High School Programs in Santiago, Spain

I had a very excellent time on my Arcos Journeys Abroad program, in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, and on the Camino de Santiago. The host families were incredible, as were all the chaperones and teachers. The activities were always very fun, and there was a nice balance of structured time and free time. The Camino was also amazing, and I was unexpectedly delighted by that aspect of the trip. Thank you!!

The Arcos director Helder was wonderful! We met him at the airport. The kids pushed themselves on the Camino de Santiago hike and felt a great sense of accomplishment and camaraderie when it was complete. It was their first time in Europe so that added a lot of learning. They felt a sense of community with the other walkers, and bonded with the small group. Trust your kids, let them have an experience.

My son loved gaining independence, the opportunity to interact with others and the combination of walking, sightseeing, and education. Because of this great experience I am looking into finding similar programs in other European countries for my son next summer.

My daughter did the Camino de Santiago hiking program with Arcos and gained so much confidence in meeting and talking with other pilgrims along the way. My advice is to make sure your child trains for the walking prior to the program. Another added benefit was the increased confidence in her Spanish speaking skills.

I highly recommend doing the Granada, Spain and Camino de Santiago with Arcos. A key tip is to pack light, which I struggled with after a month in Granada. The scenery was beautiful and it was fun meeting other pilgrims along the way. I enjoyed the independence and the chance to try many new things.

Our directors were friendly and fun, ensuring we had a great time. A slight challenge was restarting after long breaks during extended walking periods. However, the independence and opportunity to interact with international students were significant benefits.

I got along with my program director very well and certainly hope to cross paths with him again sometime soon. All of my Spanish teachers were great and I genuinely feel like I learned a lot from the classes. It was a great experience that I recommend to other students.

The experience was enjoyable and my director was clear with the rules. The safety of the students was always top priority without undercutting the fun and freedom of the trip. He was nice to talk to and had so many nice stories from his past experiences.

Both of my program directors were great leading all of our activities and helping us get accustomed to the culture and climate in Granada! I really enjoyed meeting other people on the program - other students, my host family, and people in town! Highly recommend you do this!

I made great friends and improved my accent in Spanish. My program director was very enthusiastic and knew lots of history around the city. They led the cultural activities and excursions, which were a lot of fun. I would absolutely recommend this program to future students - you won't regret it!

Get ready to learn a ton of Spanish and have fun with new friends and homestay family! Granada is an amazing city to visit. My advice is to be sure to bring comfortable shoes as there is a lot of walking from place to place for your activities and exploring.

I benefitted from learning more about myself by trying something different and living in another culture. I lived with a Spanish host family, ate the local food, and got to know a lot of cultural and historic places in Granada. I would recommend this program to future students.

Arcos gives your child just the right amount of challenge and support for a first experience traveling abroad. They set the stage for our son to be excited to do more traveling and learning abroad in the future! Be sure to encourage your child to train for all the walking using the shoes they plan to wear. Encourage them to meet people beyond their group-mates, as there are pilgrims on the Camino from all over the world.

My daughter came out of the Camino de Santiago with a sense of accomplishment and a boost in confidence! Encourage your child to train ahead of time, which will make their hike that much more enjoyable. That was a key part of my daughter having a positive experience. We are very happy with Arcos and will definitely look into future programs with them. Far more affordable than many other travel programs for teens out there!

Come with an open mind to a new country, remember to enjoy where you are and soak it in. It is not a race! My Arcos director was amazing! I loved her expertise in Spanish culture and specifically the area in Galicia. She was available 24/7 for whatever the group needed and made sure everyone was included and felt up to the challenges each day. She made sure everyone was fit and well to keep going on our trek. I would follow her again in a heartbeat! My advice is to pack light and practice trekking over long distances. I highly recommend to put your phones down at the table during meals so you can get to know your fellow travelers. We did this with our group and I am so glad we did because we laughed with the company we had and really got to know each other.

I participated in the Camino de Santiago: Hiking the Way program with Arcos over the summer in which we walked alongside pilgrims from all over the world to Santiago de Compostela. I strongly recommend this program for anyone who would like to experience northern Spain on foot.

I walked the Camino de Santiago (also known as the Way of St. James) in northern Spain with Arcos over the summer. We walked from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela on the French Route in Galicia. I highly recommend this program for anyone who is up for the challenge!

The greatest benefits were autonomy, language skills, and friendships with a broad spectrum of kids. Highly recommend both the language and culture program and the Camino hike. It was a maturing experience for our son and an incredibly well-operated organization.

I decided to come to Chester College after taking part in their Spanish summer camp a few summers in a row. I had an amazing year and loved Santiago! I studied 10th grade there as I decided I wanted to improve my Spanish. The classes were really small so I got a lot of help, and I had a Spanish lesson every day so I could improve really quickly. When my level was good enough, I started getting other subjects through Spanish as well like Maths and Science. The teachers are all really nice and give you lots of support if you don't know something. They also helped me to think about my university choices and what career I might be interested in. I liked living in the residence - I shared a room with a Spanish girl and the monitor was really nice - she was from Spain too. At the weekend we went on trips and went to the beach in the summer. The food was really nice too! I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to study abroad and do well in all their normal subjects but also get fluent in Spanish and experience living in another culture.