COSTA RICA
BEACHSIDE SERVICE ADVENTURE
Discover an unforgettable adventure in Costa Rica and experience "Pura Vida" while contributing to a meaningful project tailored to your passion. Take your pick of three summer tracks: Beachside Community Connection, Sea Turtle Conservation or Surf & Environmental Conservation.
Program Overview
Escape to Costa Rica’s beautiful Pacific coast, where you’ll volunteer on a service project that is most needed at the time of your arrival. This could be a mix of efforts, such as beach clean-ups to make way for nesting sea turtles, ecosystem restoration or community infrastructure projects. Although Costa Rica has many notable achievements, such as universal healthcare, many communities – individuals, families and children alike – still benefit from your support! Community-led service projects can be a big help to citizens in rural areas. Relax after a hard day’s work at our beautiful Home Base. You’ll also have the chance to enjoy adventure activities like river tubing, ziplining, and a catamaran and snorkeling tour, sharing fun in the sun with the new friends you meet during the program.
Note: This service-learning program will be split into 3 tracks: Beachside Community Connection, Sea Turtle Conservation and Surf & Environmental Conservation. All students share the same Home Base, cultural immersion and adventure activities. However, service-specific experiences such as service work, hands-on projects and site visits are tailored to each track, ensuring you gain focused learning within your chosen academic theme.
On GLA’s Costa Rica: Beachside Service Adventure program you will:
- Live in and explore a coastal village near a beautiful beach
- Choose a track to volunteer on: Beachside Community Connection, Sea Turtle Conservation and Surf & Environmental Conservation
- Go tubing down the spectacular Rio Negro river and zipline through the forest canopy
- Engage with grassroots organizations led by local community leaders
- Enjoy a catamaran excursion and snorkel among wild marine life
Program Menu
COSTA RICA
BEACHSIDE SERVICE ADVENTURE
Sample Itinerary
Let’s take a sneak peek at what your program experience might look like this summer! Please note that the order of activities may differ for each program session. The details provided here represent a general outline of what you can anticipate, though community service projects and activities are subject to change based on the needs of our local community partners, cultural celebrations and traditions, weather conditions and the specific requirements of the student group.
Day 1: Arrival
Fly into the Liberia Guanacaste airport (LIR) on the first day of the program, where GLA staff will be ready to welcome you and take you to our Home Base, a beautiful family owned hotel on the shores of the Pacific coast. We’ll start getting to know our fellow travelers and GLA staff at a brief orientation. Get settled in and enjoy your first delicious Costa Rican dinner at Home Base. Chat with your roommates about what you’re looking forward to most before you get a good night’s rest.
Day 2: Getting Oriented
We’ll kick off our time together with group team building activities, utilizing the gardens, pool, sport fields and sandy beaches around us. You’ll also get familiar with your community service site. Learn about the service site leaders and local neighbors to gain insight about the socio-economic situation, geographic terrain and environmental status of the region you’ll be working in. Tonight, we’ll participate in our first Mentor sessions and a leadership activity.
*Note: We have multiple service projects and tracks on this program, but each student will stay with the same site and work on one project throughout the program. The itinerary below highlights the various service sites and possible projects.
Day 3: Community Service & Cultural Activity
On our first day of community service, we are heading to the beach for a clean-up. In the afternoon, we’ll come together for some friendly competition for traditional Costa Rican games and soccer scrimmage. Then we’ll enjoy a cooking class led by a member of the community. Learn how to make some typical Guanacaste foods cooked in the traditional clay oven. Buen provecho!
Day 4: Community Service & Cultural Activity
Jump into hands-on service projects! Working in small groups on one project throughout the program, they help create safe, welcoming places for the community.
After lunch at Home Base, take part in a cultural dance workshop featuring salsa, bachata and merengue. Evenings include beach soccer or yoga, plus reflection and leadership sessions around the bonfire with GLA Mentors.
Day 5: Ziplining & Tubing Adventure
It’s adventure day in Costa Rica! Soar through the forest canopy on eleven thrilling zipline cables, then after lunch, tube three miles of rapids on the Rio Negro (weather permitting). Along the way, enjoy calmer pools, tropical scenery, and guided, safety-equipped rafts for a fun and secure experience.
Day 6: Community Service
Playa Junquillal’s black sand beach is home to four species of sea turtles. With a resident marine biologist, learn to identify turtle tracks and help protect nesting turtles by restoring the hatchery, collecting data, cleaning the beach, planting native species, and—if conditions allow—releasing baby turtles into the ocean.
Day 7: Final Day of Community Service
On our final day of community service, we’ll work hard to put the finishing touches on our projects. Today you’ll have an immediate positive impact on Costa Rica’s environment by removing trash before it infiltrates land and coastal waters and nearby mangroves. Dedicate a few hours to caring for our oceans today, and enjoy the clean beach afterwards!
