Alternative Spring Break High School Programs in Central America

I seriously had so much fun on this trip and I’ve learned so so much. I think it’s really helped me grow as a person and I’m so thankful. I made some close friends. My favorite activity was working with the kids to paint signs in their community. I was really touched and realized that we really were making an impact.

The Parismina 10 in Costa Rica excursion was so much fun! I had an amazing time meeting new people and learning about sea turtles and their environment! It made me feel so great to learn more about other cultures!

There was excellent flexibility to those of us with any food allergies or restrictions and they were so helpful to my vegan diet and always made sure i was well fed. Swimming in the ocean was memorable but my favorite activity in the program was the service day with the guanacaste water center when we went to the school garden

I would like to specifically give praise to to the Mentors for providing myself and the rest of my mentor group with a safe sharing space by forming a comfortable environment. We really got to know other students in our group on a level we would not have otherwise. I gained new perspectives that will shape my future decisions and relationships. As for the learning, through the Guanacaste Water Center I have learned the value of every living thing and how everything connects to create a whole. Really eye-opening!

I think I grew by becoming a better leader and taking initiative in group settings. I also think that I learned a lot about friendships and being more outgoing in social settings. We had a talent show at the end that was great, so cool to see everyone's performances and secret talents. I also loved the dance class we did.

I had the wonderful opportunity of traveling to Costa Rica with my best friend for the sea turtle initiative! During the trip I met some of the sweetest people which lead to long lasting friendships from all over the world! I saw so much wildlife and beautiful nature that I don't get to experience on a daily basis while living in the desert. Most importantly I was a a part of finding and acting to resolve a local issue, poaching of sea turtles and their eggs. We spent hours walking on the beaches at night making sure there were no poachers, to see if we could find tracks or spot a sea turtle laying eggs. We didn't see much for a few a days until the second to last night we saw a sea turtle laying her eggs right in front of the house we were staying at! we let her lay her eggs and one of the local guides put a tracker on the mom, we counter eggs and took them to a hatchery, where they were placed in an incubator overnight and buried into a fenced area where they can continue their hatching process safely without the worry of poachers. I would definitely go to Costa Rica again and will be going on other GLA trips!

I feel like I grew as a leader in taking action and working with my peers. I also feel as thought I grew in my passions to pursue a career in the medical field. I also feel I grew by stepping out of my comfort zone in a new place and learned a lot about culture, my values, and medicine while making lifelong friends. My favorite leadership activity was working with vida for the vaccines and surgeries and home visits. I felt really connected to the community there and like what we did made a difference.

Best trip of my life, so much thanks to everyone for EVERYTHING! Learned how to teamwork effectively and have fun with people I wouldn’t normally talk to, keep working when things seem pointless, work hard play hard :) Loved the talent show, and the catamaran activity.

I met the coolest people I’ve ever met that I’ll forever look up to and have changed my perspective on so many things. I’ve learned to work amazingly as a team and how important it is to take care of our environment, which I already knew but this made it so much more real and in perspective. The mentors were so sweet too, and I felt taken care of.

My name is Shamus Davenport and I am a senior in high school currently. Every single high school summer I have participated in a GLA program. During the Summer of 2023 I chose to go on GLA’s Costa Rica: Sea Turtle Initiative program from July 7th through the 16th. One thing I want to highlight about this program and GLA as a whole is that there are ways to make it cheaper! If you put in some time and effort, there are available scholarships which I have done on all three of my programs! Focusing on the actual trip, this was life changing. I can talk endlessly about the people this organization attracts. Locals, counselors, and fellow campers alike every trip I’ve been on leads to lifelong friendships and connections. Fun fact, I have flown across the country to see friends from every single program I have been on! This time specifically I made close friends that I am still close with and go on more adventures with. Then, our home base manager, raft guide, local tour guide, and many more locals all showed such passion for their jobs, sharing the environment, culture, and traditions with everybody. Something I have learned through this program and really took to heart during this one was, there are endless opportunities to grow, learn, and broaden your perspective, whether you do this 10 day program or another one of GLA’s various programs. The main thing you need to know is to engage in every possible opportunity and to stay present! It will change your experience in the program and maybe, like it did for me, your life. This was a huge theme throughout this one specifically. Every GLA program restricts phone use to different extents, but with this one, being the most remote program even during times where we had our phones there was not a lot of service so we were, in a way, forced to engage more. I have always disliked phones, I feel like they take away from actually living life, but this trip really strengthened that value for me. I feel like since then I have applied that concept and seized moments more so than before which brings a lot more value to every experience. I am a very outdoorsy person which checks out seeing as I love these trips and there were so many fun adventures from rafting to checking out the small village close by. It’s so hard to pick a favorite one. I loved playing soccer with the local kids, but I think rafting was my favorite. Nothing could compare to the beauty we saw along the volcanic river. There were cool buildings and areas for people to stop at and explore and the nature was unreal, not to mention the rapids were large and very fun. Speaking of rapids, I can speak a lot for the wonderful balance between safety and fun this program provides. GLA always does a good job setting reasonable rules depending on where we are while also creating an environment that nurtures the spirit of adventure. While most programs have pretty strenuous service work, a really nice thing about this one is that it is just another adventure. The main chunk of service consists of doing turtle walks from 8-12 at night. Even though we were attentive and watching for turtles the entire time, something about walking on the beach at night with the moon and stars shining overhead just makes the work so much fun and leads to great conversations. Not to mention we saw over ten turtles consisting of different species. I would never do a GLA program twice because they offer so many more around the world, but if I did, it would definitely be this one.

