Program Reviews

We very much enjoyed our time with Naatik in Carillo. The immersion experience was everything we expected it to be, and more. Very friendly and supportive staff. The teacher was excellent. He understood our goals and targeted the learning accordingly. Being a native Spanish speaker he had an in-depth knowledge of the language and was able to provide clear and concise explanations. On top of that, he was approachable and friendly with a good sense of humour. Lots of laughs! He also shared a lot about Maya culture and history which added a lot to the experience.
Carillo is very safe and we were easily able to explore the town and surroundings. People in general were friendly and it was refreshing to be off the beaten tourist track, in a "real" Mexican town.
Our host family was welcoming and friendly and provided a comfortable and clean room and we enjoyed the discussions at mealtime.
We highly recommend this organization.
Linda and Karin

I entered into this program because I've been trying to learn Spanish for work, as well take a well-needed vacation in another locale. I'd say I'm very much satisfied on both fronts.
The spanish was probably the most important part for me. I received about 4 hours of instruction a day from a bilingual teacher, Maestro Cesar. He spoke really well in both languages, helped me to identify personal objectives and create a personalized lesson plan, and covered topics in class that were both educational and fascinating on a personal level. I know just enough about teaching to know that he's clearly had some amount of professional training on how to do it.
Something that I found with personal classes/immersion that was missing from other types of Spanish learning is this capacity/path that leads to fluency. I think a lot of resources I'd used in the past (language apps, some online classes, videos, etc.) gave a good grounding, but there wasn't anything to get you to the level where you were having actual productive conversations with native speakers. Like Ronnie Coleman (famous bodybuilder) says, "There ain't nothing to it, but to do it."
Felipe Carrillo Puerto is this quiet, smaller town between cities on the Yucatan Peninsula, it's very tranquil, giving you a lot of opportunities to relax, try immersion, and do local stuff in a calm environment. The weekends, or well-planned afternoons, give you opportunities to head to Chetumal, Bacalar, Talum, or a handful of other places to take in local sights/attractions that aren't available in Carrillo, go to fancy restaurants, or in general do touristy stuff without the pain of having to live among tourists for a week or more (I actually really liked going to El Parque and randomly seeing a new vendor sell something I haven't seen before, but they just don't see keychains). I did a lot of my street-food testing and general relaxation in Carillo, and headed to Bacalar for kayaking around La Laguna de Siete Colores, buying souvenirs, and fine dining.
I think what was most interesting to me was the way that my rapidly developing Spanish changed the trip over the course of 2 weeks and about 40 hours of personal instruction. I learned how to better communicate to store owners to find some of the specialty items I was looking for over the course of the week. I went from barely hanging on to my homestay family to being able to have decent conversations and joke around from them, I was upset at the local attractions' insistence on responding in English when I had decent Spanish coming to Bacalar, and I'd like to think I was pretty helpful as a volunteer for some of the English immersion classes.
The homestay family was very kind to me. They fed me pretty well, went out of their way to make me feel included in their day-to-day life, and were available whenever I needed help. I remembered taking a trip to an abuela's house to do some Dia de Los Muertos celebrations and eat a bunch of tamales with the family-there's some sort of unspoken closeness to helping unwrap tamales with someone that I can't really explain. I leave with some sense of familiarity, but also this sense that there's something much deeper and richer here than I could have possibly found out on my own, like a lil fishie growing up and realizing they've been swimming over a cenote (find out what that is! by traveling to another country and swimming over it!)
Anyways, the irony of being in an excellent language program is that I now feel empowered to do trips in other parts of Latin-America/parts of the world that have many Spanish speakers, and don't feel a strong need to come back (I'm still planning to do the online courses). I definitely recommend this program for anyone who wants to travel, but doesn't have an idea of where they want to go, or anyone who has a desire to be in Mexico or learn Spanish.

An amazing, authentic immersion program! Would highly recommend for anyone who wants an off-the-beaten path experience. My Spanish level is basic, but my teacher Cesar tailored my lessons to my ability and interests. The attention you receive at this program is incomparable -- from the incredible excursions offered to the classes and homestay family. The trip to Bacalar and bike tour were amazing! My homestay family was incredible as well -- very patient, and kind. Immediately felt like a part of the family. As a solo female traveler, I felt very safe as well. Cannot recommend this program more!

