Summer camp for kids... in a Spanish speaking country
February 2, 2023 7:30 AM Subscribe
This summer we want to travel to a Spanish speaking country and put our 6 year old in camp for 1-2 weeks. Our kid understands Spanish and speaks it just a little, and we want a full immersion to solidify his Spanish while us adults explore the area during the day. Recommendations for countries and cities to consider, or specific camps?
Husband is fluent in Spanish and we've traveled to Latin American countries and Spain. It's hard narrowing down the search without nailing down a country first.
Here's what we want:
1) Safe walkable neighborhood/city/town where I (the mom) can safely pick my son up alone.
2) Easy-ish flight from NYC airports. 1 layover is OK. A flight to Chile is probably too far and expensive for a 1-2 week trip.
3) Reputable, safe Spanish immersion camp, preferably where there are less "classes" and more "learning through play and activities". Or a regular summer camp that takes foreigners and is known for being inclusive (since our son's Spanish speaking skills are at about a 2-3 year old level with an accent, and kids might simply choose not to play with him even though he will understand them well).
4) Cheaper is better, so we are looking at Latin American countries and Caribbean islands, but Spain is an option. Preferably not Madrid since we've been there and want to explore new places.
5) Bonus if I can take Spanish lessons nearby.
We're looking at Habla, in Merida, Mexico, which looks amazing, but Merida is awfully hot in the summer... or is it bearable?
We're looking at Enforex in Spain, but prefer a little cheaper (the cost of the camp is fine, but overall with flights, lodging, etc, it is adding up) and their schedule doesn't quite line up with work.
Does anyone have any feedback about these two camps? Any other recommendations/ideas?
I'm Googling in English, but if there are camp websites in Spanish you want to recommend, I can assign this job to my husband.
We hope to do this for a few summers and for longer than 2 weeks at a time in the future, so recommendations for camps for older kids or with longer camp schedules are welcome.
Husband is fluent in Spanish and we've traveled to Latin American countries and Spain. It's hard narrowing down the search without nailing down a country first.
Here's what we want:
1) Safe walkable neighborhood/city/town where I (the mom) can safely pick my son up alone.
2) Easy-ish flight from NYC airports. 1 layover is OK. A flight to Chile is probably too far and expensive for a 1-2 week trip.
3) Reputable, safe Spanish immersion camp, preferably where there are less "classes" and more "learning through play and activities". Or a regular summer camp that takes foreigners and is known for being inclusive (since our son's Spanish speaking skills are at about a 2-3 year old level with an accent, and kids might simply choose not to play with him even though he will understand them well).
4) Cheaper is better, so we are looking at Latin American countries and Caribbean islands, but Spain is an option. Preferably not Madrid since we've been there and want to explore new places.
5) Bonus if I can take Spanish lessons nearby.
We're looking at Habla, in Merida, Mexico, which looks amazing, but Merida is awfully hot in the summer... or is it bearable?
We're looking at Enforex in Spain, but prefer a little cheaper (the cost of the camp is fine, but overall with flights, lodging, etc, it is adding up) and their schedule doesn't quite line up with work.
Does anyone have any feedback about these two camps? Any other recommendations/ideas?
I'm Googling in English, but if there are camp websites in Spanish you want to recommend, I can assign this job to my husband.
We hope to do this for a few summers and for longer than 2 weeks at a time in the future, so recommendations for camps for older kids or with longer camp schedules are welcome.
For camps in Spain, in the past I've looked through this searchable tool and have also considered this potential site. Out kiddo is a bit too young for it yet, so I can't comment on any of the actual camps. These are just suggestions on where to look.
posted by EllaEm at 10:22 AM on February 2, 2023
posted by EllaEm at 10:22 AM on February 2, 2023
You might also consider doing a 2 week package holiday somewhere that has children's activities? Search for "vacaciones incluidos familia" and see what turns up.
posted by EllaEm at 10:33 AM on February 2, 2023
posted by EllaEm at 10:33 AM on February 2, 2023
I don't remember how I found it, but our kids attended LEWU summer camp in Valencia last year: https://lewu.es/. It sounds like the sports camp is exactly what you're looking for. Our kids (7-13) did not feel excluded starting from close to zero Spanish proficiency, and my wife and I loved Valencia.
The only downside was that the camp is ~45m by bus from Valencia proper. The camp provides bus pickup, but our kids didn't enjoy the commute.
posted by jbe at 9:37 AM on February 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
The only downside was that the camp is ~45m by bus from Valencia proper. The camp provides bus pickup, but our kids didn't enjoy the commute.
posted by jbe at 9:37 AM on February 3, 2023 [1 favorite]
My son has gone to the summer program at the Real Club de Tenis San Sebastian in San Sebastian / Donostia. It is half day and they do tennis, swimming, etc. depending on the age. He had a good experience. I can give you more info -- I remember the brochure being hard to find on the wesbite, but it runs from about mid June to early September and costs about 200 per week. This is not the most economical area in Spain for hotels. It's generally a cooler place to be -- the water anyway -- in the summer than much of Spain, and the area near the club is quieter than the center of the city or the old town, which is full of bars and might not be great for kids.
There are a lot of day camps for kids available in Spain. and some websites devoted specifically to this. I don't know the best search terms, but I could find out.
posted by melamakarona at 4:35 AM on February 4, 2023
There are a lot of day camps for kids available in Spain. and some websites devoted specifically to this. I don't know the best search terms, but I could find out.
posted by melamakarona at 4:35 AM on February 4, 2023
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I have found this program in Colombia. They also have programs in Peru, Costa Rica and in Queretaro in Mexico. However, they are not cheap.
I've heard good things in the past about Escuela Falcon in Guanajuato, though not anything specifically about the children's program.
posted by vunder at 9:51 AM on February 2, 2023