Student's review: "I went to Dominican last year for one month immersion class. This area is not very touristic.  I think it is one of those "best-kept-secret" destinations. We loved it there. I went with my husband and we rented a house near the beach. We were able to rent a nice size house for $800/month. We had a wonderful time there.  There were a lot of other Europeans mainly French. I was surprised to see many good French restaurants in this area.  We were eating lobster almost every day for incredible low prices!.  We were there obviously to learn Spanish but having the French cuisine was an added plus.  Also, we were "forced" to speak Spanish at all times since everybody around us didn't speak much English and we definitely don't speak French. The school was very good and the teachers were excellent.  We took 3 sessions daily while we were there.  We are definitely going back soon."

NICARAGUA
San Juan del Sur, www.sjdsspanish.com

Student's review:  "I went to San Juan del Sur Spanish School in Nicaragua on May 2008, for 2 weeks.   I stayed with a family.  The cost of the school was $120 per week for 4 hrs. per day of one on one instruction and also included an afternoon activity four days of the week.  Lodging and 3 meals per day with a host family was $80 per week. There was also a $30 school registration fee.  For $60 each way, one of the school employees will provide airport shuttle in his car to the airport in Managua two hours away, well worth it.  I found it an over all pleasant experience.  I went alone and felt safe.  Managua, the big city, I've heard is not so safe so I was happy I chose to use the school's airport shuttle service.  San Juan del Sur is a small Pacific coast town, popular with surfers.  The school, which is a restaurant at night, is in an open thatched roof building right on the beach, so you have a view of the ocean and the sound of the surf during your lessons.  Being next to the ocean is relaxing and always a big plus for me.  The people were friendly.  My instructor was the only male and a temp hired due to the high number of students the first week.  He was very serious and knowledgeable and so I requested him for my second week, also.  I got the feeling if I had requested him that second week that he would not have returned as he was a temp from another town.  Most of the other instructors were young women who some didn't seem quite so dedicated to teaching as my teacher, but then the students were also mostly young males there to enjoy the cheap beer and accommodations, the surf and learn some Spanish with equal priority.  Nicaragua was very hot and humid and the home accommodations have fans, no A.C.  The director had standards that each student's quarters was to have its own shower, toilet and sink.  The first house I stayed at had two rooms like this with those private facilities, but then the third room, mine, had none and shared those things with the host family.  I didn't know this and really didn't mind sharing until 4 additional extended family guests from the USA arrived.  Then it became too much noise and too much traffic. The family had been kind and I felt bad asking to be moved, as saving face seems to be a big cultural thing there, but I did.  The director immediately relocated me to a quieter more removed location with a very nice family and I was happier, though.  Ear plugs are a good idea for sleeping at night because of all the roosters crowing and dogs barking.  Make sure to see a travel clinic and get your immunizations in order, preventative malaria pills in the rainy season, and medical insurance for emergency evacuation if necessary.  The public hospitals are not good.  Gifts for the host family or the children are a nice gesture such as dish towels, notebooks, colored ink pens, small toys, books or magazines in Spanish, magnifying reading glasses, etc. all those things are expensive over there.  The food is good and the rum is good and cheap.

PANAMA:
HABLA YA PANAMA, Boquete, Panama. HablaYaPanama

Student's review: "I attended the language school "Habla Ya" located in the mountains on the eastern side of Panama, close to the border of Costa Rica, in March of 2012.  My main concern when searching for a school was safety of the area, and Boquete was a very quiet, peaceful town.  I felt safe walking, even at night.  The downtown area is pretty small and many things are within walking distance.  We stayed at a hotel called "Isla Verde" which was just a few blocks from town and from the school.  I would highly recommend this hotel if you don't want to do a homestay.  The rooms are equipped with kitchens and hot water in the shower (but not at the sinks).  Some of my classmates complained about not having hot water at their homestays.  If you like nature, it is easy to be distracted from studying for your Spanish classes by all of the available activities in the area.  There is a zipline (highly recommended), nearby tours of the rain forest, tours of coffee farms and gardens, and an outstanding tour of a orchid farm called "Finca Dracula" named after a type of orchid that resembles Dracula.  They have over 2000 specimens of orchids on display.  

The school itself is very professional, and everyone at the school was very helpful with any questions I had in making the arrangements to stay in Boquete.  The teachers all seemed to be excellent and there were many scheduled activities outside of class hours, some of which were free.  They did assign quite a bit of homework every night.  The school is in a very nice building.  There is no air conditioning, but the weather is Boquete ranges from around 60 to 80 degrees so it wasn't necessary.  Sometimes at night it would be very chilly, but the weather was perfect for sleeping.  It does tend to rain almost every day and can be quite windy at times, but there are beautiful rainbows over the city very often.  There are some good restaurants in Boquete, especially if you eat fish and seafood.  Vegetables and fruits can be more difficult to find.  There is a mercado called Romero's which carries a wide variety of food, some American items, which seem to be mostly for the many retired Americans who live there. 

Overall, we really enjoyed our trip to Boquete.  I would like to go back and study at the school longer.  When we traveled there, we stayed in San Jose, Costa Rica and from there took a flight to David, Panama and then a half-hour cab ride to Boquete.  The other option was to fly to Panama City and then to David, Panama.  I am told that they are opening an international airport in David, Panama, so maybe a one-day trip may be possible in the future.