's importance to me cannot be measured.

Additionally, we got to see all of the amazing BEAUTY the islands had to offer!! Hiking an active volcano, visiting a turtle sanctuary, and exploring the local businesses are just a few of the amazing opportunities we had! I would recommend this program to everyone, it is an experience I will hold very dear to me for the rest of my life.

What would you improve about this program?
The only improvement I could honestly recommend would be to make the program longer. I absolutely did not want to leave when the time came!!
84 people found this review helpful.
Max
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Transformational, Unforgettable, and Unique Experience

Attending the 2005 Global Routes LIA Caribbean program has been one of the most impactful decisions in my life. I know that is a weighty and slightly dramatic statement, but it is the truth. As a current Global Routes travel leader, my experience as a student shapes the way I interact with my students, the communities we work in, and the world through which we travel. My leaders, Jim Whitmore and Lizzy Baker, did a spectacular job balancing the complex roles of Teacher, Mentor, Friend, and Role Model. They exposed me to hard skills like cooking for a group of 16, and soft skills, like how to resolve group issues respectfully and productively. They set a high bar for us in terms of individual responsibility and group cohesion, but provided us with all of the tools and support to soar over that bar.

The format and vision of the trip was particularly important to me. Our group had nearly a week of orientation is New Hampshire, where we camped together, cooked meals on coleman stoves together, and started planning out the structure and activities of the summer camp we were to run. By the time we arrived in St. Vincent, and finally to our new home on the island of Bequia, we already felt as if we were family. One of the most memorable moments from my trip wasn't as much a particular event, but a realization. I was walking to the vegetable market with two other members of my group. In that 15 minute walk we must have passed two dozen smiling faces, most of whose names we knew, and many who had attended our summer camp and came running to great us. The feeling of being grounded in that community, gladly welcomed with warm greetings and genuine interest, hit me like a soccer ball to the face. It gave me a blueprint for how to travel, how to forge real connections, and to try and make every interaction, no matter how brief, meaningful and positive.

What would you improve about this program?
Although I am sure my parents would have protested in 2005, looking back I do wish I could have spent more time in the Caribbean. A six week trip would have allowed for a full month of Friendship Camp (the free summer camp we offered to kids of all ages in Bequia), and even more time to get to know the unique way of life in St. Vincent.
65 people found this review helpful.
Libby
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

The best times of my life!!

When I think back on this trip, I don't just think about how cool it was to travel abroad—I think about the people I met, first and foremost. I was able to mingle and meet with people I normally wouldn't talk with, both within the group and in the local area. Though it's been years, the experiences have made such a bond that I still consider the friends I made on that trip something like family. The trip opened my eyes to see the fellow humanity in and find kinship with people across the globe.
Beyond the people met, the chances to learn leadership were fantastic. I learned leadership through collaboration, mistakes, healthy risks and different approaches. The leaders of the trip were encouraging and open-minded, and even when certain attempts at a task ended poorly, it never became a point of punishment. I learned how to lead and take command, something I had always shied away from in the past.

This trip changed me for the better. It taught me so much, all while being some of the most fun I've ever had.

What would you improve about this program?
Sometimes there becomes an "us and them" situation where some of the group members already know each other and, unwittingly, start excluding the complete newcomers. Anything that can bridge that gap faster and form one cohesive group would be very helpful.
63 people found this review helpful.

Questions & Answers