When I first got there I had no doubt that I was going to have an amazing time. All the staff made it so fun and a safe environment. I had a good session with everyone there. The volunteering was incredibly rewarding and amazing because the got to see the smiles on peoples’ faces. The adventure days were so fun and exhilarating. Overall my trip through GLA was life changing and amazing I had a great time in Costa Rica and can’t wait for my next trip

I got to travel internationally without my parents and do something all on my own!! My favorite parts of the Costa Rica program were surfing in the rain and the sunset at the catamaran. Best memories :)

Amazing staff throughout each extremely supportive and great people! I grew to be more social and to understand what it meant to be a leader to peers. My favorite was the plastics documentary as it taught me about how recycling actually relates to real life and how disorganized anti plastic companies really are. The resume workshop felt brief and we were not able to make a resume, but still good info to get.

Chloe absolutely LOVED this experience in Costa Rica w/ Rustic Pathways. Even with her anxiety, the PL's created a nice balance of service, fun and grounded her well. We can't wait to hear about next years programs.

I had a good time on this trip. Coming from someone who was extremely nervous, not once here did I really get nervous, and I had been distracted the entire time with different service options and also fun activities.

Rustic Pathways responded to this reviewAugust 17, 2024

Hi Chloe! Thank you so much for joining us in Costa Rica! Traveling alone can be nerve-wracking, but we're so happy to hear you had a great time and weren't nervous. We hope you join us next summer too!

The trip to Costa Rica was amazing! I loved meeting the kids that we were working hard for and seeing how our work would change their daily lives. It was important to see how we were making an impact.

The housing was very good. All of the food was amazing. The people on the trip with me were very inclusive and we had similar interests. The experience overall was amazing and I had such a fun time.

Rustic Pathways responded to this reviewAugust 21, 2024

Hi Liam! We're so thrilled you had a great time in Costa Rica! Thank you so much for joining us, and we hope to see you next summer!

I had a great time in this program and really enjoyed all activities they made for us!!! Also the non community service activities are also very fun and you get to know costa rica well!! Also I really enjoyed making new friends and spend time with them

Rustic Pathways responded to this reviewAugust 02, 2024

Hey Dario! We're so glad you made friends in Costa Rica and that you enjoyed your time there! We hope to see you again next summer!

I attended the Tropical Field Research program the summer after my freshman year in High School. It was an amazing experience to be able to perform research far more advanced then anything I would learn in my High School courses. Being able to create an original experiment and collect data to test our hypothesis definitely prepared me for the rigor of college courses. Additionally, it was so eye opening to learn all about Costa Rican culture and spend 10 days immersed within it. Some highlights include, a cooking class with a local woman, swimming in breathtaking waterfalls and looking for nesting turtles on the beach. Additionally, the research staff are wonderful and the food is beyond incredible. I cannot recommend this program enough, it is definitely part of the reason that I am pursuing a STEM focused career today!

I cannot recommend the Bioinformatics program enough. Under the mentorship of amazing staff, my science partner and I were able to complete actual research that qualified us for one of the most prestigious science fairs in the nation (ISEF). Additionally, I was able to advance my spanish skills and partake in so many wonderful cultural experiences. In fact, our stay with a host family in El Jobo and being able to partake in sea turtle research inspired me to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. I still speak to the friends I made on this trip and the memories we made will last a lifetime. The staff are amazing and the program has prepared me for both my college studies and life beyond. It is truly a gift that keeps on giving.