Costa Rica
Costa Rica Spanish Immersion
Highlights
- 1 – 6 week programs
- Consider 10 days to have a full weekend to explore!
- Live like a local with a host family (hotel / hostel options too)
- 20hrs/week Spanish Classes
- Optional 1:1 private lessons
- Tuesday – Thursday community service outreach projects
- Explore amazing beaches, volcanoes, cloud forests, coffee tours, national parks & más!
- A great place to include your family or significant other for a post-trip vacation
- Interprofessional mix of fellow travelers
- Open to Adults, Families, High Schoolers, Undergrads, Grad students, Teachers & Healthcare workers.
Location
2025 Dates
Summer program: you choose your start date- July 5 or July 12, 2025
24/7 Support
Possible to combine with Ecuador programs
Ecuador
Ecuador Spanish Immersion
Highlights
- 1 – 6 week programs
- Consider 10 days to have a full weekend to explore!
- Live like a local with a host family (hotel / hostel options too)
- 20hrs/week Spanish Classes
- Optional 1:1 private lessons
- Tuesday – Thursday community service outreach projects
- Explore local markets, Inca ruins, national parks, the Andes, soak in volcanic hot springs, mitad del mundo & más!
- Learn Spanish with other professionals from all walks of life
- Open to Adults, Families, High Schoolers, Undergrads, Grad students, Teachers & Healthcare workers.
Location
2025 Dates
24/7 Support
Possible to combine with Costa Rica programs
Medical Spanish Immersion Trip
- Learn Medical Spanish in small group classes.
- Volunteer in the community health setting.
- Earn CME / CE credits
Teachers Spanish Immersion Trip
- Learn Spanish for the classroom and communication with parents.
- Volunteer in community schools and organizations leading educational camps.
- Earn Continuing Education & PDU credits
Earn College Credit while you travel!
Get up to 5 undergraduate university credits for all of the fun and challenging immersion work you’ll do abroad.
Our trips are accredited for 200-level (2nd year) college credits as follows:
- 3 College Spanish credits for 2-week programs
- 4 College Spanish credits for 3-week programs
- 5 College Spanish credits for 4 week programs
Additional fees apply. Email Leslie for more information
COSTA RICA & ECUADOR SPANISH IMMERSION FOR ADULTS
If I participate – What are the expected outcomes?
Become more fluent in Spanish
A life-changing experience
A deeper understanding of the culture
Participate in relevant, sustainable and language-rich community engagement projects
Explore the beauty of Costa Rica and Ecuador
Learn outside your comfort zone
Highlights
- 1 – 6 weeks in length
- Consider 10 days to have a full weekend to explore
- Live like a local with a host family (hotel / hostel options too)
- 20hrs/week of Spanish classes
- Optional 1:1 private lessons
- Tuesday – Thursday outreach projects
- Explore amazing beaches, volcanoes , cloud forests, coffee tours, national parks & más!
- A great place to include your family or significant other for a post-trip vacation
- Interprofessional mix of fellow travelers
- Fly in and out of San Jose (SJO)
Location
Based in Santo Domingo de Heredia
- 7/5/25-7/12/25
- 7/12/25 – 7/19/25
- 7/5/25 – 7/19/25
- 7/12/25 – 7/26/25
- 7/5/25 – 7/26/25
- 7/12/25 – 8/2/25
- 7/5/25 – 8/16/25 (wks 4 – 6 are “off-program”) – see FAQs
General Program Itinerary:
First Saturday & Sunday
Saturday: arrive in country, get settled with your host family
Sunday: town tour, orientation, meet trip leaders and participants
Mon – Fri Afternoons
Small group Spanish classes from 1-5pm
Tue – Fri Mornings
Community outreach work.
Weekends
Explore the country! We put together a weekend trip every weekend. You are free to join us, stay with your host family, or DIY a weekend excursion!
