Program Reviews

My experience in Costa Rica was amazing thanks to Hibiscus Travels. I was given the opportunity to learn a lot about the different animals here, the different types of food, and what people can do for fun. I’m grateful for being given the opportunity to be
able to give back and help the animals at the Alturas Sanctuary it was a really great experience. I had a really great time volunteering and the afternoon activities were really fun. I would have to say that going zip lining was the best part. I would definitely recommend coming here.

This was an amazing experience and can be for many others. i had lots of fun here in costa rica with Hibiscus Travels, it was really beautiful and super fun being with them. i learned a lot about animals and i loved helping them too! I feel good about helping and being with animals. it makes me proud of myself for helping them. I really think people will enjoy being here in costa rica with Hibiscus travels because it’s a lot of fun and you see amazing things here and you learn so much here. I’m glad i came on this trip with Hibiscus travels!

This is the second experience we've had using Hibiscus Travels and it's been wonderful both times. Cuidad Cortes is such a beautiful, relaxing, and peaceful area. It is very The people are kind and welcoming. We love being able to bike everywhere in town. Pretty close to Manuel Antonio and Nauyaca Waterfall, both of which are amazing! We worked in an orphanage in our last project and this time we've been teaching English to children in the city while they are out of school. It is a wide spread of language experience on both sides of the classroom (teachers and students) but everyone is happy to be there and learns together. We have always received the best support from the coordinators of the program. You can rely on good advice, experience, and patience! They are so helpful and make sure you are happy with your experience. The projects they run are actual impactful for the communities they are serving and meet real needs. Both times we have come I have brought one of my daughters and we have had good experiences, never feeling unsafe. Both communities have been safe and I love being able to come to places we can immerse ourselves in the culture and community without being worried about that. We have stayed with a host family and stayed in the volunteer house and there are merits to both! I'm so glad I used Hibiscus again and will continue to do so in the future. I am so grateful for the flexibility and custom nature of the projects Hibiscus offers. It's afforded priceless opportunities for education for my family. We feel like part of the Hibiscus family.

I have been with Hibiscus Travels doing a 4 week TESOL course and internship teaching English in Ciudad de Cortes in Costa Rica. From Monday through Friday, I teach about 25 students from the local community for two hours a day. I teach level 1 English, which includes:

* How to say their name, age, where they are from, the ABC's, numbers, vocabulary words for daily use and much more.

I really enjoy teaching the classes and find it very rewarding to see them progress in the English language.

Lauren Markey is an excellent person with wonderful skills to teach and guide. She knows much about English and is very patient, kind, knowledgeable and pleasant to be around. I am very grateful to have met her and be a part of this program, which I believe is beneficial to anyone looking to be an English teacher abroad. Thank you for everything, Lauren!

Before I am a retired engineer and I have worked in the oil exploration industry all around the world. Last year, I did 160 hour TEOFL course online wirh the TEOFL academy which was very good. I wanted to use these skills on a project which would really help people. And RCDP which is based in Nepal and places volunteers all around the world recomended Hibiscus in Costa Rica as being ideal for me. Hibiscus is based in Ciudad cortes in the south west of Costa Rica.

It is a private organization that is run by American born Lauren Markey who has lived here for many years and seems to know everyone. Hibiscus gives people the chance to spend time Costa Rica, work on a project that will really make a difference and have a great time. I am teaching evening classes to local people who want to improve their English. Some are still at school and some are older working in tourist related businesses. They are a lovely lot. And I’m enjoying teaching them. Lessons take place on an upstairs veranda at a hotel art gallery. I live in the volunteers house which is on the outskirts of the town. It’s a very secure safe place with electricity and wonderfully cold showers.

Buses run north along the coast to some magnificent beaches. And south to the busy little town of Palmar Norte which has lots of shops that sell everything.

Cortes is an old court and from here the river terriba winds down to the sea. No beach is there but magnificent areas of mangrove which you can visit with the help of local fisherman or tour boat operators who will show you brightly colored birds and other wild life.

