Intercultura Costa Rica Spanish Schools

As a parent, I was a little nervous about sending my daughter to a sleep-away camp, especially in another country, but I didn't need to worry. From the beginning, the Intercultura team was warm, organized, and clearly invested in making sure the students felt safe, included, and supported.

When my daughter came home, she couldn't stop talking about her experience. She made close friends, gained confidence speaking Spanish, and had so many stories about the activities, excursions, and life at camp. What stood out to me was how much she grew in just a few weeks, not only linguistically, but personally (independence).

I loved that the program balanced learning with fun. The students were immersed in Spanish and Costa Rican culture, but it never felt like school. They were busy exploring, connecting with others, and building independence in a supportive environment.

The friendships she made were probably her favorite part. Months later, she's still in touch with friends she met at camp, and she's already asking if she can go back.

If you're considering Intercultura for your teenager, I wholeheartedly recommend it. It was one of those experiences that will stay with my daughter for a long time, and I'm so grateful she had the opportunity to be part of it.

So after my daughter did the Intercultural Summer Camp, she raved about living with a local family, which she thought was going to be the worst part of the camp but actually ended up being on of the best. I had already planned on going to take classes myself after her experience, I need Spanish for my work and where I live there is a huge Latino community. But I had planned on a hotel, of course, seeing as I'm 50! Anyway long story short, she finally convinced me and I decided to give the homestay program a try, and it was for sure the best part of my stay. I mean, I loved the Spanish classes, my teachers were amazing, they were true professors and all the classes were actually fun, which sounds oxymoronic to me, fun classes, but there it is, I loved them. But getting back to the family stay, that was above and beyond. Doña Élida was like a second mother to me (even though she's only a few years old then me), and her kids are like my nieces and nephews. I've invited them all to visit us in California, and I really hope they come, I'd love to be able to offer them the same experience I had, it was totally life-changing, I can't even really describe how, it just made me feel different and see the world (and the Latinos in my home community) really differently, and understand things so much better than before. One thing though - the food is GREAT! Be prepared to eat well!!

I visited both Heredia and Samara campuses. Both were fantastic and had their unique perks. Heredia I was immersed in city living. When i wasn't studying, I visited the local cafes, ate traditional food at the sodas and went on day trips (everywhere is accessible from Heredia!). Samara is beachy and chilled and a great place to study. It’s loads of fun. If you stay on the Intercultura campus (which I recommend highly) you will experience views like never before right on your doorstep. Exploring Costa Rica through Intercultura is a great way to go if you’re a first time solo traveler or seasoned explorer looking to connect with people and learn.

I'm not going to lie, I was nervous about sending my 15 year old daughter on her own to Costa Rica, but I'm so glad I took the risk. Intercultura takes incredibly good care of the students right from day 1. Holli and Amy are the two dedicated coordinators for the program, and they met with you online before departure, and answered every one of my many many email without ever getting annoyed with me! The Camp itself also has two 24/7 chaperones, Yessenia and Lia, and they are with teens all the time, and they are great, just really good people and fun, and Yessenia has years of experience, she's the head chaperone and you can tell she knows how to handle teens and create an experience where they have fun but stay safe.

The host family in the city campus is amazing, my daughter Ella felt like she was part of the family immediately, and she loved the food - rice and beans is the national dish, they call it gallo pinto! It was a family made up of the mother, her daughter and the grandmother, which I liked because that felt really safe to me, and it was.

The city school itself looks beautiful from the pictures, they these tropical gardens inside the school, so teens could hang out there with their friends in any free time they had, and had Intercultura staff right there to help with anything they needed. Ditto for the beach school, except even more beautiful because it is literally RIGHT ON THE BEACH. It was like a 5-star hotel except a fraction of the price.
Ella even enjoyed the classes, which I had my doubts about, but the teachers are trained to teach teens, the classes are specially designed for them, and she said they were actually fun, if you can believe it. 4 hours of class, but fun?! Anyway, her Spanish teacher said she made amazing progress, so I'm really happy, and I know that emotionally it was a real growing experience for her, and she loves the friends she made there last year and still keeps in touch. She asked if she could go again this year, and we're trying to make it happen... we'll see!

I went from zero Spanish to fluent in 6 months in Intercultura's Spanish program. Their classes are led by dynamic, talented teachers and their cultural activities (dance, cooking, excursions) and homestay families allow you to truly embrace the local culture and have the full immersion experience! Their TEENS program is especially impressive as it allows teens to connect with local Costa Rican teens and enjoy activites which fit their interests and needs. If you are an adult or if you have teenagers this is is the school for you, they have something for every type of learner!