2026-04-19T21:28:09.936Z

I would definitely recommend Nosara Spanish Institute to anyone looking to study Spanish on the west coast of Costa Rica! On my first day, I tested at a different level than the rest of the new students so they gave me my own teacher for the same price as a shared class, which was amazing. I also chose to do the homestay (I was placed with Lilliam and Abel) which was probably the highlight of my time in Nosara! They were so kind and wonderful and made sure I was always safe and knew how to navigate everything and they spoke Spanish with me every day. I felt safe as a solo female traveller in Nosara and it was easy to do yoga classes and arrange for nature tours as well as spend the afternoons at the beach, which is only a five minute walk from where the school is. Nosara and Costa Rica are not a cheap destination and some things were more expensive than in the US, but the school and homestay were great value for the money. Note that the homestay locations are between 2.5-5 km from the school/beach but my host family showed me how to take the public bus daily and you can pay for a private tuc tuc instead if you want. I would not have given up the home stay to be closer to the beach and school. All in all, if I went back, the only thing I would do differently would be to bring more cash, as it seems that the ATMs can be unreliable and don’t always have money available to dispense. Overall, a great experience. If you are on the fence, just go!

2026-03-18T14:24:56.743Z

I had the best week at NSI! I was wanting to work on conversation and had an almost private daily conversation class for the full week. I learned so much and feel a lot more comfortable with my Spanish, and enjoyed my classes so much. Would love to come back any time and 100% recommend!

2026-03-02T21:15:29.197Z

My husband and I took three weeks of Spanish classes at NSI. We loved it and thoroughly enjoyed our instructors. We took advantage of all the excursions NSI planned and met some amazing friends. Definitely recommend!!!

2026-02-08T19:19:48.778Z

Great week learning and getting practice time. Enjoyed both the staff and my fellow students.

2025-06-17T05:01:26.207Z

Had a wonderful experience! Did a 1 week session. Was the highlight of my trip. The instructors were kind and I felt very comfortable speaking and making mistakes. I felt the price was very reasonable. Thank you again!!

2025-05-18T13:34:34.342Z

We had a great experience with the Institute. We stayed at the Hacienda and could not have been more comfortable. We came in as absolute Beginners and left with a really solid foundation. Special shout out to our Instructor Alvaro Tellez. He was the perfect mixture of thorough and professional with Fun and patience. We will be back for more.

2025-04-29T20:52:41.627Z

Exceptional professors and welcoming community. I improved very quickly.

2025-04-19T19:52:59.714Z

We had an amazing time at the school. We learned a lot of Spanish very quickly and Alvaro was an excellent teacher - we hadn't been in a classroom environment for a very long time and he made it enjoyable and easy. The social activities were fun and we met a lot of people!

2025-04-01T00:51:04.218Z

Such a wonderful school with the most caring of teachers. I learned so much within a month, and made friends along the way! We had a beach day, met a local family, did cooking classes and had easy access to beautiful yoga and surf classes. My sleeping situation of the dorms was perfect, and very close by. I wish the time didn't go by so fast. Gracias para todos y nos vemos :)

2025-03-30T03:07:51.352Z

Huge shout out to everyone at NSI. Although I had no real expectations going in as I have not done a Spanish program before I think my 20 hour a week, three week experience was exceptional with so many memories to bring home.I will start with how impressed I was with the quick callbacks and information I received from Broc and Cintia. I am not used to such customer service in the United States and they were super at getting me set up for the class.I had Alejandro as an instructor during my three weeks and he was patient, super interesting and a great instructor. On top of that, we learned a bit of Costa Rica culture which rounded out the experience. I met the other instructors Alvaro & Jean who were always fun, funny! and helpful.I chose to do a Homestay with meals which for me was a highlight of the entire experience. Being able to try to converse in Spanish during breakfast and dinner was huge and getting a beginner speaker comfortable. My location was convenient to school and with the use of a bicycle made it so I could get to the beach and home without a problem.Do note though that there is definitely some distance between where you might be staying, the school and also the beach. Another student staying at our Homestay would walk home after sunset and figure it probably would take about 25-30 minutes.Hope I have an opportunity to return to the NSI crew again.

