Study Abroad for Spanish Credit in Costa Rica

I am so thankful that I was able to find Hibiscus Travel through my school which is West Liberty University and I am studying Zoo Science. Hibiscus allowed us to travel to multiple different places to see what biodiversity Costa Rica offers. We went to Tortuga Parque de Nacíonal and help sea turtles by making nesting sites in the beach for their eggs to increase their hatching survival rate as well as went on many hikes looking for all sorts of cool and interesting animals, bugs and plants, the daily coconuts straight from the tree was just a bonus! Afterwards we went to Natuwa Macaw Sanctuary and helped out with the daily needs of the animals like feeding, filling water, cleaning and enrichment, there were many macaws flying all around and lots of native wild animals running, flying, slithering, and swimming around the park while we worked with the captive animals. I absolutely loved the tour guide, Celeste who helped translate the Spanish I didn’t know, socialized with everyone in such a friendly and caring manner and held almost daily yoga sessions while always being so cheerful. She helped organize everything and did a very, very good job at it. The food was absolutely amazing well, if you like rice and beans but, they also had lots of other yummy things like chicken, pancakes, fresh fruit and fruit juices, salads and much much more. While the food was amazing I can’t really attest to the sleeping arrangements because I slept in a hammock all week but when I went in to the bed rooms they all looked very clean and organized. You have to remember though that we were out in the wild rainforest and found a scorpion in one of the rooms but only because we are all biologists and were actively looking for them. Overall I had the best time ever and was living a complete dream and would recommend Hibiscus Travels to anyone and everyone wanting to explore the Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua areas. 11/10.

This trip was my first time out of the country and it was absolutely incredible! Celest, our tour guide, was wonderful! She was super happy and very helpful! The food was amazing and everyone was accommodating for being a vegetarian! We were able to get fully immersed in the culture and meet tons of new people! The animals and plants were all new and it was so amazing to read and learn about the wildlife at home and then actually see the animals in real life. I am a happy, stress-free student down here! Pura vida!

Our tour guide Celeste was extremely helpful and likable. Our arrangements for transport and accommodations almost always went smoothly and as-planned. Natuwa was a wonderful place and the director, Rodolfo, was helpful and kind. Natuwa’s living accommodations were also surprisingly agreeable. Also, as a biology student and naturalist, the flexible nature of the trip made it easy to plan different excursions and activities to see and photograph animals and nature in general. The price was a bit much for a broke college student, but I’d say it is worth it.

This program was an amazing experience. I got to see a lot of animals in the wild and got to do a lot of activities that I love doing. The turtle conservation in Tortuguero was great with its layback lifestyle and being able to help increase the hatch rate of sea turtles was cool. I’ve learned so much at the Natuwa animal sanctuary about taking care of the animals here and what they do differently then at zoos in the states. I also loved being able to see and do new things to learn about the culture here.

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip. I enjoyed the variation of events throughout the trip. I felt that I got to thoroughly experience the nature of Costa Rica. My group got to see animals from the rain forest and the desert. I was able to interact with people super knowledgeable of the wildlife in Costa Rica, and they were able to teach me a lot. If given the chance, I would love to come back. Our guide, Celeste was very kind and fun throughout the entire trip. She translated and taught us about Costa Rican culture.

I think this experience was unique to my group because we had an amazing staff from hibiscus and from the destinations along the way. Both our tour guide for the entire trip and the advisor over our trip made it and extremely enjoyable and life-changing experience. Additionally, I felt having going to the Turtle Research Project and the Natuwa Macaw Sanctuary were perfect destinations at understanding animal practices in Costa Rica. Overall, I felt this trip was not only good experience but was also a good oppurtunity for reflection and self-evaluation.

I have had a really good time in Costa Rica. I have enjoyed the culture and the people that we have talked. The turtle sanctuary was very remote with not WiFi. There was not a lot of structure and there were some people that gave off the vibe that they did not want us to be there. There were rules that they wanted us to follow that they did not even follow themselves. But, I love exploring the rainforest and seeing all of the different animals. The animal sanctuary was amazing and had the best time.

This was a great experience especially for people interested in animals! There are wonderful learning opportunities. The turtle conservation project was very laid back and we were able to take hikes during the day to find different plants and animals. Natuwa the animal sanctuary is great for people interested in conservation work. They’re extremely conservation minded and you get to work with tapirs, macaws, monkeys, Jaguars and a lot of other animals. Our guide Celeste was great! She was very helpful when talking to the local people and led us in a great beachside yoga class!