The Park School of Baltimore
March 12, 2027 – March 20, 2027
Key Information
This is Costa Rica and our dedicated Team
Let yourself enjoy Costa Rica with our amazing team, live with local families, practice Spanish in daily life, and give back through meaningful service projects that support both rural and Indigenous communities. Along the way, enjoy Costa Rica’s wild beauty with highlights like rafting the Pacuare River and soaring through the rainforest on ziplines. This program blends Spanish immersion, cultural exchange, and community service, with just the right touch of adventure.
March 12
Welcome to Costa Rica! Your flight from Baltimore lands in the evening at Juan Santamaría International Airport. Our team meets you at arrivals and drives you to your hotel Studio Boutique near the airport. After a long travel day, tonight is about settling in, getting some rest, and gearing up for the adventure ahead. We’ll have a light orientation over dinner so everyone knows what’s coming.
March 13
We pick you up after breakfast and drive out to Sitio Mata, just outside the town of Turrialba, in the heart of Costa Rica’s rural highlands. The ride itself is already an experience — volcanic landscapes, sugar cane fields, and small towns along the way. Once we arrive, we do our full welcome session: orientation, ground rules, and what to expect for the week ahead. Then the big moment — students meet their homestay families. These are local families who open their homes and their lives to host students for the next three nights. This is where the real immersion begins. Dinner is with your family tonight.
March 14
Morning starts at a local cacao farm where students learn the full process from pod to chocolate, getting their hands dirty along the way. From there we head to Nórtico, one of the few certified fair trade coffee farms in the region. Students walk the plantation, learn about sustainable farming, and taste some of the best coffee they’ll ever have — straight from the source. In the afternoon, we switch gears with some light canyoning through the river gorges nearby. Nothing too extreme, but enough to get the adrenaline going. Rappelling down waterfalls, jumping into natural pools — a perfect way to end the day before heading back to your homestay family.
March 15
Today is all about giving back. Students set up a community flea market where they sell clothes they brought from home in good condition — everything priced at a dollar or fifty cents. All the proceeds go directly to the local Cabécar indigenous community. It’s a simple but powerful project that gets students interacting with the community in a meaningful way. In the afternoon, we visit the Cabécar village itself — learning about their traditions, their language, and how they live. It’s one of the most eye-opening experiences of the trip. Dinner back with your homestay family.
March 16
Today is all about language and culture. In the morning, students join their host moms for a traditional Costa Rican cooking workshop — learning to make tortillas, picadillo, and arroz con pollo while chatting in Spanish the whole time. It’s messy, it’s fun, and the food is incredible. In the afternoon, we visit a local elementary school where students lead conversation games and activities with the kids. By now the Spanish is flowing more naturally than anyone expected. Back with the families for dinner and one more evening of real connection.
March 17
Last morning with the families. We start the day with some light canyoning through the river gorges near Turrialba — rappelling down waterfalls, jumping into natural pools, nothing too extreme but enough to get the adrenaline going. It’s a perfect way to blow off steam before the emotional part. Back in Sitio Mata, we throw the big farewell fiesta — music, dancing, food, and a proper celebration with the homestay families. Five nights together means real bonds have formed by now. Expect tears. Crying is absolutely allowed, and honestly, kind of expected.
March 18
We say our goodbyes to the families and head to our ecolodge, tucked right at the edge of the mighty Pacuare River — one of the top rafting rivers in the world. Students can choose to raft in to the lodge, which is an incredible way to arrive, or ride in on our own trucks if they prefer to stay dry for now. In the afternoon, we hit the Tarzan swing — which is exactly what it sounds like and gets a big reaction every time — and explore the trails around the lodge. The setting is something else: dense jungle, howler monkeys, toucans, and the constant sound of the river.
March 19
We raft out of the Pacuare valley this morning — the full river experience, class III and IV rapids through one of the most beautiful gorges in Central America. Once we’re off the water, we dry off and drive to Cartago, Costa Rica’s former capital, to visit the Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles — the most important religious site in the country. From there we continue to San José, check in near the airport, and have our final dinner and reflection circle together. By now the group is tight — the kind of bond that only comes from sharing something like this together.
March 20
Last morning together. We have breakfast and then it’s time to head to the airport. The short drive gives everyone a chance to decompress, look through photos, and start processing everything that happened over the past week. We get you to the airport with plenty of time, say our goodbyes, and send you home changed. See you next time.