I was blessed to stay with a great family, that was composed of three generations which let me experience the culture from various vantage points. They introduced me to foods that i would never order in a restaurant. It was great not having to find good restaurants to eat. Oh, and the restaurant where the welcome dinner took place was really good as well. The teachers and staff were welcoming, knowledgeable and i learned a lot. They also helped to set up a few activities for us that were equally as fun and educational.

Na'atik offers classes in Spanish and Mayan for travelers who would like and immersion program. We lived in Felipe Carrillo Puerto where the school is located for 4 months and during this time both my husband and I took classes at the school. He took Mayan and I am still taking Spanish classes. When we returned home last March, I have continued to take Spanish classes twice a week with Pedro. Pedro is an experienced and skilled teacher, having both Spanish and English skills. He continues to be my Spanish teacher and coach. I appreciate his thorough approach to my learning and pronunciation. If you are interested in learning Spanish, there is not a better way to learn than from a native speaker!! I highly recommend Na'atik!

We value the experiences travel, learning about different cultures and languages bring to our lives. As a result of that priority for us and our kids, we enrolled them in the online Spanish program at Na'atik. They have weekly sessions with Jose, a native Spanish speaker, they discuss soccer, food, travel experiences, more soccer etc.. It is super fun to see their Spanish skills improve through active conversation over the internet (visual and audio), which is perfect as we are hunkered down in the pandemic. Our kids were not very excited about this new activity at first, but now enjoy the sessions with Jose as they can sense that their Spanish is improving weekly, and the method is not a traditional learning method like a classroom would be, rather it is much more aligned with how I learned different languages....immersion. The program is super affordable and fun-highly recommended.

Like so many people I have been quarantined and out of work due to the corona virus. I decided it would be a good idea to do something useful with this extra time and I knew just who to contact. About two years ago, I traveled to Mexico to study at Na’atik for two weeks. It was an incredible, life changing experience. Thankfully, Na'atik offers online classes. I decided to give them a try.
I was paired with my teacher, Cesar, who is amazing. The classes are fun and personalized to my level and my learning speed. We talk about interesting things while learning how to use the language. It has been a fantastic experience overall. So, fantastic, in fact, that I have re-enrolled and will continue to do so.
My hope is to return to Na'atik in person someday when travel is safe again. But, for now, I am happy that Na'atik is offering these incredible online classes.

I love my Spanish classes with Osmar. It feels like I am transported to Mexico every Wednesday evening, as we chat in Spanish and I can hear the birds in the background! A nice escape from rainy days in England :) I didn't want to learn to read or write in Spanish or have homework (my day job is quite intense), so I asked if we can stick chatting regularly to keep up my practice. I was grateful that Osmar was happy with this and every week we talked about big topics like the latest news (including Covid), politics, global warming, sustainable tourism and the environment. In just ten weeks of chatting, Osmar taught me how to use the different types of past tense (hurrah!) and at the end of each class he gives me pointers on what to correct and useful resources to practice more. 100% recommend picking up classes - so much fun and so good to escape the everyday rhythm of life with a taste of Mexico.

My weekly Spanish class was everything I hoped it would be. I already have a strong Spanish foundation, and I wanted to brush up on my skills since I don't have opportunities to speak Spanish in my daily life. Na'atik and Maestro Pedro customized a conversation-based class that was perfect for me and my goals. Meeting via ZOOM was surprisingly easy, and Pedro made sure to create an encouraging learning environment where I felt comfortable making mistakes and learning new things. No matter what your level of Spanish, your Na'atik teacher will boost your confidence as well as offer you new challenges and areas of growth.

The fact that a percentage of my class fees went directly to providing English classes for the local Na'atik community was a special bonus. Na'atik will forever hold a special place in my heart.

I traveled alone at the start of 2018 as a 15 year old male. I had gone to Na'atik once when I was 12 with my family, but I did not remember that much and I had never traveled alone to a foreign country. I was nervous at first but as soon as I met my guide at the bus terminal my fears dissipated. Ananias, my guide, took me to Catherine and Simon, who were in charge of my activities, and they took me to my home stay family. My family was very kind to me and they food they cooked was delicious. Once I was there, I never felt nervous and Catherine and Simon did a wonderful job taking care of me. Pedro, my Spanish teacher helped me improve my Spanish grammar and vocabulary and my family really helped me improve my overall fluency. I take Spanish in school but I can't practice like this. I also became more confident when I talked. Despite the fact that it rained for the first week, I loved the trip. This program was wonderful and I would recommend it to any looking for a way to immerse themselves in the Spanish language and improve their fluency.