Our Spanish courses in Playa Tamarindo start each Monday throughout the year. The only exception is when one of the National holidays are on a Monday. In this case we move the national holiday to Friday of the same week in order to have a long weekend. Please note that January 1st and December 25th will not be moved if they are on a Monday.
Since our Spanish school offers courses in one-week modules, students may study for as many weeks as they like. Students typically arrive in Tamarindo Beach on Sunday before classes start.
If you stay in one of our students houses in Tamarindo Beach, you should come on Sunday directly to the school in order to check-in at one of the student houses. The office hours on Sunday are from 10.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.
Students that take part in our Costa Rica Spanish homestay program do not need to come to the school on Sunday; they may go directly to their host family in Villarreal or Santa Rosa.
Very important: Please advise us at least one week before your classes start how you will travel to Tamarindo, and also let us know of your approximately arrival time so we can forward this information to your Spanish homestay family.
If you plan to travel to Tamarindo by bus or by air, please visit our Tamarindo Travel Information page for details on how to drive, bus or fly to Tamarindo. We also have a map of Guanacaste for your reference.
If you stay with a Spanish homestay host family, we will pick you up in the morning and bring you to the school for the placement test. Students that stay in a student house or at a hotel, have to be at the school at 07:15 a.m. in order to make the placement test.
After all new students are tested and placed in their appropriate levels; we give the students an informative orientation about the school, the program, our activities, the town etc. Once the orientation is finished, the students that are scheduled for the morning classes can start immediately with their program.
On Monday afternoon after class, all new students have the possibility to meet with other students at one of our great school activities.
We recommend bringing your Spanish dictionary and your own beach towel with you. The linen and towels are provided at the host families and at the student houses.
Yes, we do have free wireless internet on campus including the student house WAYRA and also at the student houses El Mar and Carolina. This service is free and available 24 hours.
For your security we do have in each room at all student houses a security box where you can store your notebook and other valuable items.
Most major international airlines have an additional charge to carry surfboards, especially for long boards. Please consult with your airline for more information.
Once the students arrive to San José the rates to take a surfboard to Tamarindo are as followed:
By Air: SANSA Airline charges US $30.00 for boards under 6.7 feet. Boards with more than 6.7 feet are not permitted.
Interbus, the express bus, charges US $15.00 for boards under 7 feet and can only be transported if space is available.
Depending on how much money you have to spend for bringing your board to Costa Rica, you may consider to buy a surfboard once you are in Tamarindo. There are many stores where you can buy and sell surf boards. If you decide to participate in our special surf and Spanish program, you have the surf board included.
The average age of our students is 20-30 years old, but very often we do have older students and retired people that take classes at Tamarindo Spanish School. During the summer break we receive also families traveling with children.
We have a very interesting mix of ages and nationalities at our school. The most part of our students though comes from Europe and the USA and Canada.
We feel we are the perfect choice if you would like to study Spanish in a serious and well established school and having at the same time the possibility to enjoy the beautiful beach and the natural wonders this area offers.
It is a great combination of studying Spanish and practicing all kind of activities and meet people from all over the world.
Yes, as long as there is space available you can extend classes and lodging. It is also possible to pay week by week, but if you sign up and pay for more than 1 week you get a better rate instead of paying week by week.
No, Costa Rica boasts the highest standard of heath in Central America. Nothing other than what is required in the US is needed, but if you will be travelling to Costa Rica from South America you will need the YELLOW FEVER VACCINE to enter Costa Rica.
The law currently states that a visitor may stay up to 90 days in the country, before which they must depart the country and re-enter again. Most of our students that stay beyond these 90 days visit Nicaragua to comply with the law.
We can provide our students with all the necessary information if they decide to travel to Nicaragua for a longer weekend and we do also offer a one day trip to Nicaragua.
Yes, but expect a delay of up to 3-4 weeks for letters from The USA, Europe or Japan. It is best to use the schools address for mailing purposes.
WAYRA Spanish School
Calle Real
CR-50309 Playa Tamarindo
Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Most places accept traveler’s checks, Visa and MasterCard, or you can always get cash advances on one of these two credit cards. Other credit cards, such as American Express, Diners Club, etc. are not widely accepted, especially in the smaller towns.