1 month summer vacation in central or South America—where would you go?

[Anonymous]

OP seems to have disappeared. Clearly not that serious.

[Anonymous]

I’ve looked into doing this, but never pulled the trigger. I was focused on Mexico and Costa Rica. In both, you should be able to find summer language programs that accept kids. They don’t necessarily call them camps, although there was at least one on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica that was a camp.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve looked into doing this, but never pulled the trigger. I was focused on Mexico and Costa Rica. In both, you should be able to find summer language programs that accept kids. They don’t necessarily call them camps, although there was at least one on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica that was a camp.

I 2nd Costa Rica and Mexico.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you get 4.5 weeks out of late June to mid-July?

I think OP meant that sometime between late June and mid July they will leave to travel for 4.5 weeks, and not that they will squeeze in 4.5 weeks of travel between late June to mid July

[Anonymous]

I loved Lake Atitlan, Guatemala and Costa Rica. There are a lot of Spanish immersion classes available in Guatemala that would occupy your daughter for much of the day. Surfing schools in Costa Rica or Nicaragua might be fun, too.

[Anonymous]

This is OP. Sorry for not replying sooner.

To answer questions: The only place we’ve been in South America is ecuador (loved but want somewhere new). We want South American over Spain so we can be in a similar time zone. Employers have already approved, and we did this once before with our trip to Ecuador. My partner will work most of the time and his foreign corp is fine with it. I have 3 of the 4.5 weeks off and my job is remote. The dates will be the last 1.5 weeks of June and the first 3 weeks of July.

In Central America, we have been to Nicaragua, Panama and Belize, so we would probably eliminate those too, though we saw them on week long vacations, so we are not entirely opposed to returning to those places.

I think we are pretty open re: weather as long as it’s not impossible to enjoy the outdoors. We are also fine with no camps, in which case we would look for a sitter so my kid has some time to speak Spanish with a native speaker.

One ideal would be to live on a hacienda/farm for at least a few weeks and have my kid learn about caring for animals since that’s one of her passions. Anyone know of such a place? Sort of the dude ranch experience but in South America?

We want more high end than backpackers and willing to spend some money, but we are also up for adventure and don’t need American style amenities (except WiFi).

Thanks for the suggestions so far and keep them coming!

Also, if anyone is thinking of spending time in ecuador, I would be happy to start a thread on my time there!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is OP. Sorry for not replying sooner.

To answer questions: The only place we’ve been in South America is ecuador (loved but want somewhere new). We want South American over Spain so we can be in a similar time zone. Employers have already approved, and we did this once before with our trip to Ecuador. My partner will work most of the time and his foreign corp is fine with it. I have 3 of the 4.5 weeks off and my job is remote. The dates will be the last 1.5 weeks of June and the first 3 weeks of July.

In Central America, we have been to Nicaragua, Panama and Belize, so we would probably eliminate those too, though we saw them on week long vacations, so we are not entirely opposed to returning to those places.

I think we are pretty open re: weather as long as it’s not impossible to enjoy the outdoors. We are also fine with no camps, in which case we would look for a sitter so my kid has some time to speak Spanish with a native speaker.

One ideal would be to live on a hacienda/farm for at least a few weeks and have my kid learn about caring for animals since that’s one of her passions. Anyone know of such a place? Sort of the dude ranch experience but in South America?

We want more high end than backpackers and willing to spend some money, but we are also up for adventure and don’t need American style amenities (except WiFi).

Thanks for the suggestions so far and keep them coming!

Also, if anyone is thinking of spending time in ecuador, I would be happy to start a thread on my time there!

Look into renting a home in Lake Atitlan. I can't recommend any place specifically because I was a young backpacker when I went, but I did attend Spanish school for 3 hours a day, and enjoyed kayaking and swimming in the lake, hiking around, taking yoga classes, and exploring the nearby area. I know there are nice homes to rent there, and I plan to go back when my youngest is older.

Peru is also nice. Machu Picchu is a bucket list trip you would enjoy, and I think you could stay in the town of Cusco for a while before getting restless. The food scene there is good.

[Anonymous]

We just returned from Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. I could easily live there for a month.

[Anonymous]

I know this is an old post, but out of curiosity, where did you end up going, did you find a camp?-- looking to do this exact same thing with our two children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Colombia - Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena (there are camps, but you will need to research parent groups).

Though I have heard of more camps in Guatemala - Antigua, El Tikal

I would second Bogota. Sounds like it checks all your boxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colombia - Bogota, Medellin, Cartagena (there are camps, but you will need to research parent groups).

Though I have heard of more camps in Guatemala - Antigua, El Tikal

I would second Bogota. Sounds like it checks all your boxes.

I know this post is old, but agree Bogota would work although it is not warm! Just got back and it was chilly. OTOH Cartagena was too damn hot.