Spanish School & Surf Camp Costa Rica | Perfect Sunset — Local services in Cóbano

I came to the school on the 23rd of December, I arrived to one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. I was anxious to travel as I am 21 years old and this is my first solo trip however, Gus was very understanding and ensured all would be fine. I have to say it has not been just fine it has been absolutely wonderful. As soon as I arrived everyone was smiling and very kind. I felt very comfortable, my first Christmas away from home and I was so happy sharing it with the other guests and staff who made a homemade 4 course meal (made by the one and only Pietro 👨‍🍳) which was sooooo good. I stayed in a shared room, which was cleaned frequently, comfy beds and good air conditioning. During my stay I have taken part in the yoga classes, intensive Spanish course and surfing all of which have been truly wonderful. My classes with Hilda have given me a lot of confidence with conversational Spanish and the staff are very supportive in helping you apply what you have learnt. The classes are varied but structured to ensure not only that you cover the most important elements of the language during your lesson, but also that you can have fun!! The best way to start any day is surfing. Juan and Jonathan are really kind and supportive teachers. They really want you to succeed and their smile makes me smile. It’s a really fun experience that I would recommend to everyone who comes to stay at perfect sunset. The beach is beyond beautiful. When you return it is just in time to have a coffee and chat before breakfast is served. Both the breakfast and dinners are varied and delicious. Freshly made bread and always accommodations for vegan and vegetarians. I took part in yoga after surfing. Augustina was my instructor and she brings a very calming and kind presence to the class. I have found it to feel like a very safe place for me. The sound of nature, whether it is rainy or sunny is very theraputic. For everything, the class sizes are small and this really helps enriches the experience. The school is busy with people coming and going, but everyone arrives and leaves with a smile. There are always people going out if you want to go into santa Teresa for shopping or just for a drink. I have never had to go to anyone for any problems but I always felt if there was anything I needed there were many people I could go to. The school itself is bigger than I expected. During the day you will be in the perfect place to relax there are many hammocks a pool a gym area you can use, surf boards and bikes. Pietro, Kathy, amy and Edgar are always smiling and laughing, there is a great vibe around. I would reccomend the school to anyone coming to Santa Teresa travelling alone or with friends, whether you stay for a night or weeks or months you’ll have a great time and meet wonderful people !! 😊 go for it you won’t...

If you love falling asleep to the sound of waves (like we do!) you'll love it there! We stayed in the private room and took up Spanish and surfing.

So how was our stay? In one word, amazing! Why was it amazing?

First off, the staff. The custodians (Edgar & Cathy) were tremendously helpful. They helped us out of a bind even before we got to the school and continued being helpful throughout our stay. The cleaning staff kept our room spotless on a daily basis. And the food was amazing. Surfing is hard work and it would be much harder without the delicious and nutritious food we received at the school. Speaking of surfing, the surfing instructors were all eager to help us learn and pushed us, without preasuring, to improve daily even when we were having a bad day. We were able to catch proper waves in the second week and this would not have been possible without them. The same can be said about our spanish teacher (Christina). She kept our lessons fun and educational, always happy to answer any questions we had and very accommodating to our personal educational needs.

Secondly, the school itself. Situated between ne bustling Santa Teresa and the gorgeous Playa Hermosa we were far enough from all the hustle and bustle while still having access to both. We usually walked but hitchhiking, a public bus, a taxi or renting an ATV were all available options. Just infront of the school at the beach are also tide pools to go chill in and watch the sunset, which we recommend you do at least once if not daily. If you want to see all the wildlife you can experience in and around the school we suggest you check out their Instagram page.

And last but not least, the atmosphere and people. We actually stayed longer so we could be there for the Christmas party. There is a really chill vibe at the school and we had such a great time with everyone there. The weekend cookouts, the lively conversations at the dinner table, going on trips together and grabbing drinks. All in all a tremendous time!

We sincerely hope you have as an amazing time as we...

Stayed there for a week, did not live up to my expectations. The beds are awful (at least those in my room) - there were 4 beds available, all of them had super thin mattresses and they were also so overused that when you lay on it you slide towards the middle as it is thinner in the middle. Even if you just sat on the bed you could feel the bottom of the bed. This would be ok in a 10 dollar hostel, but when you pay 30usd/night for accomodation you expect a lot more. Some stuff on their website doesn’t add up - for example it says thay they have free transport to town 3 times a week, but when I asked about it they were like ‘ah yeah no we don’t have that’. It also says they have bbq on sundays but that was not the case. The a/c in our room didn’t work for 2 nights which made it impossible to sleep as the room was like a sauna, we kept complaining about it but they didn’t get it fixed. Instead they told us to sleep with the door and windows open which is really not ideal since it’s in the middle of the jungle so snakes/bugs/whatever animals could enter and also they don’t have lockers so anyone could have entered the room and taken our stuff. They ended up refunding me 1 of the 2 nights the a/c wasn’t working after I got really mad about it. The spanish teacher is really good, but the room where they teach it has no ventilation, not even a fan, so it is like 40 degrees in there so if you’re not used to lots of heat i definitely wouldn’t recommend it. The yoga and the food was really good. I met lots of nice people and the staff is nice but the facilities just felt really outdated. Would not stay again nor would I recommend it...