Spanish Immersion Program for Adults and Families

What an amazing place!! I absolutely loved my time at Agualivar. The lessons are fun, interesting, challenging and you feel like you’re learning by accident as you get to know other students & the teachers.
Elizabeth & Fani are amusing & lively teachers - they flex to the needs and interests of the student group. Nothing is too much trouble.
The food is amazing - Carmen (Mum of Elizabeth & Fani) makes putting a meal together look effortless. Sharing meals with this fabulous family is a highlight every day.
The area is lovely - little beach down the road & a beach bar, the house has a pool - but if you’re looking for muchos vino & nightlife - this is the wrong place for you!
Honestly wish I could spend at least a week a month here.

Amazing experience!

My husband and I have been learning Spanish on and off and for an embarrassingly large number of years. We've used apps, studied grammar in workbooks, watched movies in Spanish (with Spanish subtitles), listened to podcasts, read stories out loud to each other, and even attended an informal online conversation group by zoom. We were still at a very elementary level. We wanted to build our confidence and knowledge with immersion and we definitely did at Agualivar!

Our week at Agualivar was so much better than we anticipated it would be. The family is SO warm and welcoming and cheerful. Fani and Eli (the sisters who run the business and are the teachers) are so fun and funny. Carmen, their mom, is so sweet and kind and is an amazing cook. The whole family is fun and friendly. The home is grand, surrounded by mango tree farm and olive groves, hills, and the Mediterranean sea. The family is environmentally conscious. The food we ate comes from their gardens and local vendors and it was all delicious and fresh.

Classes were held out on the veranda every morning, overlooking the pool and sea. Stefi and Fani are great at making learning a language fun, not like high school spanish at all! Both my husband and I gained confidence and knowledge, which helped us a lot for the two weeks we had to travel around Andalusia after our time at Agualivar. A couple of months before our stay, we had a zoom call together so they could asses our level and learn how we best like to learn, in order to tailor their teaching style with our needs.

In the afternoons, we had a choice to go out for a little excursion, or relax by the pool. We went for a walk with Fani along the coastline to a marina and beach bar, where we learned how to properly order a beer one afternoon. Another day Eli brought us to the dreamy little pueblo blanco called Frigliana. We toured the olive grove and Fani taught us all about how olive oil is made, how to read a label, and the differences between different olive oils. Then we had a tasting right under the shade of an olive tree, overlooking the hillside and the sea - pinch me! One afternoon we decided to take our car to a beach Fani recommended, and we loved it so much! One afternoon we had a cooking lesson (all in Spanish of course!) We learned to prepare Pallea Negro, using a variety of fresh seafood, including squid and its ink.

It was a dreamy mix of classroom time, excursion time, and rest time.

We loved having the freedom a rental car provided, but I think we would have been fine without one. The home and grounds and pool are so lovely, it would have been nice to spend an afternoon just doing nothing at Agualivar!

We agreed to the house rules to only speak Spanish the entire week, even with each other in our room and off the property. We weren't 100%, but we do understand that is the best way to train your brain.

We felt so comfortable, and everyone was so friendly and accommodating. We wish the greatest success to this family. This is hard work to open your home to strangers all the time, but they do it together and they do it all so well.

You will be so glad you chose Agualivar!

I spent a week at Agulivar in September. Fani, Elisabeth, and their mother Carmen are all amazing, such wonderful people. From the moment I arrived they were all very warm and welcoming, we had great conversations and many laughs throughout the week. I only wish I'd stayed longer. They go out of their way to ensure they meet your learning needs and that you have a good experience. The whole program was fantastic, especially the food, the room was comfortable, private, and had an incredible view. Fani and Elisabeth are able to quickly adapt and accommodate the needs of all students present even if they are at different levels. If you ever dreamed of having a language immersion experience don't hesitate to choose Agualivar. I will definitely return when I am able.

I spent a wonderful week at the Agualivar Spanish School with Elisabeth and Fani in June of 2022. It was an amazing experience and I learned so much! I am a high school science teacher in Oregon in the US. This year, for the first year, I am teaching a Dual Language Chemistry class (for sophomore students), and one of my goals was to improve my Spanish speaking skills, while also starting to become familiar with Chemistry terms (& teaching lingo) in Spanish. Elisabeth and Fani helped me reach all of these goals. The daily lessons were designed to help me reach my goals (Elisabeth even listened to me teach an entire Chemistry lesson in Spanish!). I felt supported and challenged every step of the way. The family style meals (delicious, with fresh fruits and vegetables from their farm!) provided more opportunities for conversation and connection. The house is beautiful - my private bedroom opened up onto a lovely terrace with a view of the Mediterranean Sea (see picture!). The week included some outings to local establishments and towns, including the lovely white hill town of Frigiliana. All in all, it was a fabulous experience. Elisabeth and Fani, (y su madre!) were outstanding hosts and teachers. I highly recommend this experience!

I have been to Agualivar several times over the last few years and, this time, once again, it was both productive and delightful. The setting is magnificent – a beautiful house overlooking the sea – the food is superb, and the teachers, Eli and Fani, are warm, engaging and supportive. The lessons are tailored to each student’s needs, and the opportunity to speak and listen to Spanish all day allows for meaningful improvement in a short time. I had little opportunity to speak Spanish during the pandemic and was aware that I was losing some hard-earned skills. After two excellent weeks at Agualivar, I was delighted by the increase in fluency and ease of conversation. I have participated in language programs in Spain, Mexico and the U.S. Agualivar is the best.

I needed a language refresher and Agualivar was truly wonderful. The classes were really helpful and tailored to my level, and the teachers were fantastic. They went over things I needed to re-learn, and facilitated lots of practice. Also, there was full immersion, which was great. The school is in a family home that is very comfortable. You get your own room and bathroom, and there is a pool with an amazing view of the sea, so you feel a bit like you're in a resort. The food is great as well. I would definitely go back and would highly recommend it to anyone looking to improve their Spanish with great people in a lovely location.

This is my first "home-stay" Spanish Immersion experience. I loved that there is not only classroom time, but also meals together, excursions together, fun games to play to help you learn Spanish. You live in the house with the instructors, Fani & Eli, and their sweet mother Carmen. They are so kind, warm and welcoming. Fani & Eli started the school in 2014. They are excellent teachers and you can tell that they are dedicated to their work, and they love what they do. They were also very patient and helpful when I had trouble with a particular part of Spanish. There is a low student to teacher ratio, with no more than 4 students in the program at any one time, and always 2 instructors. I was there 2 weeks. The first week there were 3 students total, and my second week it was just me. So no matter what, there is always opportunity for very personalized attention to help you learn. If you are looking for a home stay program in Spain, I highly recommend Agualivar.

A great learning experience, with lessons tailored to your individual skill level, in a beautiful area outside of the central urban Malaga. They not only do a great job of gauging your skill level before your arrival in order to have the best types of lessons based on your abilities, but they also do this well in creating small group classes if there are other guests in order to have some classes together and other classes solo depending on who else is there that week. There are never more than three students staying at once, which guarantees a very personal experience. Also, such kind people and they do a great job of having fun and engaging excursions to nearby areas!