I was a great experience to enjoy the present and thinking about the future with a fresh persective. I feel fortunate that I had the oppourtunity to participate in this program. I would recommend it to anybody who wants to see Costa Rica. The experience of immersing into the culture is very rewarding. Another advantage of the program is having the guidance about where to go and the best way to do things. The local knowlwdge was extremely useful

Overall we had a wonderful experience as reflected by the high score in the review. That said, we had several concerns both in the lead up to the experience and during.

These all centered around a lack of communication regarding our expectations and our qualifications heading into the project. I volunteered with 3 other medical students from Canada and despite frequent detailing our high level of training the IVHQ the main volunteer organizations there was limited in any knowledge of that training upon our arrival to Costa Rica.

That said, the staff here did an awesome job in supporting us. Tati, our main project leader was fun, knowledgeable and very supportive. She ensured our projects were well set up to accomodate us as best as they could. Without her tireless work and creativity our experience would have been disapointing. We also felt that our expectations for work were a little much and therefore we strongly advocated for ourselves to have Friday's off to explore the beautiful country. We offered to work longer days mid-week to accomodate.

My advice would be to make sure to advocate for yourself as you are ultimately the one paying the program fees, make sure you get what you want out of this trip. The team and the people at Maximo are wonderful and supportive and the country is absolutely incredible.

If you want to take Spanish classes all week each afternoon, go for it. If you do not want that then don't be pressured into spending more money and giving up your free time, tell them 'no, I want to use afternoons to explore and experience' and you will be just fine. It may be harder to accompplish this as a group of 1 or 2 but in our 4some we made sure that the trip worked for us as well as the project to which we were assigned. We had tons of meaningful experiences with patients and residents of Costa Rica and the time we alotted was a perfect mix of work and free time.

Overall we were very happy but | would encourage people to make sure to advocate for themselves and get the trip that they want. Make sure to encourage communication in the lead-up to the trip as well!

Thanks!

Overall, I very much enjoyed my time in Costa Rica. Tati was a highlight of our experience, as she did a fantastic job orienting and supporting us throughout the project. She went out of her way to provide accommodations for us when we required them, as well as ensuring we were enjoying ourselves.

Unfortunately, we received no information about our project prior to arriving, which provided challenges and at times frustration. Given our level of medical training, an information package prior to arrival with some instructions or information on what we would be doing or in what ways we could help would have allowed us to be more effective in our role. We also would have had the opportunity to make a greater impact on the communities we worked with, by bringing more supplies and donations for the projects.

My boyfriend, Charlee and I spent a week in Costa Rica. We were placed in the child care program at Pollitos. From the first day we arrived until our last day, we felt nothing but respect, love and appreciation. Everyone from the Maximo Team was extremely helpful and kind. Our host family, Yami, was the definition of Costa Rican hospitality. Yami and her husband, Victor went out of their way to accommodate to our needs. The children and the staff at Pollitos will forever be in our hearts. In one short week, Costa Rica became one of my favorite places in the world because of this program. Thank you so so so much for this incredible life changing experience! Pure Vida!

The past two months I spent volunteering in Costa Rica with Maximo Nivel. I worked in an orphanage and also in a day care center. Those eight weeks have been one of the best weeks in my life. Very nice and helpful staff, amazing kids, the best host family I could have asked for and amazing travel destinations on the weekends. Seeing how one of the little ones was first afraid of water but after our swimlessons became so brave was definitely one of the best experiences. So sad I have to leave, but Ill be back!

I went into this programme not knowing exactly what to expect, especially as a solo traveller. I quickly got adjusted to the life in San Jose and the team at Maximo Nivel could not have been more accomadating and friendly. Making friends happened naturally and I met loads of great people from all over the world which was fantastic for organizing weekend trips around Costa Rica. The english placement that I worked was an extremely rewarding experience, the students were very eager to learn and really appreciated the time that we as the volunteers put in. Starting the trip off my Spanish was pretty pitiful but after just a short two weeks I had learned a huge amount, especially with the Spanish lessons of offer at Maximo Nivel. I have no regrets doing this programme and I will surely be back.

I enjoyed learning so much about the turtles, their environment and how we can help them i.e. make a difference. Furthermore am looking forward to share my knowledge with others to create awareness.
The local people we worked with where appreciative of our support and effort, they shared a lot of information to make our stay meaningful. Was also interesting to come together other volunteers from different backgrounds with the same interest.
Would definitely recommend to anyone looking to expand and broaden their horizons.

I had the wonderful opportunity to teach English in La Carpio (just a bit outside San Jose) for 6 weeks. Going into my trip, I had absolutely no idea what to expect. This is one of those things that you just have to experience to understand. But throughout my 6 weeks, I not only was able to help the local community, I also learned so much about myself and the world. This was my first overseas trip, so travelling by myself in a different country was completely new to me. I was able to see many sides of Costa Rica, and its people by leaving San Jose 5 of my 6 weekends. Also, I made some truly wonderful friends, not only in other volunteers, but also in my students. I will truly cherish these friendships for life, and even though it was so hard to leave, I know that I will be coming back. I highly recommend both travelling to Costa Rica, as well as volunteering through Maximo Nivel! The staff is extremely friendly and supportive, and they seem to really care about you, not just as a client, but as a person.