Your Spanish course in the green valleys of Costa Rica

Babylon Idiomas offer three destinations that lie in the interior of Costa Rica: San José, Arenal and Turrialba.

Learn Spanish in Arenal

Located in the north-western central highlands, the spectacular active volcano of Arenal has given its name to a surrounding area of hot springs, large lake, and a national park. The 1663 meter volcano remains the centrepiece of striking natural features that have drawn visitors worldwide. Located in the small, friendly town of La Fortuna (pop. 7000), at the base of the volcano, you merely need to look up to take in the panorama of Costa Rica's most striking natural feature.

The town of La Fortuna itself has numerous shops, restaurants and tour offices which has made it the gateway for many of Costa Rica's most popular excursions. Our school is located in the centre of town. This is the ideal, less touristy way to truly experience this special part of Costa Rica.

Our Arenal campus is located in the small city of La Fortuna in the north-western portion of Costa Rica at the point where miles of gently rolling farmland are dramatically altered by the sudden presence of a series of volcanic peaks, dominated by the spectacular and active Arenal Volcano. Once past La Fortuna the region becomes one of lush rain forest, lakes, and hot springs cumulating with the Jurassic Era-like sensation of the Monteverde Cloud Forest.

La Fortuna has a population of about 7,000 residences. It has become, in recent years, a haven for ecotourism, as it stands as the gateway to an area of nature at its most elemental splendour. The friendly city possesses all the infrastructure (restaurants, hotels, tour offices, internet cafes) to serve its increasing tourist population. The charm of La Fortuna is that once you are removed from its the main street, the city becomes most "Costa Rican" in flavour. This gives our students the option of stepping back and forth between all the tourist amenities of the main street and the more immersive Spanish study experience of our campus.

From the windows of our student centre, our students can enjoy a cup of Costa Rican coffee and gaze directly out at the imposing sight of one of the worlds picture book volcanoes.

The Private 4-hour Español Expres Program is four complete hours of one-on-one Spanish classes a day, Monday through Friday. Class hours are from 8:00 am to 10:00 am and from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm, with a 30 minute break in-between. All materials are included. This is the most intensive Spanish option offered in Costa Rica. The student and teacher will create an individualized lesson plan that will work on the aspects of the student’s language ability that need most improvement. All classes are strictly in Spanish as is all course material.

Courses Arenal	Intensity	Levels	Start	Group size
Español Expres	20 hours of private classes per week: 4 hours per day from Monday till Friday	All	Every Monday	1:1

Accommodation Playa Dominical	Regimen	Room
Home stay	Half board	Single room

Learn Spanish in Turrialba

Our Spanish language school in Turrialba Turrialba is located on the Atlantic slope side of Costa Rica, and is world famous for its incredible river rafting and kayaking on the Reventazon and Pacuari rivers.

This mountain community is just an hour and a half from San Jose, the country's capital, and serves as an ideal location for those interested in enjoying Costa Rica's outdoors while studying Spanish. The town itself has a population of about 50,000 which makes it a fairly large city in the country. Coffee and sugar cane plantations dot the mountainsides and valley that surround Turrialba. In the centre of town there are a number of stores, restaurants, churches, bars and parks that serve as an ideal setting for students seeking a truly Costa Rican cultural experience.

Our campus is located on the immense grounds of our proud host CATIE, (Central Agronomic Tropical Investigation Ensensia). This is Central America’s oldest and most respected research facility with over 450 acres of agriculture, administrative centres, housing, schools, laboratory, pool, library, club and lake. All facilities and the entire grounds are open to our students to enjoy and utilize

The school has a reception area with general information about CATIE and the surrounding countryside, Internet access, sitting room, kitchen, bathroom and three indoor classrooms. There are also three outdoor classrooms or ranchitos and a porch. In the back of the school the ranchitos are shaded by two very large and very old trees, which create a wonderful backdrop in which to have classes.

Our students are able to utilize the different services available at CATIE such as the bank, post office, office, library and cafeteria. They can also pay an extra fee to utilize the fully equipped gym, which has a sauna, aerobics and dance studio. There is also a club that students can join for $10 a month which entitles them to use the Olympic size swimming pool, table tennis and pool tables as well as an international restaurant. As members of the club, students will be able to attend all special events and parties such as their Mother and Father’s Day celebrations.