Day 8: Snorkeling & Catamaran Ride
It’s adventure day! After breakfast, we’ll sail by catamaran to a clear, warm snorkeling spot to explore colorful fish and coral, then relax on a white-sand beach. Enjoy fresh fruit and lunch onboard as we return, keeping an eye out for dolphins or sea turtles.
Day 9: Departure
It’s hard to believe our Costa Rica adventure must come to an end. Reflect on your personal growth and life-changing memories as you take part in GLA closing ceremonies. After completing the program, it’s time to exchange goodbyes and see-you-laters with your peers and staff. We’ll travel as a group back to your departure airport in Liberia where GLA staff will help you check in for your flight and see you off on your journey home.
Program Map
COSTA RICA
BEACHSIDE SERVICE ADVENTURE
Program Details
Dates & Tuition
2027 Session Dates
June 12 – June 20, 2027
June 25 – July 03, 2027
July 07 – July 15, 2027
July 18 – July 26, 2027
July 30 – August 07, 2027
What's Included in Tuition
In-country transportation
Lodging
3 meals per day
Professional full-time staff and experts
24/7 parent support hotline during program
Secondary medical and evacuation insurance
Cultural activities, lectures and excursions
Pre-departure materials and support
Educational materials
to hold your spot on-program.
Program at a Glance
Every GLA Program is Backed by our 5-Point Safety System™
GLA HOME BASE:
SAFE & SECURE LODGING
CARING SUPERVISION &
EXPERT LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
SAFE
TRANSPORTATION
HEALTHY FOOD
& PURE WATER
24/7 SUPPORT &
EMERGENCY RESPONSE
Recommended by Students and Parents
Elizabeth H. | 2017 Alumni Student
“It was one of the best and most eye-opening experiences of my life. I loved how we weren’t just putting in hours to serve someone we didn’t really know. GLA really helped us to understand the culture and get to know the people so we could really be immersed in the service and would love helping them. I loved it all – from the adventure days, service days, food, the beach, and learning about the culture and meeting the people. I would definitely recommend this trip and any other GLA trip to any teen looking to find themselves and grow as a person.”
The Program Experience
Service Learning
Live and work alongside welcoming locals in a small beachside community where the ocean plays a central role in daily life. In true GLA fashion, all volunteer efforts are community-led and driven by real-time priorities identified by local leaders upon your arrival. Depending on the track you choose, your service will directly impact local infrastructure, marine life or environmental sustainability:
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Beachside Community Connection Track: Partner with a local grassroots community organization to improve local spaces. You may support initiatives within local schools or childcare centers such as upgrading classroom infrastructure, building playground spaces or planting school gardens as well as supporting reforestation efforts and debris removal in nearby mangroves and beaches.
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Sea Turtle Conservation Track: Support a local sea turtle protection organization through hands-on conservation work. You may assist in creating safe nesting paths, work directly in the turtle hatchery to prepare for egg relocation and monitoring and replace sand to maintain healthy, viable nesting conditions.
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Surf & Environmental Conservation Track: Spearhead coastal environmental projects like beach cleanups, native tree sapling planting and building educational signs to promote local environmental awareness. You’ll also get your hands in the soil applying traditional ecological knowledge to help restore a local family farm.
Outside of service, engage in discussions on current social and environmental issues in Costa Rica, practice your conversational Spanish and immerse yourself in local culture through salsa and merengue dance lessons, traditional cooking and rich biodiversity exploration.
Adventure
Experience an adrenaline-packed paradise where lush jungle canopy meets the vibrant Pacific coast! Soar through rainforest treetops on an exhilarating zipline canopy tour and brave the rapids during a favorite traveler excursion: whitewater tubing down a winding jungle river (weather permitting). On the Surf & Environmental Conservation track, you’ll catch the warm Pacific waves during two surf lessons led by local instructors, perfect whether you’re standing up for the first time or sharpening your skills on Costa Rica’s iconic breaks.
Cruise the Guanacaste coastline on a catamaran to spot marine wildlife and witness breathtaking coastal habitats. Enjoy beach volleyball and informal soccer matches on pristine shores, capped off by magnificent sunsets over the water with a rare chance to witness baby sea turtles hatching along the beach.
Country Spotlight
Discover the legendary Pura Vida lifestyle, warm hospitality and world-renowned biodiversity of Costa Rica’s Guanacaste region.
Lodging: Home Base is a comfortable, well-maintained family-owned hotel located in Guanacaste, famed for its protected ecological reserves and Pacific beaches. Students stay in gender-segregated dorm-style rooms sharing 4–8 beds per room with bunk beds, air conditioning and private en-suite bathrooms, with full access to an on-site swimming pool and tropical gardens.
Meals: Savor fresh, wholesome meals reflecting traditional Costa Rican cuisine centered around simple dietary staples like rice, beans, fresh vegetables and side meats (such as classic casado), alongside abundant locally grown tropical fruits and familiar Western dishes.
COSTA RICA
BEACHSIDE SERVICE ADVENTURE
Photo Gallery
COSTA RICA
BEACHSIDE SERVICE ADVENTURE
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