Costa Rica

Coastal beach Costa Rica, gap year, experience, expedition Costa Rica is one of the most preferred travel, volunteer, internship and study abroad destinations in the International Volunteer Travel program. Although still a largely agricultural country, Costa Rica has expanded its economy to include strong industry and tourism sectors.

Costa Rica is a country rich in ethnic, cultural and religious diversity. It has beautiful geographic features that include a gorgeous coastline of 1,290 km and rugged mountains with over 100 volcanic cones surround the coastal plains.

We have provided lots of information about the Latin American country of Costa Rica in the Costa Rica Country Profile Page.

Costa Rica Volunteer and Internship Programs

teaching volunteer study Spanish overseas The International Volunteer Travel offers a range of volunteer abroad opportunities and overseas internship placements to choose from in Costa Rica. The Costa Rica program gives you an opportunity to work in any of the following areas, namely: Wildlife refuge; Teaching; Orphanages; Churches and Christian Organizations; Construction of Houses for the poor; Single Teenager Mother Shelters, Environmental associations and National parks; and Women?s Prisons.

Free Volunteer Placement:
International volunteers and interns placed in San Jose who sign up for the Spanish Study Abroad program will pay only for the Spanish language program; their volunteer or internship placement will be free.

Combination of Programs
The Volunteer Abroad in Costa Rica, Internships Abroad in Costa Rica, Wildlife Refuge Service, can be offered independently or in combination with the Survival Spanish Program, the Spanish Study Abroad Program, or the Costa Rica Adventure Holidays programs.

Additionally, we offer Gap Year Abroad in Costa Rica and can arrange a Group Volunteer Abroad placement for groups including students and church missions at a discounted cost.

orphans - Latin America

The Application Process

To contact us, click here. To submit an application, click here. To read more about how to apply to the International Volunteer Travel program, click here.

Questions and Other Information

To access more information on any aspect of our Central American programs in Costa Rica please click on any link on the left or top links bars. For answers to your questions not provided on the link pages, please go to the page on Frequently Asked Questions. (FAQ?s).

Program Highlights

Age Limit The International Volunteer Travel programs are open to all persons aged 18 and over, from all countries of origin and residence. Teenagers under 18 accepted when guardians or group leaders 21 and above, accompany them. Younger children can come with their parents.

Length of Program
We have placements for long term and short term volunteer abroad service. Overseas volunteer placement periods range from 2 weeks to 1 year.

Program Costs
The International Volunteer Travel Costa Rica program fees are provided on every program page. You can also access the Costa Rica program fees by clicking here.

Location: Many regions of Costa Rica including San Jose, the capital city; Cartago;Puntaremas; Alajuela; Guanacaste; Santa Elena; Santo Domingo; Heredia, etc.

Starting Dates: 2nd and 4th Monday of every Month

Airport Arrival: Day before starting date, by 3:00 PM

Accommodation and Meals: Central America volunteers in Costa Rica stay with carefully selected Costa Rica host families, in a hostel or apartment, and are provided 2 to 3 Costa Rica meals a day.

Schedule of work: Mondays to Fridays. Costa Rica Volunteers work an average of 3 to 8 hours depending on the type of volunteer abroad project placement.

Spanish Language Requirements
Working or basic knowledge of Spanish is strongly recommended though not required. In Costa Rica, the International Volunteer Travel offers a special one-week Survival Spanish Program for beginners and those with no prior knowledge of Spanish.