Na'atik Language and Culture Institute

I had an amazing 3 weeks at Na’atik!! The communication with the program was helpful, informative, and prompt from when I signed up to when I left. I loved my host family, they were friendly, and always patient as I learned. The accommodations were very nice and comfortable, I felt very at home (and the food was AMAZING!!). The activities were super interesting, I learned so much about the history of Quintana Roo and Carrillo. I would really really recommend Na’atik if you’re looking for an immersion experience that’s more personal and part of the community—rather than another corporation.

I stayed in Carrillo for one week and had the best time. The class time was super great and the instruction was well-paced and well-suited for my language level. There was only one other person with me in class so there was lots of opportunity for conversation. My home stay was also really great and gave me the opportunity to put what I learned in class into action. The accommodation was also very well-appointed and the food was incredible! The excursions I took were really special and made the week really meaningful and fun and helped to understand the culture and again use language skills in a different setting. I felt incredibly well taken care of the entire time from communication the week before I arrived, to having someone waiting for me when I landed at the airport to when I was delivered back to Cancun. I would 100% recommend doing this immersion program and it gave me a real confidence boost with my speaking comfort. I even got several compliments on my Spanish when I was talking with people in town and then after my stay in Carrillo. I only wish I could have stayed more that one week. If I can, I will definitely go back!

I am 69 and retired. I was fed up with my 5 years learning Spanish with DuoLingo. I determined I needed an immersion program to jolt me into being able to converse with others (I tried a tutor which helped but was still not enuf). So my adult daughter and I enrolled for the school in February 2026. She speaks Spanish much better than me but wanted to improve even more and we got to spend 11 days together, something we hadn’t done since she was a kid. Elizabeth was meticulous at providing information and making sure we understood how the program worked. To say this was a reboot for me is putting it mildly. During the weeklong classes (4 hrs/day for 5 days), activities in and around Carrillo, and living and eating with our very gracious and sweet host family, I finally became able to differentiate words when people spoke. And while I didn’t suddenly start speaking confidently I could finally see how that would happen. Being surrounded by people primarily speaking Spanish for 11 days made my mind to start thinking in Spanish. And now I find myself constructing sentences when I am idle and thinking how I would answer a question in Spanish. I have also stopped translating sentences. I cannot recommend Na’atik more highly. And both my daughter and I plan on going back for 2-4 weeks sometime in the next few years.