IECR offers the opportunity to live with a Costa Rican host family. Living with a host family will help you practice your Spanish, live the Costa Rican culture and make friends. Each family has gone through a selection process and is selected to ensure that they fit our student’s needs. Many families have been with the program for years and know how to treat our students well.
Our homestay families are carefully selected for their hospitality, friendliness and warmth. They all offer clean lodging in safe neighborhoods. All families are selected with great care to assure a comfortable and pleasant stay. They are located in the same suburb of San Jose where our school has its site so they can be reached by walking or taking one bus.
Homestay programs include private room, keys to the house, two meals per day, airport pick-up and transfer to the host family as well as laundry services.
You can stay with a family for a minimum of one week or as long as you would like. Many students begin their homestay on the Sunday before they start classes and leave on a Saturday. However you may arrive in Costa Rica and start or end the homestay on any day of the week.
Families are aware that many types of food are new to you and that you will like some dishes more than others. So please remind your family what things you eat and do not eat, and feel free to let them know what new dishes you have liked (or not). If you are vegetarian, please inform us beforehand to coordinate with your host family. In Costa Rica fresh fruits and vegetables are an important part of the daily food so your hosts will be happy to serve you vegetarian meal if they know it in advance!
If you are vegetarian, please inform us beforehand to coordinate with your host family. In Costa Rica fresh fruits and vegetables are an essential ingredient so your hosts will be happy to serve you vegetarian meal if they know it in advance!
You may also choose the type of family you wish to stay with from those with or without children.Many of our students have felt that the homestay program was the most rewarding part of their IECR experience, and often the homestay program has led to a long lasting friendship with their host family.