Summer Day Camps Abroad

4 parent questions ▼

Parent Q&A

Select any title to view the full question and replies.

  • Summer Camp in Spanish Speaking Country?

    –
    Aug 23, 2023

    We are a bilingual (Spanish/English) family and my daughter is in kindergarten at Sylvia Mendez. I'm hoping to go somewhere Spanish speaking next summer for 3 or 4 weeks and enroll my daughter in a local summer camp. I'm quite flexible about where we go, but the few things I've easily found online (Google searching) seem oriented primarily to foreigners and my hope is to have my daughter experience more immersion in local community/culture. Wondering if anyone else has done something similar in the past few years, or can point me to resources to explore some possibilities. Thanks in advance!

    Aug 23, 2023

    I have similar interests and have previously looked into versions of this for various languages at various stages. Anyway, haven't been myself or my kids to this, but you might want to check out the Y of Puerto Rico! Here's the form for 2023, very familiar looking for those of us who have done Y programming here! LOL. https://www.ymcasanjuan.org/_files/ugd/d971ed_897071506457454ebbd0dd95e…

    Aug 25, 2023

    If you are considering Spain, another person on this forum shared a spreadsheet they compiled of options. They found a lot of info on Yumping.com. We went to Spain this June and found that no camps were available, and in some places things like amusement parks weren't open during the week yet. So keep that in mind when planning.

    Aug 30, 2023

    Hi! We've done it twice - once in Sayulita, Mexico and once this past summer in San Sebastian, Spain.  I know that Costa Rica also has many options.  Happy to provide more info you ping me. 

    Aug 30, 2023

    Hi! 

    We went to Puerto Vallarta this past summer. It was great! I wrote up some info about it on a website I created for bilingual resource sharing. If you have more questions, feel free to reach out! 

    https://sites.google.com/view/bayareabilinguals/summer-camp-abroad

    Sep 18, 2023

  • Elementary school level summer camps in Costa Rica

    –
    Jan 11, 2023

    Hello! I am considering a three-week stay in Costa Rica this summer and would like to enroll my two children (ages 5 and 7) in summer camp for two of the weeks while I work remotely. Any insights or tips welcome! Specifically, I am seeking perspectives from any family who has done the elementary program at the Institute for Spanish Language Studies.

    Jan 11, 2023

    I would recommend the Cloud Forest School in Monteverde (also called Creativa).  My daughter attended the summer camp  the summer between 1st and 2nd grade and loved it so much we moved there the following year so that she could attend.  They also will help you find housing living with a family from the school (we were lucky enough to be placed with Arleny!).  https://cloudforestschool.org/

    Jan 18, 2023

  • Summer camp in Spain (8-11 year-olds)?

    –
    Dec 22, 2022

    Our family of 4 is looking to spend a month in Spain over the summer. Both parents will be working 4-5 days a week and so we're looking for ~3 weeks of camp with our two kids (entering 3rd and 6th grade). We parents don't speak Spanish, but our children do (Spanish immersion school). So, for the camp, we're seeking a program with a team that can communicate with our language-skill-lacking selves but still give our kids a meaningful immersion experience. We're happy for it to be a basic summer camp with sports, art, outdoors, activities and such (not looking for something academic), with Spanish-speaking camp staff and ideally most other kids speaking Spanish. We've seen some options online, such as Enforex, but it's hard to find reviews or someone who's had direct experience. 

    I'd really appreciate any advice or hearing the experience of another family who may have done this with their kids and had a good (or bad) experience! Thank you!  

    Dec 22, 2022

    Your situation sounds similar to mine last summer. I did lots of research online too because I (the non-Spanish speaker of the house) was the only one with time to browse around. I still have that spreadsheet and am happy to share it with you. I also came across Enforex and another site called yumping.com. The things I can share during my research phase - many municipalities run their own camps (called campamentos) and are low-cost, though you'd have to be able to navigate the city website (try search words having to do with youth and education) to see what eligibility is, as some require you to be a resident. Also, much of the summer camp information comes out right around/after Easter. This is especially the case with American and international schools that run their own summer camps (not sure if it would be in Spanish though).

