Gap Year In Costa Rica

With both our youngest daughter and my nephew graduating high school this year, the subject of taking a gap year did come up for discussion. Both kids are going straight to college, but both did express interest in Costa Rica if they had opted to do a gap year.

My nephew is interested in marine biology and spent a few weeks in Spain studying Spanish, so Costa Rica would be perfect.

Our youngest daughter has studied some Spanish and has an interest in the environment. She does love the beach, and the gentle waves of Playa Tamarindo would be perfect for her. But I think she would miss all her musical theater activities. You can’t beat the entertainment scene in New York City!

What is a Gap Year?

Gap years have gained popularity in recent decades. While starting mainly as a way for students to pursue a charitable or cultural interest in the time between high school and college, some people now take a gap year to work and earn some money before going to college, and others simply want to take a break and travel.

With many colleges allowing for a 1-year deferral after being accepted, gap years after high school don’t necessarily jeopardize your college admission. With the ease and availability of travel today, there are no shortage of interesting things people can do with a gap year.

Gapyear.com and gapyearassociation.org are other websites where you can learn a lot more, and search through a ton of ideas for what to do.

Lots of structured gap year programs available in Costa Rica

A quick Google search yields several possibilities for gap year programs in Costa Rica:

Many of the programs revolve around environmental studies, taking advantage of Costa Rica’s biodiversity. Spanish language and volunteering are other popular options.

A search on Go Overseas shows 74 gap year programs in Costa Rica, including saving turtles and getting certified in scuba diving. Outward Bound offers gap year options in Costa Rica, with the opportunity to potentially receive college credit.

Gap Year Options Are Not Limited To Students

Many of the organizations that list programs for students also link to programs for adults. International Living, which focuses on expatriating abroad for the long-term, has also covered the roving retirement, which is essentially a gap year focused on travel, where you’re testing out retirement location options. This pair of Australian Baby Boomers took a gap year (six months turned into two years) to travel around the world.

If you’re not close to retirement or just out of school, there is always the sabbatical option, essentially a gap year for professionals. There is even a sabbatical coach who can help structure your time away. The Forbes Coaches Council offers these eight suggestions for convincing your boss to allow a sabbatical, and I previously wrote about how to get your career back on track after a travel sabbatical.

Of course, the notion of a gap year pre-supposes you are doing something different for the time in-between one period and another. If the objective of a gap year is to travel, you don’t have to take a formal gap year. You can blend travel and work as a digital nomad.

How I Would Spend A Gap Year In Costa Rica

Scott and I are opting for the digital nomad life so that we can do slow travel and not have to stop and start our work projects. That said, I can always make my wish list for a gap year in Costa Rica:

Travel would at the top of the list

Costa Rica is just under 20,000 square miles (about the size of West Virginia which measures just under 25,000 square miles). However, there are 12 micro-climates, ranging from coastal regions to mountainous regions, with temperature swings from cool to hot and various degrees of rainfall.

I would love to check out each of the regions, and we are already keeping a list of Costa Rica places to visit aside from the perennial favorites like the Monteverde Cloud Forest or Manuel Antonio National Park.

Spanish fluency is a goal I have

Luckily we have a Spanish school down the block from the condo we stay at during our visits. The WAYRA Spanish School is over 20 years old and offers a wide variety of Spanish language programs for all ages.

Fiction writing is something I hope to add to all the other writing I do

National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, comes in November which is just at the end of the rainy season in Tamarindo. It’s still the low season for tourism, so it wouldn’t be too high of an opportunity cost to take over Condo Boom for the month of November and crank out a book.

University of Peace

University of Peace is a graduate school in San Jose, Costa Rica and got on my radar for their distance learning conflict resolution program. Online courses typically last 6 or 9 weeks. UPeace also offers Masters and Doctoral Programs, which would be too much of a commitment for me, though the Media and Peace program seems sorely needed right now!

No shortage of learning opportunities

I have a long list of things I want to do and learn, and the Pura Vida relaxed pace of Costa Rica would be perfect for dedicating time to learning.

• I still don’t know how to swim, and I could practice in the two pools at our condo complex.
• I don’t know how to bike, and the quiet roads of Langosta would be good for that.
• I really want to learn to play the guitar, though I suspect the heat is not kind to musical instruments.
• Scott and I would also love to learn to play tennis, and on one of our prior trips we noticed a nice looking tennis club in Tamarindo that offers lessons.

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For the next few years, Scott and I are committed to the digital nomad plan. However, once we’ve seen our dream travel destinations, I could picture us spending a gap year in Costa Rica to recharge.

How would you spend your gap year?