Program Reviews

I love my host family and their dog so much!! I am so sad to be leaving. All the students are really nice here and at the beginning of camp, I was not prepared for how many friends I would make. The teachers are so nice! I’m so sad my teacher had to miss the last days of school. I will miss the fun excursions and screaming at the top of my lungs and the zipline. I will miss listening to Nicki Manaj and Katy Perry on repeat on the bus and I will miss passing a tub of chocolate ice cream around the bus. I will miss doing Morgan’s hair and making fun of Clay (not bullying) and I will miss playing catch with Craig and Chris. Speaking of Chris, I will miss him stealing food off my plate and eating half a bag of party sized potato chips. The camp is really fun and I really don’t want to leave. I wish I could stay here forever. I have made so many beautiful memories here and I love Tico Lingo so much! ❤️❤️❤️

By the time I was on my plane ride home after three weeks in Costa Rica, I had made friends from different countries I’m still in contact with today, white water rafted, learned more Spanish than I have my two years of classes in high school, tasted amazing food, met amazing people, beat an obstacle course way up in the air, explored a national park, had a beach day in the warmest ocean I’ve ever been in, and so much more. This was the first time I’ve ever stayed in a foreign country, and at some points I felt more welcome than I do here in the States. Everybody, staff, locals, your host family, and your peers, are super friendly and awesome. Your itinerary, meals, schedule, etc is all planned and coordinated, so as a participant in the program all you have to do is relax and enjoy Costa Rica. In the mornings, you take Spanish classes. While I’m not too great at retaining information in school, Spanish in Tico Lingo became a breeze. Their teachers make learning fun and understandable, and I wish I had them for my first two years of Spanish class in high school. In the afternoon, things get crazy. Every day is a new activity, a new experience, a new memory that will last a lifetime. Seriously, I’m a year out and I can still vividly remember everything. I can not recommend this trip enough. Personal shout out to Chris and Clay for making the whole trip way more memorable, and to Yennefer for being so helpful. ¡Pura vida!
-Roland

Tico Lingo Teen Spanish Summer Camp was an extremely fun program that I would definitely recommend to others. The first day I came to this camp I was extremely nervous to be traveling by myself and unsure about what the camp would be like. The locals are extremely nice, and I loved my homestay family! I feel that during my homestay I was able to practice and hear the most amount of Spanish. Damaris and Carlos were always extremely helpful, patient, and communicative. There was always a conversation happening, lending me the ability to gain exposure to the language. Also, the food was so good! My homestay made common breakfasts and dinners of the country and are extremely kind and welcoming, and they make great food! My overall favorite activity was white water rafting. We got to do some cliff jumping and the Tico Lingo group worked together as a team so that we didn’t flip the boat over. Another activity I enjoyed was visiting the supermarket where we got the opportunity to try and buy a variety of different foods. There were also daily Spanish classes, which I really enjoyed. My teacher Freddy was funny and always encouraging his students to learn. Overall, I had a lot of fun at this camp.

Okay I honestly had a great time while in Costa Rica with Tico Lingo. I went in recognizing my strengths in English and looking for those to bleed over into Spanish and in just the two weeks here I can feel a difference. Although classes were sometimes long or difficult, by the end the time had flown by I could barely tell I’d been there 4 hours. Morgan is an actual angel sent from heaven and such a sweet sweet person who added even more to this experience. To not be biased and give an honest review, here is my pros & cons list:

Pros:
Fun activities like intercambio, kayaking, rafting, shopping, dancing, etc.
Lots of freedom
Fun ways of learning
Challenging
Beautiful views, awesome trips!
Mix of age groups
Your student is challenged, but still met at their comprehension level
Wonderful homestay family
Very high quality photos taken
Very communicative

Cons:
Long classes
1 break for 4 hours
Ling days could be too much (for some students)
Some possibly nerve-racking activities for students
No English i class
Two weeks away from ya baby!

There are multiple reasons that set this camp apart from others. The first part of the day is focused on improving and learning Spanish from excellent teachers who make classes engaging and truly focus on helping their students. The second part of the day is focused on having fun while using your Spanish in real scenarios.We did coffee tours where we went to a coffee farm and learned how coffee is made along with doing a ropes obstacle course. We did white water rafting where we went through a river and navigated some crazy water. There were many other activities but my most favorite was the intercambio. The intercambio or exchange opportunity where we met with other students who were learning English and had cross-language conversations to help each other improve. I’m not sure why this was my favorite but it was nice seeing students our age from another country and communicating with each other despite language barriers.

