Nosara Spanish Institute

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.

I studied for a week here with the fantastic Jean. I did 20 hours of private classes with him and he was easy going, fun and most importantly an excellent teacher. If you're looking to improve your Spanish I highly recommend the Nosara Spanish Language Institute. Brock - the owner was very easy and pleasant to deal with and expertly accommodated my last minute requests. Cynthia - the office manager was always so happy and positive. The free coffee was a welcome bonus too. Thank you guys - I hope to come back soon. Paul (from England) xxx

Highly recommended! NSI was one of my favourite parts of my Nosara trip as it allowed me the opportunity to learn and practice Spanish in a structured environment while also feeling immersed in the Costa Rican culture. I really enjoyed having lessons each day and then having the rest of the day to "go out into the world" to practice. The school is also quite immersive so all the staff will speak to you in Spanish - as slow as you need, and will explain more in English if required - to help you learn. We also had a field trip to some waterfalls which was very fun and a great opportunity to practice with other students from the other classes while getting to know one another, en Espanol! The school has AC, nice bathrooms, was very clean and comfy, and I enjoyed the coffee too. The location of the school is also ideal as a grocery store and other shops were nearby and I could walk to the beach after class. My specific teacher Alejandro was very patient, fun and informative and I hope to be back to attend more classes again soon!

I really enjoyed my one on one spanish immersion. It was four hours each day in the afternoon. This was great as I could walk the beach and surf in the morning and then focus on learning spanish in the afternoons. My teacher was very good. He was very professional, courteous and took an interest in my learning. He kept the pace flowing where I was never bored and not overwhelmed. His examples, real life scenarios and role playing made the class interesting and lively at times. Highly recommend this NSI if you are visiting Nosara.

I studied at NSI for a week. The staff was really helpful and accommodating to my needs. I did a private class every afternoon because I was in between group levels. I learned a ton, and will definitely be checking out there online classes so I can keep going with my Spanish. Would highly recommend!

NSI exceeded my expectations in every way! The staff is AMAZING - a team of fun, engaging, incredible teachers - who not only teach you spanish but also about Costa Rica and their culture. They are incredibly flexible and will move you around in classes to ensure you're at the right level. I spent two weeks here and would absolutely go back. Look no further for a spanish langauge school abroad!

I had a great time. Costa Rica is an amazing experience, only made better by the people in it. This includes my fantastic Spanish teacher Jean Jimenez. Jean was just what I needed for the week to help me level up my beginner level Spanish. Jean was patient, and very knowledgable on what was most effective for my learning. Looking forward to go back again for further improvements to my language learning journey.

I was in Nosara Spanish Institute for two weeks during rainy season (September). Hence the place was very quiet and relaxed. Perfect to focus on learning a new language. However, during my first week there was no other students, which I found a bit a shame because I was expecting to be meeting other people to explore together. Moreover, even got one week a one-on-one instruction since there was no other students for the normal price, which was amazing for my Spanish progress The teachers are great and teach also a lot about Costar Rican culture which I found very interesting and helpful. Unfortunately Nosara (Guyones where the school is located) is a very expensive place in comparison to other places in Costa Rica. However, it is also possible to buy food in local supermarkets. All in all I had a fantastic experience and learnt. Please keep in mind whether it is rainy season or not, this might change the whole experience a lot. But both can be great!

My husband, friend and I spent a week studying Spanish with Alejandro at the Nosara Spanish Institute. He was fabulous, designing his instruction to meet our individual needs: working on the subjunctive, the reflexive, and becoming familiar with Spanish phrases and words, specific to Costa Rica. . .since we now live there. He was a very knowledgeable and patient teacher. Therefore I would highly recommend the Nosara Spanish Institute as a wonderful place to learn or improve one's Spanish. And Nosara itself is a fun place to be to learn it!

The school does a great job of accessing your level of Spanish and then pushing you hard enough that you had to think while keeping it fun. It was also a great avenue to meet many people at all levels of understanding so participation was easy and really helped me to advance. The teaching staff are all very good, understanding and well prepared. I would go back at any opportunity! Additionally, the surf instruction was awesome and I would suggest anyone going to do at least a few lessons while in Nosara. It is an absolute must! The surf coach was also great and very helpful.

