- 2025 Dates
June 19 — July 10
July 2 — July 16
July 12 — August 2
July 19 — August 2
- tuition
Costa Rica
Community Immersion, Cloud Forests, & Tropical Beaches
- 2025 Dates
June 19 — July 10
July 2 — July 16
July 12 — August 2
July 19 — August 2
- tuition
Live and volunteer in a rural Costa Rican community and work side by side with local people on meaningful community service projects. Wake each morning to the sounds of howler monkeys and birds and spend the day contributing to a construction-based project, playing fútbol with local kids, and learning how to make traditional Costa Rican dishes.
- Highlights
• Practice Spanish and help local cooks prepare meals
• Play an afternoon game of fútbol with local children
• Raft along the rapids of the Sarapiquí River
Itinerary
These itineraries represents our best projection of the group’s schedule. However, we may implement changes designed to improve the quality of the program.
2-Week Itinerary
Meet your fellow high school student travelers and one or more of your leaders in Miami, and fly together to Liberia, Costa Rica. To learn more about how we organize travel, click here.
Upon arrival, travel to a secluded ecolodge and working ranch. Settle into your rustic accommodations and participate in an in-depth program orientation to discuss life in Costa Rica, break the ice with games, and get to know your group. Explore the property with local guides and learn about permaculture, renewable energy, and sustainable practices at the lodge. Take a morning yoga class, visit a coffee farm, and kayak on the calm surface of Lake Arenal. Follow hiking trails through the rainforest to waterfalls and swimming holes. During your time here, learn about Costa Rica’s history, language, and culture, get to know your group and leaders, set goals for your independent project, and prepare for the rest of your trip.
Travel to your host community, a small town surrounded by lush mountains and fertile farmland. Immerse yourself in everyday life as you work with warm and welcoming Costa Rican people to undertake several community-initiated volunteer projects. Lend a hand laying the foundation for a community center, or shadow a farmer to learn how to milk a cow or harvest bananas and pineapple. In the evenings, relax with Tico friends, hike to a hidden swimming hole, learn new songs on the guitar, play games of fútbol in the town plaza, or join local fiestas. Each Putney group lives and partners with different host communities and do not meet during the program.
Stay overnight in an ecolodge perched in the mountains overlooking the southern Pacific coastline. Snorkel off a secluded beach, take a surfing lesson with guides, or hike to a beautiful vista for a picnic lunch. In the evening, go salsa dancing, take a night hike under the stars, or play guitar around a beach bonfire.
Near the end of your program, undertake a final challenge with your group. Spend a day whitewater rafting with professional guides through the Río Sarapiquí or Río Pacuare, surrounded by breathtaking, lush rainforest.
Fly from Liberia, Costa Rica, to Miami with your group and a leader, then continue on to your final destination. To learn more about how we organize travel, click here.
3-Week Itinerary
Meet your fellow high school student travelers and one or more of your leaders in Miami, and fly together to Liberia, Costa Rica. To learn more about how we organize travel, click here.
Upon arrival, travel to a secluded ecolodge and working ranch. Settle into your rustic accommodations and participate in an in-depth program orientation to discuss life in Costa Rica, break the ice with games, and get to know your group. Explore the property with local guides and learn about permaculture, renewable energy, and sustainable practices at the lodge. Take a morning yoga class, visit a coffee farm, and kayak on the calm surface of Lake Arenal. Follow hiking trails through the rainforest to waterfalls and swimming holes. During your time here, learn about Costa Rica’s history, language, and culture, get to know your group and leaders, set goals for your independent project, and prepare for the rest of your trip.
Travel to your host community, a small town surrounded by lush mountains and fertile farmland. Immerse yourself in everyday life as you work with warm and welcoming Costa Ri