    Now, what ENDED up happening, true to the spontaneity of my Latin half, is that we did not sign up for anything I had on my spreadsheet. Instead, we arrived in Madrid in June, where my husband asked his brother for the local newspaper, and he just ended up finding an advertised camp and calling the number, arranging to bring in our kid the next day. I don't know if you have any relatives or friends who can help you out that way, but this is ultimately what happened in our case. Good luck!

    Jan 25, 2023

  • Camps for kids in other countries?

    –
    Oct 19, 2022

    Hi all,

    As we plan a future vacation abroad, I was thinking how great it could be to enroll our kids in a local camp wherever we vacation. I'm open to sleepover camp or a day camp. Since starting school, my kids' Spanish is weakening, so I'd love it if this were a thing in a Spanish-speaking country where my kids could go to camp where they're speaking Spanish. But I'm open to other languages or a camp where kids speak English. Is this a thing? A camp for the kids of vacationing families?? Or is the only thing close to this a resort with a kids club?

    If anyone has done this and loved the camp, please share!

    Oct 19, 2022

    I have exactly the same question, but for French-speaking countries, and welcome any and all ideas! My limited search so far indicates that in the US we plan much in advance of other countries, and the right time for other countries for, say, a June camp, might be March or even May, or even upon arrival. My only other insight so far is that looking at local school calendars carefully might help - e.g. in France June is a school month but July and August are not, so more camps are available in July and August (but conversely, everything else child-related will be less crowded in June). In Argentina perhaps much of June, July and August are part of the school year (but not in Spain or Mexico?), so the school calendar considerations might be more diverse. Any and all advice very welcome

    Oct 24, 2022

    I think for Argentina there are some summer caps "Escuela de Vacaciones"  or  "colonia de Vacaciones"  that are often run by universities in January-February-March (summer break there) and often free and easy to register to once you find the right place (e.g. google that with your city of interest - I used to love going to ours in La Plata). For France, I've been searching a lot for our sabbatical summer there next year and found some really interesting ones (in Paris) some run by schools some run by centers (e.g. the Louvre, Pompidou, Ecole Lenotre for cooking, etc). Many appear on quick searches of Colonies de vacances or similar terms. My best luck has come when I ask friends local from that country what to search for. 

    Oct 26, 2022

    Hi!  Last year we went to Sayulita (in Mexico) and kids did surf camp every day (while we worked 'from home' from our great Airbnb.  This worked well.  This year we've started doing research already for Spain and there are loads of options - both sleepaway and day camps with many activities and interests all over Spain.  We will likely 'live' there for 3+ weeks while kids attend camp.  

    Oct 26, 2022

    Until recently, I lived in Costa Rica for 5 years.  This is a reputable program that also offer for families.  https://www.interculturacostarica.com

    Oct 26, 2022

    Antigua Green School in Antigua Guatemala has had a summer camp in the past called Green Camp, which is a bilingual day camp immersed in nature for kids ages 3 through 15. 

    Oct 27, 2022

    I've started looking into this for French language study in Quebec. There are a few camps geared to French study, with options to live in dorms or be a day student, as well as a YMCA traditional camp that offers programming in English (but because it's Canada, everything in writing has to be in French too), so some exposure. I started with Yelp which is okay for Canada but not reliable for other countries outside the US.

    Oct 29, 2022

    If you are interested in sleepaway camp, I definitely struck gold with ours and recommend you check it out. It's in Maine, so perhaps you could drop your child off en route to Europe? Hidden Valley Camp is on 350+ acres with a lake, horses, llamas and other animals, water sports, dance classes, glass blowing, you name it. You child gets to choose whichever classes interest them. And then of course there are all kinds of cabin group-bonding activities, songs, trips, friendship bracelets and all of that. Bonus: NO electronics for the whole month. My kids come home so renewed after a few weeks off the devices - it's amazing. And now they have *friends for life* from all over the world. :) Let me know if you want to know more. 
    https://hiddenvalleycamp.com/

    https://hiddenvalleycamp.com/

    Nov 26, 2022