Learn Spanish in Costa Rica, paradise of 'pura vida'. This popular local saying translates as "pure life" or "full of life" and is used in daily Costa Rican culture as a greeting, farewell and simply to express satisfaction with life.

Bordered by Caribbean and Pacific Oceans, Costa Rica is one of the most biodiverse countries on the planet, home to spectacular cloud rainforests, volcanoes, mangrove swamps and beautiful beaches. It boasts one of the best national conservation systems in the world, over 20% of the country consisting of protected areas and nature reserves.

During your Spanish course in Costa Rica, be sure to visit the Monteverde Cloud Rainforest Reserve, which contains approximately 3000 plant varieties, 500 bird species and more than 100 different types of mammal. Corcovado and Tortuguero National Parks are also biodiversity hotspots, home to sloth, caiman, monkeys and several big cats, such as the jaguar.

Costa Rica is the most visited country in Central America, hosting over a million foreign tourists each year. It's renowned for its democratic and peaceful way of life, its regular army having being constitutionally abolished since 1948. Costa Ricans, or "Ticos" as they are locally known, now enjoy one of the highest literacy and life expectancy rates, and best health care and education systems in Central America.

Although the country fell to Spanish rule in the 16 th Century, it was able to develop with little Colonial interference. Far away from Guatemala City, the Central American hub of the Spanish Empire, Costa Rica was the most neglected of the Spanish colonies, escaping the oppression of indigenous cultures suffered by other Central and South American countries. As a result, Costa Rica today enjoys a much more egalitarian and prosperous society than most other ex colonies.