Our top trips during our semester in Latin America
Here I will sum up all the trips we did during our four months of studying in Costa Rica!
Through our semester in Costa Rica, Kulturstudier has organized voluntary trips to different coastal cities.
I really recommend that future students join these organized trips! They are great opportunities to get to know your classmates and make new friends and memories, without having to plan too much!
We spent our very first weekend in Dominical, a small beach city located only 40 minutes away from San Isidro De El General.
Dominical is a sweet, small town, with surfing as the main activity of interest. There are loads of surf schools here, so don’t be afraid to negotiate and visit different surf schools to find the best offer.
If you want to go to a bigger city by the beach, I recommend you take the bus from Dominical to Uvita and stay there for the weekend. Many students have travelled to both Dominical and Uvita several times throughout the semester.
A few weeks later, we went to Santa Theresa. Here you should really check out Playa Hermosa – a beach which is known for its beautiy.
The weather wasn’t the best for us when we were here, but that meant plenty of time to get to know each other at the hostel, going to the sweet cafés. They also have the really fun bars and clubs!
Lastly, we went to Puerto Viejo by the Caribbean coast. The beaches here are beautiful.
Punta Uva has the perfect conditions for snorkeling due to the clear and still water. Playa Negra is, as you may understand because of its name, a beach with black sand.
You should also rent a bike here. It was very efficient and practical, and the view was stunning. Pura Vida!
During our semester in Costa Rica, we have also travelled to other countries. Some students have travelled to Mexico, others to Guatemala or Nicaragua.
I travelled to Cancún and Mérida in México, during the celebration of Día de Muertos.
In Cancún you can get a cultural experience downtown, while the hotel area gives you more of a Hollywood-like feeling. Here they celebrate Día de Muertos in Puerto Juarez with costumes, decorations, a lot of food stands and a big concert.
In Mérida they celebrate Día de Muertos with a big festival. There are concerts, performances, a big parade with many colours and amazing costumes.
The famous Chichen Itza, one of the world’s seven wonders, is located right in the middle of the two cities, and let me tell you, it was amazing!
Rent a guide and take your time in there. There is so much to see and so much to learn.
Some students also went to Guatemala where they visited Antigua to see the beautiful architecture and Lake Atitlan, which is surrounded by villages and has a perfect bathing-spot.
Some of them climbed the active volcano Pakaya (where they got to roast marshmallows on the volcanic heat!). In Tikal they saw the Mayan pyramids and in Chichicastenango they visited the local markets.
Some of us also travelled to Nicaragua. Our route was, similar to many other backpackers, the following: Granada, Ometepe, and finally San Juan del Sur.
We made so many backpacker friends on this trip. We also got to try traditional food, climbed up the active volcano Concepción, we danced with the locals at the bars and enjoyed the beach.
This was a bit of an intense week but it’s worth it if you want to see and experience as much as possible during your visits.