I learned so much in my three weeks at Nosara Spanish Institute, and wish I could have stayed longer. The class sizes were small and instructors were all very professional, friendly and knowledgable. With four hours of class per day, time really flew by, and I went from struggling to order at a restaurant to being confident in navigating around the country and talking about more complex topics! The location of the school is great, and Nosara and Guiones beach have so much to offer in terms of activities (yoga, surfing, biking, hiking etc) as well as great food and a good vibe. The NSI management made good efforts to plan COVID-safe and responsible cultural immersion activities and accommodate changes in scheduling. Having studied foreign languages in several countries before this, I would definitely recommend NSI for anyone looking to learn Spanish in a beautiful environment.

The Nosara Spanish Institute was accommodating, friendly, and understanding. They made me feel like part of their family. The professors are very engaged, hands on, and genuine. I highly recommend this place for learning while abroad!

This is a small, relaxed school located in a small town of two parts, one part where Costa Ricans live and a separate cosmopolitan part populated by visitors who surf and practice yoga. The school is located near the beach in the part populated by visitors. I rented a nice apartment in the tourist part of Nosara which was far enough away from the school that I elected not to walk to the school, although a younger person probably would have walked. Were I to do it again, I would stay in the nice hotel located less than 100 meters from the school. My wife practices yoga, which is why we selected Nosara. The Spanish school experience was pleasant and comfortable. I liked my instructor, Ana, who took a professional approach to sessions, using a structured curriculum that she was adept at using. The instructor and other students with whom I interacted were urbane and interesting; I enjoyed interacting with them. As a personal preference, I would have enjoyed a higher ratio of conversation in Spanish with these interesting people to the structured lessons and practice. That said, the structure and practice was useful; I clearly needed the practice despite my predilection. One piece of advice: I had rented a small 4-wheel drive pickup to drive to Nosara from the airport in Liberia. I recommend against doing this. The drive is not fun and a vehicle of this size is too large for a small town with lots of pedestrians. Instead, take a small plane to the landing strip in Nosara or hire someone to drive you there. If a visitor wants a vehicle in Nosara, he or she can rent motorbikes, quads, or golf-carts, or use a tuk-tuk taxi. All of these are better options than a larger vehicle.

the Nosara Spanish Institute was absolutely amazing. This was my first time alone abroad and the Nosara Spanish Institute was so helpful and walked me through the process with efficiency and kindness. I always felt safe and cared for. They are an amazing school and the instructors were incredible. I had an absolute blast. it was the Best time of my life and i hope to be able to go back again one day. I learned a great deal and made some wonderful friends. I can't recommend the Nosara Spanish Institute highly enough. Give it a try, i am confident that you too will have the best time of your life.

I have spent two separate weeks at NSI and absolutely loved my time there. The teachers are excellent, the classes have been small (max 5 ppl) and the opportunity to join other cultural experiences have really added to the programs quality. As a solo traveler I particularly love that this class connects me with both locals and other travelers during my visit. It’s not unusual for classmates to connect after class or make plans to get together at a local event arranged by NSI. I would absolutely recommend NSI to any level of student. Can’t wait to go back !

I spent 3 weeks in Nosara at NSI in July/August 2018, and everything about my stay - NSI program, homestay and the town - were as excellent as I had hoped and expected. Highly recommend NSI to anyone who wants to learn or improve their Spanish language skills.

As a Spanish teacher, I was fortunate to plan my fourth immersion experience at the Nosara Spanish institute. The culture of the Institute was cooperative and friendly, offering planned group experiences such as Taco Tuesday and unplanned fun with classmates and instructors as well. The leadership was effective and efficient in all matters related to instruction, class placement, as well as airport transfers and accommodations. The institute’s handling of the arrangements for surf as well as yoga were seamless and reduced the stress that arranging them myself would have entailed. The advanced level of instruction and ability of the instructor to create a learning environment without direct instruction of grammar was outstanding - the best I have experienced. I was also able to watch others traveling with me and in the homestay increase their language proficiency daily. I chose the homestay option, as it was the most affordable, and shared a home with other students in addition to the host family. The accommodations were rustic but on par with the area. The typical Costa Rican dishes were excellent and ample, for breakfasts we served ourselves from a small kitchen and for dinner we ate as a group and conversed in Spanish. Be prepared for cold showers! The beauty of Playa Guiones, the friendliness of the community, and the array of activities offered make the Nosara Institute the perfect place to study Spanish for all ages and levels.

