ISLS: Summer Youth Spanish & Adventure Camps

For over 30 years we have been providing Youth Spanish Immersion Camps in Costa Rica. We have welcomed literally thousands of students, parents and families to our unique and educational summer Spanish programs in Costa Rica. Each of our Teen Spanish Camps is designed to combine the learning of the language with fun, adventurous, educational and culturally significant activities. Our Children’s Camp in Playa Tamarindo is the only one of its kind in Latin America. If you are a family looking for a fun and educational vacation we have programs and camps for all ages, from 2 to 99 years of age.

We offer exciting Teen Spanish Camps and one Children’s Spanish Camp in beautiful and safe Costa Rica! Our teen camps in Costa Rica are designed so that students can mix and match different experiences and locations. If you would like to do a week or two in one camp followed by one or more in another, it is possible. In this way students are able to create a personalized and unique learning vacation.

Please fill out the Contact Us Form for our up to date camp schedules and start dates.

Youth Camp Discounts!

We offer three different types of discounts for our Youth Spanish Camps in Costa Rica; Early Bird, Sibling and Long Term. The Early Bird Discount is 10% Off the entire Camp Price when students register prior to October 31st. The Sibling Discount is for families that send two or more children at the same time. On our Teen Camps each child will receive $50/week off the standard price of the camp. On the Children's Camp each child will receive $25/week off. For the Long Term Discount, any student who attends for four or more consecutive weeks of our "Residential" Teen Camps will receive a Free Airline Ticket to and from the USA. For the Children's Camp each child will receive $25/week off. For more information on these discounts, including specific policies and rules, please contact us directly.

Camp Information

Below you will find a brief description of each camp. For more complete information including: itineraries, list of tours and references, please contact us.

Playa Tamarindo Teen Spanish Camp (Ages 14 - 17)

This is our signature program and is what we believe to be the most unique Teen Summer Spanish Camp in Central America. Students from ages 14 to 17 are eligible to participate in this exceptional Spanish immersion program. The camp offers interactive Spanish classes, surf lessons, and weekend adventure tours, as well as group and cultural activities.

This is the perfect program for high school students looking for a fun Spanish learning environment, while at the same time either learning to surf or practicing their skills on some of the best breaks in Latin America. Each week long session includes 5 days of Spanish classes, 4 hours/day, along with 4 afternoons of surfing. There are two lodging options available: Camp Residence or Local Host Family. Each weekend, students will participate in 2 day-long adventure tours to different parts of Costa Rica.

The ISLS Surf and Spanish Camp is located in Playa Tamarindo, Costa Rica, at our private language institute. Located on the Northern Pacific coast, Tamarindo is a world famous surfing destination with three different beaches and dozens of different breaks in the immediate area from which to choose. It is also a very safe beach for swimming, with a long white sand beach for lying out. It is a lively town with lots of banks, shops, stores and restaurants.

Each week students will participate in a Friday volunteer activity. We partner with the local branch of the Surf Rider Foundation and activities can include beach clean up and habitat protection and reclamation. We believe it is very important for our students to give back to the local community and help preserve the natural environment.

Teen Spanish Immersion and Adventure Camp (Ages 14 - 17)

This camp combines interactive Spanish lessons each morning with afternoon and weekend adventure tours. 5 days a week, from Monday through Friday, students will attend Spanish classes for 4 hours in small groups. In the afternoons, Monday through Thursday, they will take part in half day adventure tours. Then, on the weekend, they will participate in 2 days of adventure activities. These exciting excursions are designed to fun and challenging, while at the same time displaying the diversity and beauty of Costa Rica.

Students will visit local national parks, kayak, river raft, zip line, hike and rappel. When you combine intensive morning Spanish classes, afternoon tours, evening cultural activities with exciting weekend adventures you get an amazing Costa Rican experience.

The Adventure Camp takes place in Playa Tamarindo, which is located on the Northern Pacific coast in the province of Guanacaste. Tamarindo is one of Costa Rica’s most popular tourist destinations and there are a lot of reasons why. It is a dry forest area, with substantially less rain than the rest of the country. This means you have more time to enjoy the outdoors and adventure activities. It also makes the beaches white and the ocean more clear and blue. It is a very safe beach for swimming and the town has a lot to offer with numerous banks, shops, stores and restaurants.

Teen Spanish, Service and Turtle Rescue (Ages 14 - 17)

Want to experience the meaning of ‘Pura Vida’ in Costa Rica and make a real difference? This camp is for students who want to dive into the language and ‘Tico’ culture while at the same time working on community projects and saving endangered sea turtles. You’ll also experience the adventure that Costa Rica has to offer with rafting tours, jungle hikes, canal tours, repelling down waterfalls & zipping through the canopy.

Service, volunteer and environmental protection is the major focus of this two week residential camp. Each week, Monday to Wednesday, students will take part in community service projects volunteer at local orphanages, schools, churches and senior centers. During the middle weekend, the Camp will visit the Caribbean coast and participate in a Sea Turtle Rescue and Habitat Restoration Project. The final weekend we will volunteer in a remote mountain co-op community, dedicated to sustainability. By participating in needed projects we will improve the lives of those being served.