Highlights
- 1 – 6 weeks in length
- Consider 10 days to have a full weekend to explore
- Live like a local with a host family (hotel / hostel options too)
- 20hrs/week of Spanish classes
- Optional 1:1 private lessons
- Tuesday – Thursday outreach projects
- Explore local markets, Inca ruins, national parks, the Andes, soak in volcanic hot springs, mitad del mundo & más
- Include your family or significant other on a post-trip vacation to the Galapagos Islands
- Interprofessional mix of fellow travelers
- Fly in to Quito (UIO) with domestic flight to Cuenca or overland travel with us on optional weekend excursion
Location
Based in Cuenca, Ecuador
- 6/14/25 – 6/21/25
- 6/21/25 – 6/28/25
- 6/14/25 – 6/28/25
- 6/21/25 – 7/5/25
- 6/14/25 – 7/5/25
- 6/14/25 – 7/12/25 (wk 4 is “off-program” – see FAQs | consider combo trip)
- 6/14/25 – 7/19/25 (wks 4 & 5 are “off-program” – see FAQs | consider combo trip)
- 6/14/25 – 7/26/25 (wks 4 – 6 are “off-program” – see FAQs | consider combo trip)
General Program Itinerary:
First Saturday & Sunday
Saturday: arrive in country, get settled with your host family
Sunday: town tour, orientation, meet trip leaders and participants
Optional: Weekend excursion before programs begins (Quito city tour, Mitad del Mundo, Avenida de los volcanes, Baños y más)
Mon – Fri Afternoons
Small group Spanish classes from 1-5pm
Tue – Fri Mornings
Community outreach work.
Weekends
Take time to explore the country! We put together a weekend trip every weekend. You are free to join us, stay with your host family, or DIY a weekend excursion!
*Check out the Costa Rica or Ecuador programs
Diversity and Inclusivity on Spanish Immersion
Our mission of Impacting Communities Through Language extends to ALL travelers and learners regardless of age, gender identity, physical ability, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status.
I luckily found your website. For a while I have been interested in participating in an immersion program for Spanish learning. 20 hours per week studying in groups seems perfect. And I will volunteer to do just about anything that is needed. I am not picky in that way. I have taught ESL here in Chicago since I was 25 years old. I am now in my 70s and retired, but I still teach part-time to keep active. I see that the program helps adults, but is 70 too old to qualify?
Hi Joseph, we’re glad you found us also! 70 y/o is definitely not too old to travel. Every year more and more retirees are joining us on programs and having wonderful experiences while they meet their Spanish language goals… so you’ll be in great company! I’ll email you separately and maybe we can schedule a time to have a call. We hope to work with you soon! Cheers,
Hello, this is the first time I’ve seen your ad for this program. I have volunteered before (Ecuador 2015 and Vietnam2017) through a volunteer travel company. I was teaching ESL.
I’m just wondering if there are any age limits. I was already a senior during those trips although not retired yet then. I am retired now though.
I’m just checking to make sure that this is not only for young people.
Thanks!
Would one have access to the Internet in a host family? I ask because I would like still need to have access to my work (and students) during the trip. This would be a factor that determines whether I can/cannot participate.
Hi Chip, great question! Yes you’ll have regular access to internet at your host family, at language school, and at various cafes around town. Staying connected shouldn’t be a problem.
Hiya, asking here since I missed the informational zoom: I’m looking at the Adult program for two weeks for July 1, 2023. Since that IS a Saturday, which you recommend, is there any particular time to arrive by (e.g., not prior to 6am, but before 6pm)? Is transport from airport provided? Can we choose the volunteer option? Do/can we choose whether our stay is family/hostel/hotel? When planning departure; should we book return flight for the last day of the program, or a subsequent day? Do we pay in full upon reg, or is deposit-based? Sorry for all the Qs but look forward to your reply and thanks in advance.
Hi Sharise, thanks for the note! We’d love to work with you this coming summer starting July 1st. Here are some quick answers to your questions:
Hope it works out for you to join us this coming summer! Cheers,
Fantastic, thanks for the answers. Look for my registration soon.
