A Passport to Spanish

Costa Rica is a renowned mecca for tourists. A rugged country in Central America with lush rain forests and a warm, tropical climate, this coastal destination provides travelers with the best of both beach and inland life. Beautiful palm trees and exotic fauna dot the coastline, and the dense foliage plays home to exotic creatures such as monkeys, iguanas and sloths. The indigenous fruits are bursting with juicy nectar and sweet citrus flavors, turning every meal into a finger-licking feast.

Yes, Costa Rica is a dream vacation, the perfect place to pull the brim of your straw hat over your eyes, kick up your heels and drift into a happy haze. In fact, Costa Rica is now such an ideal getaway location that many people are buying second homes, timesharing villas or spending weeks on end in this pristine paradise. With the natural beauty and vibrant culture right at your fingertips, why not undergo a fully immersive experience and learn the language?

A Spanish language immersion institute, CPI Spanish, offers various programs for students of all ages and levels

to learn Spanish in an intimate setting of no more than four students per class. From advanced speakers to students who can only say hola, CPI helps both adults and children learn the language and have fun in the process. Small classes guarantee individualized attention and fast friendships with other students—and you’re never too old to be a CPI student.

CPI caters to a myriad of different people including families traveling with young or even teenage children, retirees seeking a relaxed learning environment or college students obtaining university credit for their coursework. Founded in 1991, CPI has twenty-five years of experience teaching a second language to travelers who aim to get the most out of their international adventures.

With three different locations in Costa Rica— Playa Flamingo, San Joaquín de Flores and Monteverde Cloud Forest—CPI ensures that all students can travel and absorb as much of the language and culture as they desire. Students can choose to study at one of the locations or at all three—and that may be tempting, because each campus and city is quite different from the next.

Playa Flamingo: If you love hot weather, sand and a charming beach vacation, Playa Flamingo is the CPI campus for you. Located on the gorgeous Guanacaste coastline, the smooth sand and warm rays make this beach an unforgettable spot. Learn how to surf, sail towards the sunset on a catamaran cruise or just lounge on a blanket reading a book. One unique aspect extended by this CPI location? They also offer an Open Water Diver Certification course. In addition to learning Spanish, students can submerge themselves in scuba diving and enjoy the diverse sea life of the Pacific Ocean where hundreds of colorful fish and coral reefs reside. 

San Joaquín de Flores: This small town is located in the quiet province of Heredia. A suburban spot, San Joaquín de Flores is a short trip from capitol city San José. Nestled in a small valley, the town is surrounded by a volcanic chain of towering hills with cloud-covered crowns. There is a laid-back atmosphere in San Joaquín de Flores, where the locals all know each other and everything is a short bus ride away. Nature and greenery are everywhere in San Joaquín de Flores; hike the Poas Volcano or explore a local coffee plantation. Rappel down a waterfall or tour the rainforest canopy. This tiny town is ideal for integrating into daily life in Costa Rica.

Monteverde Cloud Forest: This tourist favorite is immersed in lush vegetation and boasts breathtaking vistas—literally breathtaking, because Monteverde is located 5,000 feet above sea level, nestled among Costa Rica’s mountains. Perfect for anyone bitten by the adventure bug, Monteverde’s mountainside offers a myriad of heart-thudding and stomach- clenching activities. Zipline through the treetops or take a dive and bungee jump. Enjoy a leisurely hike through the dense foliage where you could encounter 400 species of birds and over 100 different species of mammals. Monteverde is the perfect town and CPI campus for students looking to get out and explore the natural world.

Every CPI location offers a different kind of experience—from small town life, to an adventurous forage through nature, to a beach vacation—and all three come highly recommended. Even more notable, however, are the professors. Dedicated to teaching Spanish in a fun and useful manner, CPI professors are masters of their field. Classes are structured to be light- hearted and conversational, giving students everything they need to step into the Costa Rican streets and understand the locals. Most of all, CPI professors aim to boost their students’ confidence and enjoyment of learning Spanish.

The CPI office staff is bilingual, attentive to different needs and dedicate considerable time to organizing out-of-class activities or transportation to nearby cities. They work hard to make students feel like part of the CPI family and greet their students with warm smiles every day. In regards to housing, most students choose to stay with local families to learn more about the culture and food and to maximize their opportunity to practice Spanish. These host families are kind, welcoming and experienced; some families have been receiving students since CPI opened their doors 25 years ago.

It’s this duration of CPI that speaks volumes. For 25 years, this academic organization has dedicated itself to providing lessons and cultural experiences to their students. While some international language schools lock their students away in stuffy classrooms for eight hours a day, CPI creates a fully immersive, high-quality program that integrates the beauty of Costa Rica with the intricacies of the Spanish language. It’s a memorable, stress-free travel experience you can carry with you around the world for the rest of your life. Enjoy a tropical adventure while expanding your cultural base and Spanish prowess. Go on; have a 5-star educational vacation with Costa Rica’s CPI. 

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