I came with my two sisters and teen daughter - we did the 20 hours plus surf lessons program and stayed at a home stay for a week. I am so glad we found Nosara Spanish Institute! We had an amazing experience on so many levels. The teachers were seasoned and engaging and kept us on our toes. We had a lot of fun running into teachers out and about in Nosara, the school really had a community feeling to it and they seem very skilful at cultivating that. The homestay was a good choice, walking distance from the school and we were truly immersed in Spanish the entire time. Our surf instructors were also top notch. I look forward to going back before too much time passes!

Amazing time! Staff was wonderful, experience was great. I opted in for the additional activities like salsa dancing, cooking classes and a turtle tour and could not have been happier with my experience. I would recommend the institute to anyone visiting Nosara!

Nosara Spanish Institute is perfectly situated for access to amazing Yoga, beach and surf experience. I am a Spanish teacher so I was looking for cultural and language immersion opportunity; the private lessons I took were tailored to meet my individual goals. While there is a lot of English influence in the town of Nosara, it was still an awesome experience I'd recommend to anyone!

I attended Nosara Spanish Institute to improve my Spanish for a uni course I had to take thereafter. I stayed almost three months. Every teacher is magnificent, patient and interested; they have their individual styles but the high quality is consistent among all. The class sizes are small allowing equal opportunity to engage with practical and theoretical content. The lesson plans are adapted to your needs/wants. Admin goes above and beyond to provide a holistic experience (cooking/dance classes, social outings, and if the season is right excursions to see turtles nesting at sunrise). The school is set among trees near the beach, creating a calm learning environment. My host family were beautiful, generous and genuine people and I will remain close friends with them always. I owe at least half of my Spanish to their gentle and patient guidance!

I HIGHLY recommend Nosara Spanish Institute. It's a small school (there was only one other person in my class), so it's very personal. All teachers, students and staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming. We took affordable, well-planned excursions together. Walking distance to the beach, grocery store and yoga!

I went with my dad here in August of 2016. It was an amazing experience, and I could not have been more impressed with the high quality Spanish instruction, collegiality, and organization of Nosara Spanish Institute. I HIGHLY recommend.

Going to the Nosara Spanish Institute was definitely one of the highlights of our trip to Costa Rica! The class sizes were small and the instructor great and staff were friendly and helpful. This was my second trip to Costa Rica and I really wish I would have gone straight to this school on the first trip! Its a great way to get some working knowledge of Spanish language and the local culture...being able to speak and understand even a little bit of Spanish really enhances the experience of visiting Latin america!

I had not formally studied Spanish for over 25 years and needed conversation practice and a thorough review. I was only able to stay for just over a week, but the Intensive Spanish program was fantastic, with small class sizes and individualized lessons. Nosara was the perfect setting for my first time travelling alone in many, many years. I felt safe within the small, quiet community and the shared home-stay at Casa Matias. My interactions with the staff at the school, as well as my home-stay family, gave me the confidence I needed to independently explore the surrounding areas and communities to practice my Spanish. The shared home-stay was easily accessible and the home cooked meals were the best!!

I have worked on my Spanish on my own, online, in tutorial circumstances, in classes. The program at Nosara Spanish Institute is the way to learn Spanish. The instructors are delightful. The pace is perfect for instruction and the environment is supportive and nurturing.

I had an amazing experience studying Spanish for one week (20 hours) at the Nosara Spanish Institute. I took the beginner level classes with Zully, which were great. I loved how the classes were so intimate- I was one of three students in one class and actually the only student in my other class. I got to know Zully, my teacher, very well and she even shared personal stories and cultural info about Costa Rica, which I really enjoyed. The staff was extremely friendly and welcoming! They even organized a couple outings for the students after class and on the weekend. I just wish I had more time than one week to take classes as it was very difficult to really learn and absorb all of the information in such a short time. I would definitely recommend doing at least 2 weeks of classes. My package also included 2 surf lessons through the Bodhi Tree Resort, which were awesome! The instructors were so informative, fun and really helped me with my form. Not to mention, they ensured first and foremost that we all stayed safe!

