Costa Rica

Volunteer in Costa Rica

Working as a volunteer in Costa Rica is a great way to be a responsible tourist and make a positive impact during your time out. What’s more if you volunteer on a Costa Rica gap year you’ll also gain a far greater understanding of everyday Costa Rican life and culture. In order to volunteer in Costa Rica it’s not necessary to hold any specific qualifications or skills – just a strong desire to ‘make a difference’ on your gap year. If you volunteer in Costa Rica you also benefit from comprehensive Spanish tuition – a skill which makes your volunteer work abroad far more rewarding and your Latin America travel much more enjoyable.

Costa Rica volunteer

Volunteer in Costa Rica and enter Central America's jewel. Costa Rica is an ecotourism heaven, as well as being mostly coastline, which means great surfing and beaches galore. Costa Rica's enlightened approach to conservation has ensured that lush jungles are home to playful monkeys, languid sloths, crocodiles, countless lizards, poison-dart frogs and a mind-boggling assortment of exotic birds, insects and butterflies. Meanwhile, endangered sea turtles nest on both coasts and cloud forests protect elusive birds and jungle cats. If you’d like to work as a Costa Rica travel volunteer Real Gap has several extremely worthwhile gap year projects to choose from. For example you could work as a Costa Rica volunteer by getting involved with wildlife conservation work – either helping in the fight to save Costa Rica’s endangered sea turtles or working as a zoo assistant. If you’d prefer to volunteer in Costa Rica on a more ‘people-based’ project you could also opt to help care for disadvantaged children.

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	Costa Rica Animal Rescue Volunteer

Help undo the damage done to wildlife by hunting and damage to their habitats. You can expect to work with up to 80 species, helping with daily tasks and contributing to their release back into the wild.


	Costa Rica Experience

A four-week trip of a lifetime, during which you’ll learn Spanish, volunteer in an orphanage or school, live with a Costa Rican family, sail along the Tárcoles River, bathe in volcanic hot springs and learn about the local fauna.


	Costa Rica Kite Surfing Programme

Do something completely different in stunning surroundings – kite surfing! You’ll learn to glide across the waves of the Pacific Ocean and if you wish, you can take language lessons and discover the culture in San José.


	Costa Rica Orphanages and Homes

You’ll be invaluable to the over-worked leaders of orphanages and homes. Finger-printing, hopscotch or baking cakes will encourage abused, neglected and orphan children to smile again, while you’ll get a rare insight into Costa Rican life.


	Costa Rica Schools and Day Care Centres

Teach English or computer skills or organise fun activities such as plays, arts and crafts and sport in schools or centres around Costa Rica. Living with a family will give you an excellent opportunity to practise your Spanish.


	Costa Rica Sea Turtle Conservation

Escort baby turtles to the sea, take part in patrols to protect the eggs and observe turtle behaviour. Working next to the Pacific Ocean or the Caribbean Sea, you’ll be part of a highly successful conservation project.


	Costa Rica Sloth Rescue

Give orphaned and injured sloths the TLC they need. You’ll help out at a centre dedicated to the protection of these endangered creatures, feeding them, potty-training them and helping them return to the wild.


	Costa Rica Spanish and Salsa

Learn the lingo in the mornings with small classes that focus on speaking and understanding. Dance the afternoons away with lessons in Salsa and Chachacha and take part in cultural activities in between.


	Costa Rica Spanish Language School

Put yourself at an immediate advantage in South America and take Spanish lessons at whatever level suits you. Cultural activities such as cooking and dancing are included and staying with a family means you can practise at home.


	Costa Rica Sports and Teaching Programme

Football – Basketball – Volleyball – General Sports
Help with PE lessons in local schools and organise games of football and other sports. Your skills and enthusiasm will inspire underprivileged children who often have to make do with little or no equipment.


	Costa Rica Surfing Programme

Ride some of the warmest waves in the world, against a backdrop of beautiful sand and a deep blue sky. Suitable for beginners and amateurs, the course includes intensive coaching and unlimited use of a board.


	Costa Rica Water Sports Adventure

An action-packed, adrenaline-pumping holiday that will have you kite surfing, learning Spanish, white water rafting, cooking traditional dishes, surfing, dancing the Latino way and more – all amid seriously spectacular scenery!


	Sea Turtle and Surf in Costa Rica

The perfect combination of sport and conservation. Help look after turtle eggs and the baby turtles – not difficult when they’re so sweet! Then learn to surf or improve your technique at a nearby beach.


	Your Complete South America Gap Year

Do what most people only dream of! Learn Spanish, take salsa or cooking classes, visit Machu Picchu, explore the Amazon, marvel at Lake Titicaca and take part in wildlife or community projects.