My experience in Costa Rica for the first time was so much better than my expectations. Everyone in the camp was so nice and funny and it was so easy to get closer with each one of them. This one in a lifetime experience has given me a new perspective on things. Living with a host family, trying new foods, and learning more Spanish was such an amazing experience and I don’t think I could of done it a better way. Freddy, my Spanish teacher here at Tico Lingo, is one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. He has taught me a year of Spanish class and makes learning Spanish so fun. My counselors, Morgan and Clay, are the nicest to be around and will always have your back. The activities after class each day are so fun and I look forward to them every day. There’s lots of water activities and free time to explore the city of Heredia, and so much more. These past two weeks have taught me so much. I am so grateful to be able to have this amazing experience with Tico Lingo. Hopefully I can come back next year! Thank you Tico Lingo!!

I believe that Tico Lingo is a great experience for people that want to learn Spanish and already have a foundation in Spanish. When you get here you will be nervous but as you get used to the homestay and your fellow campers it will start to feel far more natural. Most of your days will be very structured like the animal rescue center, but you will get chances for free time throughout the trip where you can explore the city. How much you go out of the way to speak it with most tour guides able to speak English if you don’t try you won’t speak a lot of Spanish. The only advice I can give you is that you won’t get along with every other camper 100% but be at least nice to them and also don’t flush the toilet paper.

This was a great program. On the first day here meeting your roommate and host family can be slightly awkward but as you continue your trip and meet the other campers as well as continue practicing your Spanish these first day nerves will go away. The friendships you can make on these trips can be life long so putting yourself out there and speaking up was important and fun on the trip. I definitely learned a lot of Spanish. When I got here my Spanish was very elementary but my class with professor Freddy helped with my ability to form more sentences and understand Spanish. During the camp we explored the city, went to an animal sanctuary, went on a ropes course, went to the local mall Oxígeno in the first week. Over the weekend we went on a fun trip to stay in a hotel with pools, hot springs and the beautiful views of La Fortuna. As well as some fun whitewater and kayaking trips during the day. The next week we spent some free time in the city, went ziplining, a trampoline park, a water park and were able to practice our Spanish with students attending an English school as well as going to the beach. This trip was a great experience overall. It may be nerve racking traveling alone to another country however this experience helped my traveling skills, Spanish skills and left me with some amazing friendships. I would definitely recommend this experience to any teen wanting to travel and learn more Spanish!!

It’s hard to pick a specific aspect of this camp as my favorite. From the delicious food I ate everyday made by my homestay mom to the always eventful Spanish classes we had each morning and especially to our exciting activities we got to do every afternoon, there was never a dull moment. I loved the experience of staying with a homestay family because in this way, I felt like I best got to experience and learn about the unique culture of Costa Rica. After my time in Tico Lingo and homestay, I was able to eat so many typical Costa Rican dishes that I didn’t even know about before. I was also able to use my Spanish in a real world setting and learn about the lives of those I stayed with and met along the way. The Spanish classes at Tico Lingo were by far the best classes I have ever taken. Although we had 4 hours of classes each day, the time always seemed to go by fast and was enjoyable. In my small classroom of 3 people, we had Karina as our teacher. I loved her style of teaching as we always had the most interesting conversation topics and discussions. I recommend this camp for those excited for adventure and learning Spanish and the Tico culture.

Tico Lingo transformed my Spanish skills far beyond what I achieved in high school and college courses. In just five weeks, my confidence soared, allowing me to hold regular conversations with native speakers. The program’s cultural immersion fosters out-of-class speaking and experimentation with our lessons. The intercambio conversation meet-ups were invaluable for practicing advanced grammar, something I rarely did in university. Meeting people from Costa Rica and around the world made learning Spanish incredibly enjoyable.

Heredia, the city where Tico Lingo is located, was a joy to explore. Its vibrant streets, welcoming locals, and rich cultural heritage added an extra layer to my learning experience. From bustling markets to tranquil parks, every part of Heredia contributed to my Spanish practice and cultural understanding.

Tico Lingo excels at making language learning fun and practical. The combination of immersive classes and the charming city of Heredia made my experience unforgettable. I'll definitely be back!