Was a bit intimidated to just jump into intermediate Spanish classes (everyone else had been there for awhile). It ended up being a great experience. It was intense doing classes every day but the teachers I had were good and the classes were well managed. They were very flexible too with the schedule. I did two weeks and was able to immediately see results. Met some great folks and really enjoyed the social events put together for the students by the School.

My 14 year old son and I spent two weeks studying at the Nosara Spanish Institute in July which turned out to be the perfect choice after deliberating endlessly between all of the schools in Costa Rica and having few reviews out there like this one to go by. First, the school- what a wonderful well located, clean, friendly, relaxed yet focused environment to learn Spanish. My son and I took 4 hours of private Spanish grammar and conversational lessons each day in an air conditioned room. Both of our two teachers were incredibly enthusiastic, knowledgeable and engaging teachers. After the first week I gave my son the chance to cut down the class to only two hours but he chose to continue with the 4 hour class which says a lot about how much he was learning while still enjoying himself on his summer vacation. I took a lot of timing deliberating between this school and schools located in other towns and we definitely made the right choice as Nosara is still a low-key beautiful and unspoiled place. The beach was fantastic and if you are additionally into fitness, surfing and yoga you will truly have it all. We took a drive down to nearby Samara which also has a school and I was so relieved we chose Nosara as Samara is sadly dirty and rundown and in my opinion spoiled. In terms of communication and planning, the director of Nosara Spanish Institute is very responsive, responsible and helpful when making all of your arrangements. It was a truly rewarding two week learning/fun vacation and I highly recommend it.

I have studied abroad and taken several spanish courses throughout my life, and the Nosara Spanish Institute is by far the best spanish school I have ever attended. Not only are the professors extremely knowledgeable in their field of teaching, but they have a keen sense of how to tailor the course to your specific needs. Aside from academia, they go above and beyond to make your whole experience incredible, from assisting planned day trips to the best attractions around, to orchestrating activities like salsa classes. They made our entire vacation so much fun that the spanish classes almost seemed like a bonus!!

My husband and I, along with our three children spent two weeks at a family stay in Nosara. We had varying degrees of Spanish knowledge and the school identified our needs and split us into appropriate classrooms for our daily lessons. We were so impressed with the training and experience and personalities is all three teachers we had! They worked around our surf lessons for scheduling and had air conditioned classrooms. They offered several outside activities to see more of the area and culture. We highly recommend Nosara Spanish Institute!

Overall I have had a great experience with NSI. I have tried classes 2 times a week, 1x per day and 2 per day at different times over the past year. If you are serious about progressing, it really makes a difference to have daily classes for weeks at a time. The location is central and close to everything. The instructors are always patient and make learning fun. I have always been placed with classmates at a similar level. The classes are small and you meet people from all backgrounds. I will continue my classes at NSI and I highly recommend them to all, whatever your learning goals may be. Thanks Everyone!!

I spent a total of 7 weeks in classes at the Nosara Spanish Institute in Q1 2016. The instructors were knowledgeable, entertaining, and fun! The administrator was accommodating and extremely helpful with anything I needed. The class size was small enough to allow individual instruction (in my case 1-3 other students) as well as engaging interaction. Optional weekly activities provided cultural enrichment that added to the experience. I highly recommend the home-stay program - the total immersion was integral to my progress. Plus I made lasting friendships and have been able to continue to practice Spanish by remaining in touch with my incredibly wonderful host families. This truly was the experience of a lifetime!

We had the best experience in Costa Rica, enjoying a two week vacation with an educational bonus! What a relaxing & fun environment we found at the Nosara Spanish Language Institute. It was perfect for those wanting to dialogue, meet others & study language specifics in an intimate & casual atmosphere. I would definitely recommend this school, this town & this country for Spanish students who want adventure in a safe way!