Program Reviews

I signed up for 2 weeks of Spanish classes and this also included some cultural trips too. I had a great time in Merida. Everyone was very friendly and I felt really welcome in the school and in my homestay. (I stayed with a local family for the 2 weeks).
The classes were fast paced and had a lot of different types of activities so we could practice our Spanish loads. I made fast progress (I was a beginner with just a little Spanish before I went). I found the teachers to be patient and laid back so it didnt feel like a class like when you are at school! We were a small group too which helped.
Merida is a fun city and there is loads to do when you're not in class. We saw some cenote and went to the beach and also saw a working hacienda which was really interesting. I would like to go back and stay for longer if I can :-)

I had a great time in Merida and think I improved my Spanish quite a lot. I had a few different teachers during my stay and at first I thought that was strange but it actually helped me as they all had slightly different accents and listening was one of my weaknesses.
We played games in our classes and we practiced all the skills like speaking, reading, writing and listening. We did grammar too and I really improved with my conjugations which I struggled with before. Living with the homestay family and being surrounded by Spanish made a big difference to my understanding so that was a big plus point of the programme.
The city of Merida is very friendly and there are some cool bars and cafes and stuff like that. The beach is close to and you can easily go for the day by bus :-)

I wanted to find a Spanish course based in Mexico that also included a bit of culture and I found it in Merida! I chose Merida after quite a bit of research as it has a really good reputation and is safe for solo travelers like me! I also liked that I could stay close to the school with a local family- my house was about a 10-minute walk away.

Included with the course we had 2 cultural trips- one to Paseo Montejo which is a famous street here with amazing old colonial buildings, a museum, lots of cafes, statues and so on. The other trip was my favorite and it was to a place called Dzibichaltun which is an archeological zone with ruins and an open cenote. Cenotes are basically sinking holes- like a massive natural pool (often really deep) that were created when the meteorite hit the peninsula of Yucatan! They are really fresh to swim in and this was something I had never experienced before.

During my stay in Merida I had the opportunity to do lots of new things and experience the culture first hand which was one of my aims when I looked for a Spanish school. I really liked living with a Mexican family as it felt more authentic than a hostel where I would usually choose to stay and it meant I ate with the family and spent time with them and I could really practice my Spanish.
The classes at the school were very good and the teacher was always well prepared. We did a big range of activities to cover readng, writing, speaking and listening skills so I feel like I improved in all areas. Speaking was my biggest focus and I had lots of chances to practice when I went out at the weekend and after class.
My favourite trip was to the ruins at Mayapan as there was almost no one else there when we went and we could also climb the pyramids!

Volunteering with the local community was great fun and I really felt like I had the opportunity to immerse myself in local culture and really get to know the community. Everyone was very kind and welcoming (and very patient with my attempts to become fluent in Spanish!!) - the language classes really helped me too!
Merida is a beautiful place to visit, and there are also amazing places in the local area too, including Chichen Itza (an incredible Mayan ruin). I highly recommend finding time to visit a local hacienda and one of the many beautiful cenotes too. There is lots to see and do all around Merida!
If you are looking for an opportunity to develop your skills, get to know Mexican communities and see some beautiful sights I highly recommend this programme!!

I absolutely adore dogs and only wish I were in the position to be a doggy parent myself, so when I saw the opportunity to volunteer in a dog's home AND learn Spanish (which I hadn't learnt since highschool) AND stay in an absolutely beautiful part of the world I knew it was the perfect program for me. The Spanish lessons were excellent, it was great to be able to learn not only the language but so much of the local dialect too. But the best part was by far working with my gorgeous puppy pals. I only wish I could've taken them all home with me. I fell in love with each and every four legged friend and it felt amazing to see the difference we were making in their lives and the difference they made in mine! What a great way to experience a new country, not just as a tourist but as someone making a difference in the community.

I had a fantastic time, I really enjoyed the experience and I would definitely do it again. It was a great team to work with, everything was very smooth and easy and any issue was sorted before it even really became an issue. It's a beautiful part of the world to visit and great to feel like we're giving back to the community rather than just there as a tourist. We had plenty of opportunities to visit the local areas and communities, the cenotes are stunning and the beaches are gorgeous. The Spanish course was fabulous and my Spanish improved so much and it was brilliant to be able to practice what I'd learnt on the people we worked with in the program, (even if they didn't understand me, they were too polite to say differently!) All around an excellent program.

I spent my volunteering project helping look after the street dogs which a local charity supports. They vacciante them, feed them properly and help them to get used to humans again if they've been mistreated. They are eventually adopted once they are back to full health.
It was really fun playing with the dogs and helping feed them and wash them and things like that. Cleaning outside in the sun was hard work though.
The people who run the centre were really kind to me and my Spanish improved as they didnt speak English!
I really liked Merida, there are loads of cafes and resturants and some cool museums too, the Mundo Maya museum was really interesting and I learnt about the history of the indigenous people from this area and how they lived in the past and today.
My classes were good too and the school is comfortable and well equipped :-)

I signed up for the Spanish and culture programme as I really wanted to improve my Spanish and I left feeling much more confident. My homestay family were great and really helped me to improve.
We did lots of different activities in our classes and we also got to practice when we went shopping and stuff too. I think the most difficult thing for me was feeling nervous as I didnt want to make mistakes but we were encouraged to try and I found I could communicate quite well.
It was fun trying Yucatecan food and we had tacos quite a few times at the school which was good! I felt supported during my stay and it didn't matter that I travelled alone.
It was also cool to explore on the additional activity days that were included, we had a tour of the centre of Merida and also went to a cenote with some Mayan ruins too.

I spent 4 weeks in Merida volunteering on an environmental project. We helped a local charity to clean up the beaches close to the city. Sometimes we went in kayaks around the mangroves and other times we walked along the beach. The scenery is really impressive and it was good to see the before and after! We started early as it gets really really hot!
I got to practice my Spanish with the local people and the organisers but there were also a couple of bilingual people too.
I had Spanish classes which were included as well and I liked that the teacher only used Spanish, it was difficult but it helped me learn and made me listen carefully! I was also lucky in a way as my homestay family didn't speak any English so I was forced to practice every day!