San José

Intercultura Language Center

Intercultura offers immersion Spanish programs with daily cultural activities such as Latin dance, cooking, films, yoga, and arts. Homestay or hotel stays are available, and volunteer programs are offered. Two beautiful campuses, one on the beach, one in the colonial city of Heredia, close to San José. Class size 1-6 students, All teachers have university degrees and teaching credentials. US university credit available.

Decent gym facilities can be found at the Spa Corobici telephone: 231-5542 located behind the Hotel Corobici. The taxi ride from the airport is approximately $10 - $20 USD and entry into the gym is 5,300 CRC or $10 USD. The club has a good selection of free and machine weights as well as a cardio theater. The club also has an outdoor swimming pool for lap swimming, a jacuzzi tub, and a sauna.

Costa Rica in general, and San José in particular, is a great place to improve your Español. Many people can speak some English and there are many Spanish classes available, including at the Universidad de Costa Rica, as well as "immersion" classes in private homes.

jugglers

Every Thursday a dozens of young jugglers gather at the Parque Morazan and juggle together. Often with percussion music. It s a free event in public space. Normally you will be invited to play with them. Lovely experience if you like street art.

TTCR Golf Tour

Specialized golf transportation to/from San Jose area hotels and Marriott Los Suenos course. Reserve online for a $160 rate 2 person min. including trasportation.

The main downtown area is a bustling collection of well-laid out streets filled with vehicles and lined with plain architecture of commercial buildings. Visitors may be initially put off by this. But look inside and enjoy the friendly people, and your impression will quickly change.

There are a lot of tours and local events and doings in and from San José. Buses are well marked, pretty reliable and crowded.

Intensa (http://www.intensa.com) With locations in San Jose, Alajuela and Escazu, offers conversational lessons as well as home stays.

Coastal Spanish Institute CSI: Spanish and Surf school in Tamarindo, Costa Rica. Homestay or residence available, along will many fun activities.

Wayra Instituto De Español (http://www.spanish-wayra....) Programs run from 1-4 weeks, there's an option to include a surf course, the school is in Tamarindo Beach.

Natural Spanish (http://www.naturalspanish.com/) With ecological tours, cooking and dancing lessons included.

Centro Panamericano De Idiomas (http://www.spanishlanguag...) Locations in Heredia, Monteverde and Flamingo Beach. The Flamingo location offers a chance to obtain an Open Water Diver Certification

ISLS, Institute for Spanish Language Studies, is a service for Spanish students wanting to make the most of their experience in Costa Rica. Not only do they have first class language institutions throughout the country they offer their travel services to students. Once you are in Costa Rica, ISLS offers many valuable services that will help make your visit an enjoyable one. Spanish language students receive help finding schools and access to many services while they are in school. Knowledge of the layout of the country and Capital city is important for travelers, Spanish language students, people thinking about retiring or investing, or anyone planning on spending an extended period of time in Costa Rica. ISLS offers a Student Guest House in San Jose, Costa Rica that is available to all of our students whether they are in a Spanish program or have already completed one. It is a great place to start out with when entering the country for the first time. It is also a great place to recoup, check some scores, clean your cloths and just relax. ISLS has put together a "Welcome to Costa Rica program" so that clients have the easiest possible transition into the Costa Rican culture. You will arrive into Costa Rica three days earlier than your planned start date for your trip. They provide airport pick-up, accommodations, valuable safety tips, Costa Rican transit information, a “home base” while you travel, and an opportunity to meet other travelers with similar destinations and interests. Feel free to visit their website: (http://www.isls.com/costa...)

Costa Rica Golf Day Tours

Comunicare Linguistic, Cultural & Community Service Center

(http://www.comunicare-cr.com/) is a non-profit association dedicated to teaching spanish as a second language, to fostering a deeper understanding of central america and to supporting community development and volunteer work. offers spanish immersion, homestays, service learning, central american studies, educational and entertaining excursions. phone 5062281-0432 e-mail: [email protected]

Irazú

Buses to volcano Irazú leave at 8AM daily on Av. 2 in front of the National Theater 50 km, 2 h, 4000 colones return and return at 12:30PM from the National Park. Park entrance fee for foreigners only: $US10 / 5020 colones, a bit overpriced but the view is nice.

Volcanoes

Buses to volcano poas leave from parque la merced at 08:30am daily 2990 colones. buses to volcano irazú leave at 8am daily on av. 2 in front of the national theater 50 km, 2 h, 4000 colones return and return at 12:30pm from the national park. park entrance fee for foreigners only: $us10 / 5020 colones, a bit overpriced but the view is nice.