Experiencing local family life is a large part of this camp and great care is taken when choosing these families. Only families who have worked with ISLS for more than five years and are willing to accept the added responsibilities inherent with housing teenagers are considered. Students share two meals a day with their host families. Students are placed one or two to a family, by request.

The town of Turrialba has 35,000 inhabitants and is located in a mountain valley, 1½ hours from the capital city, San Jose. It is a very safe and accessible town with none of the traffic and congestion of the capital. Three rivers crisscross the valley with a large man made lake about 10 minutes outside of town. The temperature in Turrialba is very mild with daytime highs in the mid to high 80s and nighttime highs in the mid 60s.

Children’s Spanish, Sports & Adventure Camp (Ages 2 - 13)

Our Children’s Camp is the only one of its kind in all of Latin America. It is designed for parents who want their children to get something special out of their family vacation to Costa Rica. This camp is an enjoyable and educational way to accomplish that. The purpose of our Children’s Camp is to combine a number of different age appropriate activities in an overall learning environment. This creates a less intensive and more enjoyable atmosphere for younger children to learn Spanish.

This is a 1 to 9 week long day camp for families traveling to Costa Rica with children between the ages of 2 & 13. Parents can take the adult Spanish lessons at our Spanish Immersion Center or they can relax all day while their children are having fun. If you have teenagers traveling with you, they can join our Teen Spanish Camps as day campers. We have special prices and options for teens who are traveling with other family members.

Our camp is located in Playa Tamarindo, a true tropical, dry forest paradise with plenty of things to do for all ages of the family. It is a great swimming beach, as well as a popular surf spot.

Camp hours are 8am to 2pm, Monday through Friday. Students are split up into three different groups: Pre-K, Elementary and Middle School. In the mornings there are at least two hours of fun and interactive Spanish lessons followed by time at the beach and lunch. Afternoons are filled with arts and crafts for the younger children, surf lessons, interaction with local children, adventure tours, beach volleyball games, swimming and weekly graduation ceremonies with a pinata!

The Pre-K Group is a fun and interactive Spanish day care service. Children from 2 to 4 can be with us four or six hours/day, depending upon the family's needs. The camp counselors are all local women who have worked with the school and our camp for years. They continually interact with the children throughout the day and all in Spanish. We don't just sit them down in front of a flat screen and have them watch shows in Spanish. We play games, do crafts, sing songs and utilize numerous learning aids developed specifically for this age group.

The cost depends upon the number of hours you choose each day. For update pricing Contact Us Form.

The Elementary School Group is split up into Spanish classes by age, 5 to 7 and 8 to 10. There are two Spanish teachers per age level, or four in total. By splitting up the group by age it gives us a greater ability to make the classes more developmentally appropriate.

The Elementary Group is further split into two smaller groups by level of ability in Spanish. One teacher will be in charge of the more beginner group and the other will handle the more advance. There are two hours of instruction each day at this level from 8 to 10 am. We have fun, interactive and age and level specific curricula and materials for theses ages.

Student in the Elementary Group are in the camp from 8 am to 2 pm and all activities and lunch are included. For updated pricing Contact Us Form.

The Middle School Group, is for children ages 11 to 13. Because these students are older and use to a more structure classroom environment. They are given a more intense curriculum and their materials are more challenging. They also have six more hours of in class Spanish lessons each week. They are given an additional two hours of classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

The Middle School Group still participates in all of the adventure and cultural activities as well as lunch each day. We also allow parents of mature 10 years olds to choose to move them into this program. For updated pricing Contact Us Form.

Playa Tamarindo is a beach on the northwest coast of Costa Rica. It is in the tropical dry forest and is one of the most popular, family friendly, destinations in Costa Rica. There are a number of reasons for this: Tamarindo and the surrounding area has the best weather in all of Costa Rica with the most days of sunshine. The beach is large with white sand and stretches over a mile right in front of town. Everything is within walking distance and you do not need to rent a car.

Another thing that makes the place so attractive to families is that there are many different lodging options from which to choose. We have three beachfront apartments that house only camp families during the time of our camps. This is a great option for families that want to close to everything and meeting other like minded camp families. If you are interested in reserving a space in our beachfront compound, please contact us for more details and pricing.

Put it all together with the diversity of wildlife, the abundant national parks and the many adventure activities and you have a wonderful destination for the whole family. Also, the Liberia airport is only 55 minutes from Tamarindo and services most international carriers, so it is very convenient.

Summer Youth Spanish Camps

Youth Camp Discounts!

Camp Information

Playa Tamarindo Teen Spanish Camp (Ages 14 - 17)

Teen Spanish Immersion and Adventure Camp (Ages 14 - 17)

Teen Spanish, Service and Turtle Rescue (Ages 14 - 17)

Children’s Spanish, Sports & Adventure Camp (Ages 2 - 13)