Day 1

Arrive in San Jose, Costa Rica, and meet your bilingual Joshua Expeditions guide once you pass through customs and immigration. You will transfer by bus to the hotel then have a bit of time to freshen up and maybe even shop at a traditional Costa Rican market in downtown San Jose. Here you will be given several tasks to perform in Spanish as well as a short lesson on Costa Rican history — in Spanish of course! Following dinner you will return to the hotel for devotions and a time to share the day’s experiences.

Day 2

Each morning will include a language lesson and practice period before the group ventures out into the San Jose area. Today you will be working on situations involving food, including restaurant menus and ordering meals. You will head to a local grocery store to talk with the people there and experience some of the regional colloquialisms. You will also have the chance to buy items and try some things! After ordering and enjoying lunch – speaking with waiters in Spanish, of course – the group will head into San Jose for a cooking class. In the evening you will have dinner at a local restaurant where you will again be able to practice your Spanish. The evening will close with devotions at the hotel.

Day 3

On this morning the group will be learning all about theater, music and traditional folk-dancing! You will have a Spanish tour of the national theater and other downtown cultural sites, and then after lunch you will participate in a folk-dancing lesson. Later, the group will head up to a mountainside restaurant where you will enjoy a delicious buffet and see special folk-dancing performances. You may even decide to join in! At the conclusion of this busy day, the group will share a time of devotions at the hotel.

Day 4

This morning the group will head out on the bus to Poás Volcano where you will have a lesson in Spanish on the biology of Costa Rica, and you will focus on nature in this beautiful place. Following lunch you will head back down the volcano for a unique form of fun in the canopy zip-line tour! By late afternoon the group will return to San Jose for dinner and devotions.

Day 5

Today the group will head out to coffee plantations and take a guided tour in Spanish that tells the history of coffee in Costa Rica. You will also get the chance to try some local flavors! On the way back to San Jose in the afternoon, the group will make a stop in the small town of Sarchi where you can see painted ox carts, the symbol of Costa Rica, and have some time for shopping among traditional artisan crafts. You will have another opportunity here to sample Costa Rican coffee and bring some home if you like! The evening will close with dinner and devotions at your hotel in San Jose.

Day 6

Fly home after an amazing trip to Costa Rica!