Educational Programs & Field Courses
We design immersive academic field programs in Costa Rica and Latin America where your course objectives become lived experience, not classroom theory.
Book a Discovery CallWhat Avia Does
You bring the academic goals and the group. We bring the network: vetted partners, community relationships, and on-the-ground expertise built over years in Costa Rica and Latin America.
Every program is designed around your specific curriculum, not adapted from a pre-packaged tour. We match your course objectives to real experiences: community schools, indigenous villages, biological reserves, local farms.
Partner Site
427 acres in Pérez Zeledón, two decades of academic field programs, established homestay networks, and indigenous community access across the corridor.
Academic Standing
Las Nubes operates with support from the Fisher Fund for Neotropical Conservation and hosts ongoing international research on pollinator ecology and rural livelihoods.
Community Access
Longstanding relationships with host families in Santa Elena and Quizarra mean these aren't one-off arrangements. Students live in communities, not near them.
Who This Is For
Whether you're adding a field component to an existing course or building a program from scratch, we design around your goals.
You have the course objectives and the academic rigor. We build the field experience that brings the curriculum to life, with partners and activities that hold up to institutional scrutiny.
You know what your students need and what your institution requires. We handle the partner network, logistics, and design so you can deliver something genuinely differentiated.
Looking to add a field component that earns credit and builds your program's reputation? We design experiences that meet academic standards and stay with students long after they leave.
Your students are ready for more than a study trip. We design programs with the academic depth and community immersion that IB and independent school curricula are built for.
Field research needs a field. We connect graduate programs to established research partners, biological reserves, and community networks with real academic standing across the region.
Staff learning trips, volunteer orientations, field training programs. We design journeys for mission-driven teams that go far deeper than a site visit.
A Program in Development
Here's a snapshot of a program we're currently designing for a U.S. university's College of Education: an 11-day field course built around eight academic course strands, delivered through a partnership with York University's Las Nubes EcoCampus in Pérez Zeledón.
Program Structure
San José orientation, a university EcoCampus arrival, and six nights in paired community homestays. Students move from national context to regional immersion to community living.
Curriculum Integration
From culturally responsive teaching to global citizenship, each strand is paired with a real field activity: school visits, indigenous community days, biological reserve hikes, local farm volunteer days.
Ecological Range
One biological corridor, from highland reserve through coffee-growing midlands to lowland beach, all within a coherent landscape. No disconnected tour stops.
Community Access
Six nights with host families in the Santa Elena and Quizarra communities: the kind of cultural immersion no tour package can manufacture, built on years of community trust.
| Phase | Location | Field Experience | Academic Focus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Days 1–2 | San José | Arrival, program orientation, National Museum, guided cultural walk, group dinner | |
| Day 3 | Transfer | Los Quetzales National Park, coffee farm visit and corridor talk, arrival at EcoCampus | |
| Day 4 | Community Homestay | Local school visits, direct encounter with Costa Rican educators and students | Education, Culture, and Community in Costa Rica |
| Day 5 | Community Homestay | Finca Capicacao: bioregional economics talk and hands-on land-based volunteer day | Community-Based Education and Intercultural Exchange |
| Day 6 | Community Homestay | Birdwatching in the Skutch Biological Reserve, reserve hiking, river swimming, night hike | Intercultural Learning and Global Education / Global Citizenship and Intercultural Competence |
| Day 7 | Community Homestay | Hacienda Barú guided wildlife tour and ziplining | Culturally Responsive Teaching in a Global Context |
| Day 8 | Community Homestay | Indigenous community school visit, Boruca: language, history, identity, and education | Learning Across Difference: Culture, Identity, and Education |
| Day 9 | Community Homestay | Rafting the Savegre River, beach and hidden waterfalls | Building Understanding Across Cultures / Comparative Perspectives on Education and Human Development |
| Day 10 | Return to San José | Jade Museum, farewell group dinner | |
| Day 11 | Departure | Independent return flights |
Why Avia
We're not a tour operator with an academic overlay. We design programs from the curriculum out and stay with you through every step of delivery.
We start with your course objectives and build backward. Every activity earns its place by serving the academic goals.
Indigenous schools, local farms, host families: access that comes from genuine relationships, not tourist arrangements.
We work with institutions and partners who carry academic credibility, not just tourism operators with a field day attached.
We coordinate every moving piece in-country so your faculty and coordinators can focus on the students, not the logistics.
Every program starts with a conversation. Tell us about your course, your students, and what you want them to walk away with.
Book a Discovery Call