Combine the locations of our Spanish school in Costa Rica
Intercultura Costa Rica is one Spanish school in Costa Rica with two unique and very distinctive locations. The vibrant, historic Heredia and tranquil, tropical Samara Beach.
Combine the locations in order to experience total immersion and culture from different perspectives. Simply choose the dates you would like to be in each campus.
Each campus has a distinctive flavor, way of life and charm.
Start at either campus and after a week or several weeks you can move easily to the other campus without any disruption in your learning process.
Questions you might have
The lifestyle and culture of Heredia are very different from life in Playa Sámara:
In HEREDIA we are located in the middle of town. However we have a big beautiful campus with interior gardens, terraces and mountian views.
In SAMARA there is a strong Costa Rican community despite being a beach town. All love the fact that there is no road between our campus and the beach - the Pacific ocean is basically in our front yard!
Yes! Once your Spanish program has started, you can always change the location if you feel like getting to know a different side of Costa Rica.
For example you can start to learn Spanish online from home and afterwards come to Costa Rica or vice versa to keep practicing at home after your trip. Please remember, however, that group classes cannot be changed to privates once you have started but you can, however, always add private lessons to your group class if we have availibility.
While you probably know best what you’re looking for, we recommend starting at our Heredia campus. Heredia is located in the Central Valley, where 80% of Costa Rica’s people live, so you get an authentic taste of “Tico” life. There are great local tours to volcanoes, waterfalls and other natural wonders, so you won’t only be in an urban setting. It is also a more economical option to start in Heredia, as we include the airport pick-up from SJO if you stay with a host family (minimum 1 week). The tuition is also slightly lower in Heredia. If you have more than one week with us, it’s definitely worth experiencing both campuses! On the other hand if you love beaches, then the Sámara campus will be a great fit. This is a perfect campus and location for the active traveler.
You'll never really know how the green season will be. In Heredia it is usually sunny during the day, with the rain starting in the afternoon or evening and sometimes lasting until the next morning! However in Sámara it is drier, with shorter rains and more sunny days; the rainiest months are September and October. Therefore you should not make your decision according only to what you read online, since it generalizes the rainy season for the most part. Don't forget, no matter where you start, you can always go back and forth between our locations. Or switch to online classes.
Divide your time between the locations to get the best possible immersion experience.
About Costa Rica
Costa Rica is located between Nicaragua and Panama. The Caribbean Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west.
It is a peaceful country with no standing army. The country's focus is on environmental protection and education.
The country has an amazing range of ecological diversity. There are volcanoes, beaches, rainforests and lowland jungle. Many different species of flora and fauna can be seen as well as the many unique cultural elements.
Questions you might have
Costa Rica is known as an environmentally conscious country that has actually gained forested area over the last 30 years. Considered as the safest nation in Latin America it has a reputable education system. The country is also easily accessible from most parts of the USA and Canada. It has several diverse eco-systems and is the country with the highest-density biodiversity in the world as well as it usually comes down to natural beauty and security.
We found a very useful article that can give you a pretty good idea about what you will be most likely spending during your stay in Costa Rica - from food, activities, transportation, lodging and more. Read the article here: COST OF TRAVELING IN COSTA RICA OR VIEW OUR SUMMARY!
Every guide book or internet site will tell you the must-sees in Costa Rica (Manuel Antonio, Arenal, Monteverde, to name a few), but my favourites are the ones a little further from the beaten track. They may be a little harder to get to, but they are well worth the effort! After living here for 20 years, here are a few of my must-sees: READ FULL ARTICLE!
You are in the middle of planning your trip and need some help in finding out which airlines fly to Liberia (LIR) and which to San José (SJO) or to both? Our blog post "How to get to Costa Rica" may help you in giving you a better overview about direct flights to Costa Rica.
We can say it is save to travel to Costa Rica but it is also really important to inform oneself well about that topic. Here is one article we would like to share with everyone as it is really revealing about the worldwide Zika virus situation.