It’s possible to start on any given day. Group classes start every Monday. Sometimes it is possible to join a group even if you start on a different day than Monday.  You will need to arrive at the school the day before starting the class and do an assessment test. If you don’t fit in, you will be advised to first take some private lessons until it is possible to join the group. Private and mini-group (max 2 persons that sign up together) classes can start any day of the week.

Most activities can be arranged on the spot, but when you would like to do volunteer work, we advise you to book at least four weeks in advance because we need to receive your CV and motivation letter (in Spanish!), apply at the receiving organization and take care of administrative procedures.

Once you make a reservation and we confirm lodging, classes and other services, we cannot guarantee refunds for cancellations. However, if changes are necessary, please consult with the reservations team (info@spanishatlocations.com) or once at the location, with the School Manager, to see if changes in your reservations are possible. If we do make changes, a $15,- administration fee may be charged.

The simplest way to pay would be prior to arrival. We can give you our bank account information by email.  You are also welcome to pay upon arrival.

Panama City: Book your flight to Panama City when coming from abroad or when coming from San Jose (capital of Costa Rica). You can also take the bus with X.  When travelling from Turrialba or Puerto Viejo, it would be best to travel to San Jose first and then take the flight to Panama City (air Panama or natureair). From Bocas del Toro, you can take the night bus from Almirante,  El Cruce. For this, you need to leave the island at 6 pm by boat to Almirante. Then continue to El Cruce to catch the bus that travels from Changuinola to Panama City. From Boquete, you first travel to David (just half an hour) and from there you take the bus from David to Panama City. In Panama City, when travelling by bus, you always arrive at the main bus station called Albrook. Boquete: First travel to David and from there take the local bus to Boquete. To get to David: from Panama City,  various buses leave from the Albrook bus terminal to David.  From Bocas, take the boat to Almirante and then take the bus in El Cruce that travels from Changuinola to David.  From Turrialba, you should go first to San Jose and then to David.  When travelling from Puerto Viejo, it would be better to first cross the border and make it to Changuinola, from where you can take the bus to David. Bocas: From all locations, you can travel to Bocas by bus. From Turrialba you first travel to Siquirres (buses are leaving at 6 am and 8 am), in Siquirres you walk around the soccer field to another bus station. From there you take the bus to Limón where you also need to walk a few blocks to take the bus to the border. From Boquete you travel first to David and then to Almirante. There is also a shuttle bus leaving from Boquete every morning at 7:30 for $30 (including the water taxi to the island that costs $6). We can book this shuttle for you at our location in Boquete. From Puerto Viejo it is a short trip to the border. Once you cross the border in Panama, you can get on a tourist shuttle for $10, take a private taxi or a shared taxi to Changuinola and afterwards a shared taxi or bus to Almirante. In Almirante, you take the water taxi to the island. There is also a possibility to book the shuttle bus leaving from Puerto Viejo for $25 (including the water taxi to the island). We can book this for you at our location in Puerto Viejo. From San Jose you take the bus to the border. You should take the 6 am bus from Transporte MEPE located at the Terminal Atlántico Norte, Avenida 9, Calle 12. Phone +506 2257 8129. On the other side of the border, you need to travel through Changuinola and reach Almirante from where to take the water taxi to the Island. From Panama City you can fly for about $120 (Air Panama) and from San Jose for about $300 (Natureair) to the island. Turrialba: From San Jose take the bus from the Transtusa bus station located Avenida 6, Calle 13.  It basically leaves every hour. Take the “directo” and it will take about 1 hour and 45 minutes to get to the main bus station in Turrialba.  From Panama City you take the bus to San Jose from the Albrook terminal. Once in San Jose, you need to get to the Transtusa bus station to take the bus to Turrialba. From Puerto Viejo you travel to Limón followed by Siquirres and afterwards to Turrialba. You can also take the bus from Puerto Viejo to San José and get off the bus on the highway near Siquirres (this way you avoid having to change buses in Limón).  From Bocas you take the water taxi to Almirante from where you can either take a tourist shuttle ($10) or a private taxi ($25) to the border. You can also take a bus ($1.50) to Changuinola and afterwards another bus or shared taxi ($1.50) to the border. Once in Costa Rica, you will walk to the bus station from where you can take the bus to Limón or to San José. If you take the bus directly to San Jose it is a bit more expensive but you don’t need to change buses in Limón. The route is: border – Limón – Siquirres – Turrialba. If you choose to take the bus to Limón you will need to change the bus station here, as well in Siquirres. If you take the bus to San Jose, the bus stops on the highway (you need to ask for this stop!) and you need to walk into the town of Siquirres (5 min walk). Don’t travel late (the last bus from Siquirres to Turrialba leaves at 7:00 pm). From Boquete you take the bus to David from where you take the Transtusa bus to San Jose. It leaves at 8:30 am. Once in San Jose, you need to take a taxi to the Turrialba bus station (Avenida 6, Calle 13) and take the directo to Turrialba. Puerto Viejo: From San Jose, From Panama City, From Bocas, From Boquete From San Jose you take the bus from Transporte MEPE located at the Terminal Atlántico Norte, Avenida 9, Calle 12. Phone +506 2257 8129. From Panama City, Boquete and Bocas, you can best first travel to Changuinola. From Panama City, you take the bus from the Albrook terminal, from Boquete you first travel to David and then to Changuinola. From Bocas, you take the water taxi to Almirante from where you can either take a tourist shuttle ($10) or a private taxi ($25) to the border. You can also take a bus ($1.50) to Changuinola and afterwards another bus or shared taxi ($1.50) to the border. You can also take a bus ($1.50) to Changuinola. From Changuinola to the border by bus or shared taxi. Once in Costa Rica you take the bus to Puerto Viejo. Of course, if you prefer not to travel by bus, we can arrange taxi transport from the airport to all our locations. 