This looks like an interesting program but I have some questions. Please describe the volunteer work a little more and how would it be fulfilling or challenging?
I can’t seem to find the cost for one or two or three weeks engaging in your program. Am I required to put down a $500 deposit in order to find out how much this costs? Thanks.
Hey Pamela, thanks for your interest in our Spanish Immersion trips! Here is the link to the costs that you’re wondering about. And the volunteer work is educational in nature, not physical labor in nature. This assures that we’re always using Spanish communicatively to help local underserved communities. Our specific projects are usually defined a few weeks before travel after we’ve had a chance to consult with the local organizations that we support and they’ve expressed what their most pressing current needs are.
Hi Rory and Leslie
I am looking ahead to next year and I see there is an adult immersion trip beginning in January 2023. I’m wondering about any Covid protocols that are required. It seems to me it might be very difficult to learn Spanish if the teacher and students need to be masked. Maybe it is too soon to know since this pandemic is ever changing. Thank you
This looks like so much fun! I just started learning Spanish about 2 years ago, and I’m wondering how well I need to be able to communicate before I embark on a trip like this. It would be a great goal to set! Thanks.
Hey Jane, there is a long answer to your question but the short answer is this: The more you know before you travel, the faster you learn while traveling. On the flip side, if you’re a beginner, there is no better or faster way to get started with Spanish. The important expectation is that regardless of your level, learning Spanish is a commitment that you stick with for some time. Cheers!
In the event that the host family situation does not work out, is it an option to be moved to a hotel?
Also, I would be traveling with the adult or teacher program but may possibly take my daughter who is 14. How or what would the accommodations be for the both of us?
Hola Julie! Thanks for your comment and I will be responding to your other email shortly! Here are some answers to your questions…
1- Yes, it is an option.
2- Great! There is an option for you and your daughter to share a host family. You would each most likely have your own bedroom, and share a bathroom.
HI Rory,
I am interested in joining the Adult Immersion trip in June. Is it possible to have one of my high school aged kids join me? They are both learning Spanish. Could we still stay with a host family together?
Thanks,
Monica
Hey Monica, sorry for the delay in responding… yes it’s absolutely possible for your high schooler to join you on program and in the same host family – and it would be tons of fun!
Is there an option of staying in a hotel rather than with a host family in the Costa Rica program?
Yes Desiree, there is that option! You miss a lot of conversational opportunities, but if you feel strongly about it we’ll be glad to support your decision and get you set up in a local hotel. Email me if you want to set up a time to chat.
Hi there
If I wanted to go to the Costa Rica program for 6 weeks, will every week look the same as the last one or will I be taught different things in class so I am advancing my Spanish over the 6 week period? Will I be placed in a specific class with others at my same level? Will we be going on the same excursions every week since there may be new students arriving each week or because I’m there for 6 weeks, there will be different opportunities to explore the country? That’s all the questions I can think of right now. Thank you so much.
Great questions Chris! Here are some quick answers for you:
We’d love the chance to travel with you, Chris! Let me know if you can think of any other questions. Cheers, Rory.
My family wants to learn Spanish in equacdor. June 22-july19, 2021.
Hi Kevin, thanks for your message. We are not offering our Ecuador trip this summer. But we are hopeful for summer 2022. This summer all our programs in Costa Rica are being offered. Here is information about those: https://commongroundinternational.com/spanish-immersion/family-spanish-immersion/
i’m just 16 years old , can i join by myself?
Yes Maryame – welcome!
Is it possible to start on Feb. 2nd or Feb. 9th for two or three weeks or is the entire spring session based on a Jan 26th start date? If the program is structured so that a Jan 26th date is required, would it be possible to arrive on Sunday, the 27th? Arrival on the 26th would present a problem for me.
Hi Carol, great to hear from you… happy new year! Yes we have consolidated the winter program to the January 26 start date. That said, if you’re able to arrive the 27th or 28th, that will be very easy to integrate you into the start of the program. I’ll send you an email with an update. Rory
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