Agriculture Study Abroad Programs in Costa Rica

I had the best experience with our Guide Michael for our Political Science Study Abroad. Michael was very easy to speak to in regards to personal matters and not once was there any judgement whatsoever. For my first experience on a study abroad program I’m glad that it was with someone as a guide so caring like him.

This experience has been one of the best of my life. The people of Costa Rica have given so much patience and gratitude for our work and that makes the long days totally worth it. My confidence has grown so much over this trip and it has given me so much clarity. I am forever blessed to have met the Maximo staff and everyone along the road.

this experience was truly amazing. We were paired with the best team, and learned so much right off the bat. After leaving this trip I now feel so much more confident in myself, and the future. I am so thankful for this experience and suggest that if you are fortunate enough to do it, you should!!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My experience with Maximum in Costa Rica was absolutely amazing and unforgettable. This was my very first time studying abroad, and I could not have asked for a more welcoming, loving, and meaningful experience. From the moment I arrived, everyone at Maximum made me feel like family. The energy, kindness, accommodations, and overall atmosphere were so warm and uplifting. Every experience and visit touched my heart in a special way. From visiting nursing homes, substance abuse facilities, and the HIV clinic, every encounter was memorable and meaningful. Every person I met made an impact on me. Everyone was so welcoming and willing to take me under their wing—teaching me their language, sharing their culture, and allowing me to experience life from a completely different perspective. This experience opened my eyes and gave me a new appreciation for life. It allowed me to see the beauty in people, culture, and community in a way I will never forget. I truly felt the energy of such beautiful people, and if given the opportunity, I would come back and work here to continue making an impact just as we experienced during this journey. A very special thank you to Ellen, our leader and guide. She was absolutely amazing, and I am so grateful for the wonderful experiences and locations she selected for us. Her guidance and care made this trip even more special. I would also love to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone I had the pleasure of meeting: Hector, Karen, Victoria, Jax, Gabby, Kaylee, Maria Arias (thank you for the awesome chicken sandwich!), our amazing driver, Michael, Sharon, and so many others who made us feel welcomed and cared for. Special thanks as well to Dr. Alex, Dr. Tatiana, and Nurse Gerald for taking time out of their busy schedules to teach, guide, and share their knowledge and experiences with us. To every person who participated and made this journey possible: thank you from the bottom of my heart. You made a lasting impact on my life, and I will forever remember this experience. God bless you all!

We had an impactful experience during our study abroad trip. They planned a variety of meaningful experiences and provided tentative support during the entire trip. A special thanks to Ellen for her support and grace.

Altogether, I had a great time. We got to see so much and I believe the pacing of the program was great, spending the right amount of time at each location. La Fortuna was my favorite! Traveling in a large group brought up trouble with waiting on students, health issues, etc. but I still think they were able to make the most of it. Having a flexible schedule and being open to adjustments definitely helps. Our guide Rodrigo and our bus drivers were the best!

I really enjoyed this experience. My review is based off of a free trip less expenses such as food and transportation, as I received scholarships for this course. I do know that many students paid upwards of $7,000 on this study abroad trip, which I do find to be a bit much. Considering we were staying in $80 / night hotels with non-working lights, mediocre amenities, and bad air conditioning and bedding coupled with the scarcity of included meals, the figure should have been more around $3,000 without airfare cost. I do not understand how the cost was so high for what was received. I also found living in the dorms with random Costa Rican people to be fun, but a bit restrictive. The morning meals were literally eggs, a piece of bread, and really bad coffee. I was also staying in a really small bunk bed which was uncomfortable. Staying in an affordable hotel would have been better. Next time I recommend the school book out Ester’s Place which is closer to the tech campus and run by a lovely lady who has many rooms available in her home hotel. She also had a much better breakfast and the cost was only $65 / night per person. I stayed here my first night flying in on the 12th and wish I could have gone back but due to restrictions I was not allowed. My family of four at the time in 2019 went on an all inclusive cruise to Italy, Spain, and France for under $10,000 with included meals, drinks , stay, etc. So this trip being $7,000 + for just ONE PERSON is a bit crazy. Regardless, the activities were awesome and for me, price was not an issue as stated before. So, my review without price factored was it was amazing. Great tour guide Rodrigo was so knowledgeable and a very nice guy. He took us to authentic places and not just generic touristy places. I enjoyed seeing the stark contrast in sustainability initiatives between exotic resorts, quasi-governmental organizations, and design firms. I truly did get a wonderful experience with understanding how firms work and the metric process used to gather sustainability info, as well as how to tell if a company may be kind of BS-ing the situation with their sustainability initiatives, or holding themselves accountable. I loved the zip line tour and the coffee and cocoa bean tour. The history tours around the towns was cool, but truly was not necessary. I feel we could have just had an informational PDF sent to us instead of touring these relatively boring historical landmarks. Activities are always more fun than learning about history. I think it would have been much more effective to fly into Liberia, tour the beach and Penninsula Papagayo’s HOA office, then make our way back to San Jose and visit firms, then fly out of SJO. The amount of time driving was frustrating. Or, instead, we would just fly into SJO and tour the Caribbean side of things and skip the western side of Costa Rica altogether. This way the time could be allocated more effectively. I also wish the professors would have split us into groups so we could have gotten to know everyone. There were certain folks I never really got to have conversations with because the groups would naturally clique and we never had forced exposure to each other. Overall it was a wonderful trip and, with a few adjustments I know the next one will be awesome as well!