General information

• Panama is in a time zone of +1 hour to Costa Rica.
• Direct buses always cost a little more than the local buses, but it is really easier and a shorter way to travel.  The direct buses have AC and it can get very cold on the bus, so bring extra clothes.  The direct buses also have restrooms on board and will stop for meal breaks.
• When you cross the border, you are required to pay $8 when leaving Costa Rica through Sixaola (going to Panama).
• Bring evidence of your departure plan from the country in which you are entering. You are not permitted to stay longer than 3 months in Costa Rica and 6 months in Panama. However, if you leave the country for 72 hours, upon your return, you renew your permission to stay for the same period of time.

For travel information, we refer to the former post How to travel to Panama City, Boquete, Bocas, Puerto Viejo or Turrialba.  If you have more questions about travelling, you can always ask us by e-mail, use the printed travel information available at the Locations or ask one of the School Managers, they are happy to assist you!

Costa Rica’s public bus system is excellent, cheap and quite frequent, even in remote areas. Taxis regularly do long, as well as short-distance trips and are a fairly inexpensive alternative to the bus, at least if you’re travelling in a group. Car rental is more common here than in the rest of Central America but is fairly expensive and driving can be quite a hair-raising experience, with precipitous drops in the highlands and potholed roads just about everywhere else. Domestic airlines are reasonably economical and can be quite a time-saver, especially since Costa Rica’s difficult terrain makes driving distances longer than they appear on the map. A number of tour operators in San José organize individual itineraries and packages with transport included: well worth checking out before making any decisions about heading out on your own.

We highly recommend you to write on your to-do list, “buy a Metro Bus card” because you need a card to pay the fare, as they don’t take cash. You can buy a card at the bus terminal in the Albrook Mall or some supermarkets. The card cost approx. $2 which you can put up to $50 in credit and when you scan your card on the bus, there is a screen that will let you know how much credit you have. One reminder, at night it is very difficult to find a place where you can put more money into your card since supermarkets aren’t 24/7 or open late at night. Besides that, you can of course always use a taxi.

If you don’t know any Spanish (or just a few words), you don’t need to do a test since you will start in level A1, week 1. If you know more,  you can do our online tests before arrival.  Start with PLACEMENT TEST 1 (when you pass this one, your level is A1 and you will start working in level A2), we will grade it and let you know if you should continue with PLACEMENT TEST 2. If you haven’t done our online test, you will do it on Sunday at 5 pm at our location. Besides this, (even if you have done the online test before arrival) you will always do an oral test at this moment since our estimation will be more based on comprehension and conversational skills, than on reading and writing skills.

We use original materials made by ourselves, complemented by the materials of Aula Latina – Curso de Espanol (Editorial Difusión) for levels A1, A2, and B1. An essential feature of this material is that the information provided is related to Latin America instead of Spain, which we think is necessary since most of our students will travel to Latin America. A manual with grammar information, exercises, and space to write down your notes is included and can be taken with you after completing the course. This manual is printed on recycled paper. For levels B2, C1, and C2, we use different course materials, completely suited to your needs and interests.

Bring a pen, pencil, maybe a notebook (although we also provide space for notes in the manual that we include in the course), a dictionary (although today most people have this on their smartphone) and (empty) flashcards are great as well!