2025-03-07T03:53:15.183Z

I had a great time at NSI. Surfing in the mornings, then Spanish classes in the afternoon, and yoga at Bodhi Tree at sunset. Every day was like that! The instructors are very good and I met some fun people at the school. The school housing was very nice although I think I might try a homestay next time as I've heard good things about the home cooking they get. Highly recommended!

2025-02-07T19:52:32.725Z

Absolutely loved my 20h/week classes, all the teachers in the school are super. Learned a lot and enjoyed the classes. <3

2025-01-13T20:56:32.704Z

Nosara Spanish Institute exceeded my expectations in every single way. The professors were excellent, and I left with the ability to navigate in a Spanish-speaking country, confidently and effectively. Alejandro and Esteban were the best Spanish teachers I have ever had. They were extremely knowledgeable, patient, and taught me so much about the culture of Costa Rica. Broc and Catheryn were warm, hospitable, and made me feel welcome and taken care of. They went above and beyond what was expected. I look forward to taking more classes From Nosara Spanish Institute.

2025-01-03T03:33:03.524Z

I recently completed a 20-hour Spanish program with Alejandro, and it was a good experience! What I loved most was how much we stayed in Spanish—Alejandro only switched to English when absolutely necessary. This immersive approach made the lessons both challenging and exciting, and it really boosted my confidence in speaking. I recommend this program to anyone serious about improving their Spanish!

2024-12-10T13:25:02.892Z

My experience in-person at the Nosara Spanish Institute exceeded all of my expectations. The administrative staff and all of the teachers were so helpful and warm; the instruction was expert; and their new facilities at the Bodhi Tree Resort are spacious, climate-controlled, and convenient. I can’t wait to come back in person and may even try a home stay for a week! I talked to a student who is doing it right now and she absolutely loves her host :-) I can’t say enough positive about this experience.

2024-12-03T18:12:58.383Z

Nosara Spanish Institute is such a great place to learn, meet new people and make the best memories. Muchas gracias por todo.

2024-11-30T22:13:27.716Z

I took my first-ever Spanish class a NSI and only wish I had time for more! I have traveled for several years in Costa Rica, Mexico and Colombia. Finally, I took a week for a Spanish class - should have done it much earlier!! Alejandro, the teacher, was excellent at presenting information that we could all use. Duolingo focuses mainly on nouns, but this class really taught me much more about verbs and phrases. The daily practice boosted my confidence tremendously to move beyond "tourist restaurant Spanish." The language is beautiful and I definitely want to learn more. Thank you CSI for making a beginner feel so welcome!

2024-10-19T16:36:26.474Z

My daughter and I spent 3 weeks in Nosara and attended the Nosara Spanish Institute. The staff there is excellent. Ali was our instructor and he kept things very interesting. We learned a lot. They were flexible with respect to schedule an extremely helpful with local information. They have just moved into a new facility which is extremely nice. Nosara is a great place to visit and the Spanish Institute is a excellent place to learn Spanish.

2024-09-14T21:48:13.100Z

This was the first time I have taken an immersive language class and if they are all like this I'd do it again in a second! Alvaro, mi professor, was great - he was very good at explaining language rules which made it easy to remember. He is very patient and also very funny, which made the class a joy each morning. I highly recommend taking lessons at NSI. You won't regret it.

2024-09-06T23:51:53.083Z

My daughter and I did a week long beginners Spanish class. Our teacher, Alvero, was so fun and encouraging. I look forward signing up for a longer session in the near future. I highly recommend it.

2024-08-04T18:15:45.193Z

Great experience, stayed for 3 weeks and learned so much!

2024-07-06T20:09:52.294Z

We are so glad we found NSI. Our kids really enjoyed the Spanish/surf camp despite being confident they wouldn't like it when I signed then up. All the instructors and employees work so hard to meet you at your level and kindly push you forward. I could imagine being very conversational after 1 or 2 months at this school, even though we learned a lot in just one week. We highly recommend NSI for all ages.