We’ve also done a couple of 4x4 trips up into the nearby hills to see the waterfalls and swim in the pools beneath. It’s not the first time I’ve been a volunteer but it’s definitely the best. I’m having a great time.

I volunteered for two weeks in a high school in Ciudad de Cortes in a special education group. The teacher responsible for the group, Carol, was simply inspirational. She is so patient and loving with her students. The students all need extra individual time and attention, but Carol has to take care of the whole group by herself.

I am so happy that I could come and give her a hand to create a responsabilization and valorization project through the creation of an at home garden for each of the students. This project was extremely rewarding for me. As a psychology bachelor, im glad I got to know a different way of living and successfully adapted to it. The students are extremely kind and eager to learn and did their absolute best to make sure I fit in despite my limited knowledge of Spanish.

Lauren, the Hibiscus coordinator, was also extremely helpful and always there to answer any questions I had. She helped me find the best activities to get to for my time off on weekends.

I feel like this project managed to get the students the extra support that they would need on an everyday basis. I strongly recommend this program to anyone wanting to make a change and work with a caring and appealing group of teenagers while getting out of their comfort zone.

Completing this service trip was an eye-opening experience to the lack of medical services available to those in need in Ciudad Cortes. I felt empowered to be a part of the small change our group of DPT students engaged in at the government-run nursing home! We had the opportunity to work one on one with patients and practice our PT skills, and we were able to donate four suitcases full of medical supplies to the facility.

I was very happily surprised by the people in this community and their genuineness - it's a wonderful place to immerse yourself! The food is great, and it's such a beautiful place. I hope more people can afford the opportunity to participate in this program, because help is needed and it is so much more rewarding than you can anticipate!

This was a very fun trip. We were able to volunteer in the mornings and go on excursions in the afternoon. Costa Rica was a beautiful country to explore! The house was a little tight for the large amount of people in my group (18 plus two others from a different group). The area that the house is in is part of the community. Across the street there is a small bar and a place to pick up dinner. There are small grocery stores and a few places to get food within walking distance, but no place to actually go out for a sit-down meal.

At the nursing home I only wish we could do more. They are severely understaffed and many of the patients just need a little attention and to get out of bed on a daily basis. Even if you are not an expert in the healthcare field, you can make a difference in the lives of these patients. The nurses and physical therapist at the nursing home were more than happy to assist with anything we needed. HOWEVER, I would say that a background in Spanish is necessary. Hibiscus provides you with sheets of commonly used medical terms, but if it was not for my parter and volunteer translators, I would not have been able to effectively communicate/treat.

In all, I think this would be a very valuable experience for anybody in school with an interest in health care or a health care professional just looking to give back and vacation at the same time.

The trip was fun. I think it was a little disorganized and that they weren’t ready for a group as big as ours (18 people). Meals were small but good so bring lots of snacks.
The best part of the trip was working with the patients at the nursing home, the nurses were very accommodating and helpful. That time was invaluable. Our drivers were very nice. I never felt unsafe at the house or the neighborhood. It is not very close to the city or a lot of stores but there is a bar and a restaurant about a 3 minute walk down the street. The people are very friendly and Estephony was so nice and a great cook ! The country is beautiful and there are a lot of amazing animals. Take advantage of the nature and the biodiversity that Costa Rica has to offer.

I participated in a teaching volunteer program- I travelled to many schools in the area to teach nutrition and taught community English classes from the house as well. I love the fact that I feel like I was able to make really meaningful connections with our students and know that I have made great friends with some of the program staff. The planned excursions were so much fun, and I enjoyed that they could be tailored to exactly what we wanted to see in Costa Rica. Hibiscus is definitely one of the more affordable volunteer programs you can find, and allows a lot of opportunity to plan your own adventures as well. Overall, Hibiscus Travels offers an incredible way to become completed immersed in Costa Rican culture while completing meaningful community work and having amazing adventures.