You can do a test at the end to prove your level A1 to C2. A large part can be done without a teacher, but the oral will be done one-on-one, so you should order one private hour,  $15 per hour unless you are taking private lessons. If you want to do the test, we should know within five days’ notice. The test has no international value but forms an accurate assessment on your CV without hesitation.

Our teachers are trained in a certain way and also bring in their teaching styles, but you are free to ask the teacher to include specific topics and even to teach in a certain way. Especially in private classes, we can be very flexible.

It is very important that, when you feel you are not placed at the correct level or you are not learning, you talk with your teacher or with the School Manager. The sooner we know, the sooner we can make adaptations to make sure you don’t waste your precious time!

It might be possible to change locations without having made prior reservations for this transfer, but we can’t guarantee this possibility. Please ask the School Manager or write our Reservations team at info@spanishatlocations.com.  If we do make changes, a $15,- administration fee can be charged. Every day the teachers keep a record of what you do in classes, what your homework is, and other specifics about your learning process. At the end of your study period at one of our schools, you receive this record and you can keep it if you don’t travel to another school, but need to take it with you to the following school, if you continue with us.  The School Manager of the school that you leave also sends information about your progress to the School Manager of the school where you will continue.

Although learners vary in their learning styles (which means: some needs to read, others to hear, others to touch or do something and most of us apply a combination of these possibilities), we strongly believe that for you to learn Spanish there are three essential conditions that we need to meet: You should be: 1. provided with exposure to the target language (written and spoken input like texts, conversations, etc.), 2. provided with opportunities to use the target language in real communication (use of the language to do things), 3. motivated to engage in the language process (to listen, read, speak and write the language). In order to meet these conditions, we adopt a certain approach (the theory behind the method that we apply), a certain method (series of steps to acquire a certain knowledge) and certain materials (authentic material like flyers, recorded conversations, etc.) and materials particularly written to support teaching: including textbooks, printouts and handouts). Our approach: Communicative. This approach has proven one of the most successful in providing confident learners who are able to make themselves effectively understood in the shortest possible time. It is the teacher’s responsibility to create situations that are likely to promote communication and provide an authentic background for language learning. Grammar is hidden within the body of a lesson and highlighted and focused upon once the context has been set. First, you try to communicate and in doing so, you’ll learn it! Our method: Task-based learning. In task-based learning, tasks (activities where the target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose) will be used as the central focus. The aim of the task is to create a real purpose for language use and provide a natural context for language study.

Contents different levels: A1: abecedario, datos personales, números, saludar y despedirse, el género, presente de indicativo (-ar, -er, -ir), verbos: ser, tener, llamarse, expresar intenciones, expresar intereses, hablar de motivos, pronombres personales sujeto, verbos y preposiciones, el artículo determinado, expresar existencia, expresar ubicación (verbo estar), describir y definir lugares, personas o cosas, artículos indeterminados, cuantificadores, el clima, concordancia, preguntar y responder, el superlativo, númerales, referirse a objetos (demostrativos), el/la/los/las + adjetivo, qué + sustantivo / cuál-cuáles, expresar necesidad, hablar de preferencias, de compras, aspecto fício y carácter, gustos e intereses, relaciones personales (posesivos), verbos reflexivos, días de la semana, la hora, situar en el día, secuenciar acciones, expresar frecuencia, yo también/tampoco – yo sí/no, verbos irregulares en presente de indicativo; verbos poner y traer, generalizar: la forma impersonal con “se”, bares y restaurantes, pedir y dar información sobre comida, las comidas del día, pretérito, marcadores temporales para halbar del pasado, empezar a + infinitivo, relacionar acontecimientos del pasado, hablar de la duración, ir-irse, cuantificadores, expresar gustos: resaltar un aspecto, pedir información sobre direcciones, dar información sobre direcciones, describir el pasado; el imperfecto.

Yes, you will receive a certification stating the number of hours, names of teachers and level worked. If you do a test at the end to confirm your level, that level will also be stated on your certificate.

Yes, we do recommend this. Our hostels and other hotels fill up especially in the high season (the middle of December until the middle of April and the middle of June until the middle of August).

Yes, this is possible. You can stay at our own hostels, with a host family or at another hostel or hotel. Even an apartment, condo or fully equipped house are among the possibilities that we offer.

Please ask the reservation team at info@spanishatlocations.com or the School Manager and he or she will tell you what possibilities there are. If we do make changes, a $15,- administration fee may be charged.

The accommodations we recommend depend on how much privacy you wish to have (a private room at our hostel or another hotel or an apartment-condo or house is more private than a shared room in our hostel or a room at a host family) and how much you would like to spend per night. The least expensive option we offer is the dorm beds. Then there are private rooms at our hostels (with at some of our locations a private bathroom as an additional option), hotels, apartments-condos and luxury houses.

