Adult Immersion Participants – Welcome to your Spanish Immersion Program!!!
We are so excited for your once-in-a-lifetime journey. This is your program hub and where you can find all the important documents. Bookmark this page; it will be updated frequently as we get closer to departure.
Watch this short video for quick instructions:
What are my next steps? 👣
Complete these action items within a month of registering!
Follow this preparation timeline
Check your passport and make sure it has 6 months of validity.
– Teacher Immersion.
– Medical Immersion.
– Adult Immersion.
– Family Immersion.
Read, sign, and submit:
–Paperwork for medical, teacher, and adult participants.
–Paperwork for Family participants.
Your program includes basic travel medical insurance with trip interruption, delays, lost bags, etc. If you have any uncertainties about your upcoming adventure, it’s a good idea to consider additional travel insurance coverage. If you’re looking for a Cancel for Any Reason policy, we suggest you shop for it here and act quickly as it is often has to be purchased within two weeks of your initial deposit.
Read what the Center for Disease Control says about traveling to Costa Rica & Ecuador. Make an appointment with your primary care physician if necessary.
The first Saturday of your program is a travel day. Airport codes are:
– UIO (Quito, Ecuador)
– SJO (San Jose, Costa Rica) and send your flight info to [email protected] along with a copy of your passport.
Due 3 months before departure
(See info in pre-departure course) Limited space available – https://commongroundinternational.com/trips/
This is a required, online course and will set you up for success!
– Medical Immersion
– Teacher Immersion
– Adult Immersion
– Family Immersion
Submit 45 days before departure (or earlier)
– Exam for Ecuador participants
– Exam for Costa Rica participants
– Exam for Children on Family Immersion
60 days before departure
– April 22 @6pm MT
– May 20 @6pm MT
– June 10 @6pm MT
You will receive a Google calendar invite and email reminders with the Zoom link.
45-30 days before departure
Download this checklist – hang it on your fridge!
Flight Information
Ecuador Flight Info
- Our programs are held in Cuenca, Ecuador, 8 hours south by bus of the capital city Quito.
- Our recommendation is to fly into Quito (UIO) and avoid Guayaquil.
- Arrive to Quito on Saturday and take a domestic flight to Cuenca (flight is 45 min.) Saturday afternoon meet up with your host family or Sunday morning
- LATAM or AVIANCA is the domestic airline we recommend
- ⚠️ ¡Aviso! We have a pre-trip optional excursion to see the Mitad del mundo, historic center of Quito and soak in volcanic hot springs. Learn more!
- For those attending the pre-trip excursion…
- Arrive into Quito (UIO) on Thursday, June 18
- This is the Outbound flight from Cuenca to Quito on Saturday, June 20
– Avianca Airlines
– Flight #: 1606
– Departs Quito @ 6:40pm
– Arrives into Cuenca @ 7:40pm
Costa Rica Flight Info
- Our programs are held in Santo Domingo de Heredia. The closest international airport is Juan Santa Maria (SJO), just outside the capital city of San Jose.
- Arrive on a Saturday- your host family will pick you up from the airport.
- We will have an orientation and town tour on your first Sunday of program.
- ⚠️ ¡Aviso! If you wish to participate on an optional weekend excursion before your program begins, please arrive into country the Friday before the weekend.
- ⚠️ ¡Aviso! If your want to participate on a weekend excursion after your program ends, please note that we return to San Jose on Mondays around 1pm. Plase book your flight home after 4pm on Monday or consider staying at an airport hotel on Monday night and flying home on Tuesday morning.
Ecuador / CR Combo Participants
Do you want to fly with Rory and Leslie from Ecuador to Costa Rica? This is the flight we’ll take if you’d prefer to fly with the same group of combo participants.
We will be traveling from Cuenca to Quito on Friday afternoon, July 10th. We will spend the night at the Holiday Inn Express Quito Airport on July 10th then catch a direct flight from UIO to SJO on Saturday, July 11th.
Our flight and hotel details are below. If you would like to join us on this trip, great! If you already have other travel itineraries, that is great too. Either way we will see you in Costa Rica and continue the Spanish Immersion Program.
- Flight #1: July 10 -Avianca Airlines departs CUE @ 8:30pm and arrives into UIO at 9:35pm. Flight #1607
- Flight # 2: July 11 Avianca airlines departs UIO at 11:35am arrives to SJO at 12:50pm. Flight#646
- Hotel: Rory and Leslie will be staying at Holiday Inn Quito Airport. There is a free airport shuttle to the hotel.
Wondering about when to books flights?
Watch this video and get tips on arrival and departure days, host family considerations and more!
Costa Rica Flights
Extra nights with host family
Ecuador Flights
Extra nights with host family
Super Important Program Links (all in ONE place)
Program Registration:
– Teacher Immersion.
– Medical Immersion.
– Adult Immersion.
– Family Immersion.
Pre-departure paperwork:
– Paperwork for medical, teacher, and adult participants.
– Paperwork for Family participants.
– Make Payments Online
Pre-Departure Course:
– Medical Immersion
– Teacher Immersion
– Adult Immersion
– Family Immersion
Immersion Placement test:
– For Costa Rica participants
– For Ecuador participants
– For Children under 12 on Family Immersion
Volunteer Sign-ups
– Win. ’26 Costa Rica Volunteer Sign-up sheet
– Ecuador Volunteer sheet
– Costa Rica Volunteer sheet
Program Itineraries:
– Win. ’26 CR Itinerary
– Sum. ’26 Ecuador Program Itinerary
– Sum. ’26 Costa Rica Program itinerary
Packing Lists:
Ecuador and Costa Rica packing lists
Participant Workbooks
Optional Activities: follow the links to register
Ecuador:
– Mitad del Mundo & Quito Historic City Tour
– Ingapirca Ruins
– Cajas National Park
– Morochos Coffee Tour
– Hot Springs Soak & Mud Bath
Costa Rica:
– Cafe Britt (Coffee Lovers)
– Sibu Chocolate
– Poas Volcano (1/2 day)
– La Fortuna Volcano weekend
– Manuel Antonio Beach weekend
– Tortuguero
– Isla Tortuga Catamaran Tour
– Toucan Rescue Ranch
– Rancho Arizona tour
Watch the replays of the online meetings:
CR Winter ’26 Meeting #1 (12/10)
CR Winter ’26 Meeting #2 –
CR Winter ’26 Meeting #3 (01/28)