Coming to TTU Costa Rica was an amazing experience and allowed me to try lots of new and unique things. Rodrigo was the absolute best and the entire trip wouldn't have been half as great and smooth without him! Gonna miss him back in the states, thank you so much for an amazing time!

The service learning trip to Costa Rica instilled a greater love for agricultural and eco sustainability. I conquered one of my greatest fears by completing the hanging bridges hike. I highly recommend to everyone to see Costa Rica though the eyes of the local people. Pura Vita!

My experience was eye-opening. I enjoyed my time at the site and at Maximo Nivel. Everyone was kind and very helpful. The faculty at the healthcare facility was honest and open to answering questions. I would most definitely come again to experience the culture of Costa Rica.

I had the best time working with animals this week at the husky shelter. I learned so much about the people in Costa Rica and also the animals. I loved seeing the amount of love and care all the workers had for each of the animals.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time! I loved the different foods that our host family made for us. They always made sure we had enough food! I also really enjoyed my work site! I was able to see how to correctly interact with dogs! I loved the person that told us what to do everyday. She was so sweet!

It was amazing to see the realities of some of the children and their families and to learn and grow from that! I am so excited to continue my career in education and have this in my teaching background!

It was an absolutely great experience teaching English to the kids at Divino Niño, it showed that even though a lot of them come from backgrounds that are not great, it still showed their resilience and how they move forward in their lives.

My trip was awesome there’s some stuff I wish I could have done. But overall I had a very good time. I wanted to go to the beach but the rafting and activities were great. I had a great service site and thoroughly enjoyed it .

Studying in Barcelona had been a dream! I took classes in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation, and Spanish Art and Cultural Heritage at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. My 7 weeks in that paradise were filled with exploration, inspiration, and so much fun. From amazing people to the delicious cuisine, and stunning architecture to the colorful culture, Spain should be at the top of the must-visit countries list. My favorite activity, besides spending my day at the beach, was wandering around the city without a map and being amazed by the beauty hidden in every corner of Barcelona. Thanks to the Spanish Art and Cultural Heritage class, I learned even more about this impressive history and culture. CIS helped me through every step of adapting to studying and living in Barcelona. They planned fun events for us, such as various tours in famous parts of Barcelona, beach picnic and volleyball, wine tasting, tours to towns in Spain, and cooking classes. I stayed at Aparto Pallars, which is conveniently located near the metro station, from which you can take the metro anywhere. I'm so grateful for this experience, and I'm definitely willing to go back to Barcelona or any other program with CIS!

I would be more than happy to recommend this particular study abroad program in Costa Rica to a friend. The staff in this location were very very supportive and kind and the care to make the program interesting and engaging was perceivable.

I had the most amazing experience here in Monteverde with CIEE. Though it was definitely more remote (in terms of access to other towns/markets/etc.) than I expected, the wildlife more than made up for it.

I have done 2 CIEE programs (one was Barcelona summer 2023 and now in Monteverde, Costa Rica) and both have been amazing: the staff are great, the organized trips are so amazing, the academics are good, etc

This was one of the most valuable experiences in terms of classes and life experiences as well. It was really well run and I felt like most things went smoothly which made the experience that much better.