Yes, this is possible. Everybody can use the accommodations at our hostels. Obviously, it is important to know that we are also a Spanish School. In other words, we are not a party hostel (although there are exceptions and we organize a party once in a while) but we attract mostly travellers that are interested in courses, activities and volunteer work.

Yes this is possible. There are several different activities that you can do, which vary from location to location. During the week, when you have Spanish classes, you can only do half day activities but in the weekend you can also choose to do full day and overnight activities.

This depends on the activity, and even the same activity can sometimes be done in half a day, a whole day or overnight.

You can make a reservation through email or at the location. You can pay once you arrive at the location.

Sure, this is possible. Just let the School Manager know, and he or she will arrange it for you.

You can make a reservation for this through our website, or by contacting us at info@spanishatlocations.com. It is important to do this at least one month prior to starting your volunteer job.

We will make sure the organization is expecting you and you have an appointment on your first day. We will also accompany you on the first day and present you to the person in charge of introducing you to the company. You will receive a certificate of assistance upon completion. At the time of this writing, we charge $50 for organizing volunteer work.

Yes, it is possible but you should contact us at least a month before the start date of your volunteer job.

Yes, you are entitled to receive a certificate of assistance at the end of your volunteer job.

At most volunteer positions, you won’t receive anything in exchange. However, if you volunteer at our Schools-hostels, you will receive a place to stay free of cost for 24 hours of work per week.

It will depend on your visa regulations, and that depends on your nationality. You usually need to leave the country for 72 hours, and you can re-enter and stay again for three months (Costa Rica) or six months (Panama).

Yes, this is possible in most cases. Don’t hesitate to contact info@spanishatlocations.com to get more information about the possibility of the specific volunteer option of your interest.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch with info@spanishatlocations.com to get more information about the possibilities regarding internships.

In Panama City, Boquete and Turrialba, you can drink tap water. In Bocas del Toro and Puerto Viejo you can’t. In Bocas, you can refill your bottle with filtered water at a reduced price at various points.

This depends on your nationality. Most nationalities allow you to stay for three months in Costa Rica and six months in Panama. After this period, you can leave the country for at least 72 hours, after which you can re-enter and stay another 3 or 6 months. For this, it’s best to check with your embassy.

It depends a lot on whether you cook for yourself or eat out. In Costa Rica, if you prepare your food, you will spend between 5 and 10 dollars a day. If you eat out, it will be between 10 and 20 dollars a day. In Panama, you will spend between 4 and 8 dollars a day preparing your food. If you eat out, it will be between 8 and 15 dollars a day.

Yes, you can rent a car in San Jose, Panama City, David, or tourist areas (we don’t recommend renting a car in Turrialba).

Yes, it is easy to use the public buses or rent a car for the whole period. There are lots of hotels that welcome children. Older children also like to stay in hostels where they can meet other travelers. There are many activities to do in both countries that children enjoy,  like horseback riding, rafting, snorkeling, hiking, zip-lining, etc. Always check if there are any age limits.

Yes, it is safe to travel alone. However, like in any place in the world, walking alone late at night in dark spots is not recommended.

Passport, bank cards, flight ticket, ESTA (or other Visa) when you change planes in the USA. Bring lightweight and light-colored clothes (not too many, you can easily wash your clothes in tourist areas), a rain jacket or poncho or umbrella, bathing suit, shirt with long sleeves and long pants, sweater, insect repellent, shoes for hikes, sandals, and flip-flops, sunglasses, hat or cap, sunscreen, water bottle, camera, pen & notebook, flashlight.

Yes! By staying at our hostel and sharing communal areas like the living room and the kitchen, you will automatically get to know people to share activities with and maybe continue traveling after finishing the course. For example, suppose you decide to stay with a host family.

We recommend contacting your local health organization. We have found that although malaria prevention medication is often recommended, it isn’t necessary. Nevertheless, we prefer you to decide based on the information you will obtain in your home country.

We recommend that you talk to our School Manager since they will know what to do. Your options will be either go to a pharmacy directly, get lab work,  go to the local physician (we know some excellent English-speaking doctors), the local clinic or hospital, go to a larger hospital in the Capital, or better go to your home country.

Our most reliable mailbox is located in Turrialba. If you need to receive your mail at another location, please let us know and we will determine how to get it to you. Spanish by the River – Turrialba Aptdo 42 – 7150 TURRIALBA CARTAGO / COSTA RICA