2024-07-06T02:52:23.358Z

I don’t remember exactly how I first saw Nosara Spanish Institute (NSI) as a possibility for my next steps in Spanish, but I am profoundly grateful that this opportunity came to me. Studying at NSI was exactly what I needed for my next steps in Spanish. The staff at NSI not only helped me progress much more rapidly in my language acquisition, but they gave me a huge-hearted welcome to the people and culture of Costa Rica. From my first inquiry email through the last day of my classes, all of the staff at NSI have been wonderful. They give sincere attention and care to each of their students, creating a safe place for everyone to learn and practice together, a “no judgment” zone that reduces the fear and anxiety and increases the enjoyment of learning a new language. All of the instructors are well-educated about the structure of language and the process of language acquisition, and they encourage each student to dive deeply into the life topics that are most interesting for them. The staff also organize varied and very enjoyable activities at the school and in the Nosara area. To make the most of any period of study at NSI, however, I also highly recommend taking the opportunity through NSI to live with one of the host families. My host family was extremely supportive and helpful. I believe this enabled me to settle into a much more comfortable and enriching experience of studying Spanish and Nosara. The ultimate question for any endeavor, of course, is “Was it worth it?” I can tell you that, for me, it was worth far more.

2024-07-02T18:29:56.969Z

This is a high quality language program. I was impressed with how seriously they take the initial assessment and placement of students. I wanted to take classes with my 16-year-old son, and they said that if our levels of Spanish weren't close enough, they would place us in different groups. This shows they value the integrity of their program, which I appreciate and respect. As our levels were similar, my son and I studied together for a week. Our teacher, Alejandro, was clear, methodical, and obviously highly qualified. The classes were a good mix of working hard to learn new material and practicing conversing. We were consistently challenged and had fun. My only regret is that we didn't have the money for the 20-hour program (instead of the 10-hour one) because we were staying in a hotel. If I were to plan this trip again, I would do a home stay and 20 hours of Spanish. We didn't do this because I was intimidated by renting a car and didn't think we could get around efficiently without a car. But we biked or walked absolutely everywhere and would have been fine staying farther from Guiones (surfing was the other purpose of the trip). Thank you Alejandro and the Spanish Institute! :)-Katarina and Remy

2024-06-29T14:48:05.120Z

Excellent experience! Class instruction was tailored to our needs. We enjoyed getting to know the other students and the teachers inside and outside of class. Especially enjoyed the other activities offered, including cooking and dancing classes. Location is very convenient to the beach and shops. Strongly recommend!

2024-06-25T21:36:39.289Z

NSI was fantastic! I took 2 hours of intensive lessons for a block of weeks while in Nosara, and was speaking confidently every day. Also met great people traveling through and who live in Nosara year round. A great place, highly reccomend!

2024-06-09T00:06:24.864Z

I have been taking weekly online Spanish classes with NSI with an exceptional great teacher Ana for 9 months and learned so much, being able to attend a one week 20h immersion in the classroom in Nosara this past week with yet another most organized and detailed teacher, Jean, I can highly recommend this school. And as for myself I can’t wait to continue my online zoom classes next week and to return for more in person classes in November! I learned so much!I highly recommend Nosara Spanish Institute!Marie, xox

2024-06-07T18:17:28.785Z

I attended Nosara Spanish Institute for two weeks during summer 2022. The staff provided helpful information about travel and accommidations prior to my stay. During my two week stay, I worked with two different teachers, both professional and knowledgeable. The instructors made classes informative and fun, and they were adept at adapting to a mix of ages, nationalities, and Spanish levels. I also purchased a yoga package at the nearby yoga resort. Highly recommended.

2024-06-07T17:08:50.510Z

I have had lessons one or two times weekly for the past year and half. They have a terrific methodology. Professor Ana is amazing. Her communication skills are outstanding and she is very patient.

2024-05-13T19:33:52.060Z

Personal muy capacitado para la enseñanza del español! Muy interactivos y excelentes resultados