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Intensive Spanish School and Volunteer Program in Nicaragua

Sustainable Development and Wild Nature Conservation in NICARAGUA

Join us for learning and service in 2017! Contact us for special backpacker prices Spanish courses and volunteering.

Take a Spanish course in Managua at your own pace with experienced and qualified Gaia staff, through Managua Spanish School.

The best way to study Spanish is beneath the trees at Apoyo Spanish School. Photo Jeffrey McCrary.

Apoyo Spanish School and Volunteer Program

Study Spanish and volunteer at the oldest and most experienced of the Nicaragua Spanish schools! Between Masaya and Granada lies the Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve, one of the most beautiful spots in Central America. Apoyo Spanish School is the only INTUR-approved Spanish school in the Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve, and is part of the Nicaragua Spanish Schools network. Apoyo Spanish School is the only registered not-for-profit Spanish school in the country. We are part of the GAIA Program at the Nicaraguan Foundation for Integral Community Development (FUNDECI), which has operated in Nicaragua since 1973. All our proceeds are used to promote environmental causes, increase awareness and train local community members in important skills to promote sustainable rural living and protection of the wild natural resources in Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve.

Hidden along the shoreline of the spectacular freshwater preserve, the biological research station "Estación Biológica Laguna de Apoyo" offers students intensive Spanish language instruction while facilitating the exploration of Nicaragua's ecological and cultural surroundings. In accordance with the nature of our nonprofit organization, your stay with us provides scholarships and grants for educational, research, and conservation projects within the local community of Laguna de Apoyo as well as in local universities. All our Spanish students participate in volunteer activities during their study periods. Volunteer activities include natural forest restoration, wildlife monitoring, care for rescued animals, and recycling.

Study Spanish in a Volcano

The Apoyo crater, a nationally designated protected area, is especially noted for the biodiversity encountered there. Nature lovers can take walks through the high-quality dry tropical forest near the school. The school grounds alone make for excellent birdwatching: from our patio, one cane see the Turquoise-browed Motmot, Montezuma Oropendola, Collared Aracari, and the Black-headed Trogon in the trees overhead. Bring your binoculars, and join us on a nature walk! Iguanas, variegated squirrels, kinkajous, and many of Nicaragua's 95 species of bats can be seen on the premises. Howler monkeys can be heard from the deeper forest nearby and often are directly overhead, in the trees above our patio and yard. Endangered fishes found only in Lake Apoyo are easily sighted by SCUBA diving near our site.

The first and still the best of the Nicaragua Spanish Schools

We operate the oldest intensive Spanish language school in Nicaragua, with the most experienced teachers in the country. We have trained many of the teachers in other programs throughout the country. Our one-on-one instruction methods are based on years of experience in helping foreigners become better volunteers, interns and travelers.

Nicaragua Has the Most Pleasant Lake in the World

Laguna de Apoyo is not only great for SCUBA diving. Its temperature is around 28 degrees Celsius, year-round. And the water is clear and clean. The beach in front of the Apoyo Spanish School is broad and flat, allowing for lots of shallow-water play, in addition to serious swims further in. There are kayaks available to students of Apoyo Spanish School, too, of a professional design that can take you all the way around the lake in a few hours. The water is good for swimming and relaxing day and night.

Prices and Availability at Apoyo Spanish School and Volunteer Program

If you would like to study Spanish with us at Apoyo Spanish School in beautiful Nicaragua, then contact us first for availability and let us know any special circumstances you may have. Our prices can be checked on this webpage. Feel free contact us to ask questions, find out about availability and special offers. We want to help you have the best experience possible in Nicaragua.

Volunteer and learn Spanish with the GAIA Program at Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve in Nicaragua.

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Spanish classes are given by the most experienced teachers in Nicaragua. Our teachers train the teachers of other Spanish schools. Photo Jen Moran.

Laguna de Apoyo is the best place in Nicaragua for swimming, day and night. The water is always warm and clear. Photo Jeffrey McCrary.

Spanish classes are often held under the shade of huge trees with monkeys looking down. Apoyo Spanish School is the oldest of the intensive Nicaragua Spanish schools. Photo Jeffrey McCrary.

A tour of students of Apoyo Spanish School to Catarina, with the lake and Granada in view. Photo Belén Camino.

San Juan de Oriente, on the edge of Apoyo crater, is the most important center of artisan ceramic pottery in Nicaragua. Gaia supports natural resource conservation in the region which is vital to the livelihoods throughout the area. Photo Jeffrey McCrary.

Students at Apoyo Spanish School learn Spanish and lots about the Nicaraguan culture and environment, through volunteer activities such as reforestation, recycling, and care of rescue animals. Photo Jen Moran.

Everyone takes a break from Spanish classes to enjoy the water at Laguna de Apoyo, the best water in Nicaragua. Photo Aaron Teasdale.

Gaia worked with the local community and the government and people of Japan to build the rural school "Héroes y Mártires de Xiloá" a completely new school for a marginalized, rural community on the edge of Laguna de Xiloá. Photo Jeffrey McCrary.

The chancho cichlid, Amphilophus chancho, is one of the fish species endemic to Laguna de Apoyo, discovered by scientists working in a GAIA project. This species is easily seen while diving in Laguna de Apoyo. Join us in a study of this endemic fish species. Photo Ad Konings.

Gaia experts support wildlife studies important to the economy of Nicaragua, such as the impacts of windmills on wildlife. A major wind farm in Rivas is located along an important bird migration corridor. Photo Pablo Somarriba.

Scientific SCUBA diving in Laguna de Apoyo. Gaia provides logistical and scientific support for studies of ecosystems in Nicaragua such as freshwater lakes and rivers, and tropical forests. We arrange, coordinate, and support internships and scientific partnerships throughout Nicaragua. Photo Topi Lehtonen.

Gaia organizes birdwatching tours in Laguna de Apoyo Nature Reserve, as well as in Managua and throughout Nicaragua. Go birdwatching with us and enjoy nature at its finest. Spanish students can catch views of many birds before classes each morning. Photo Jeffrey McCrary.

Gaia scientists supported the development of the Environmental and Social Impact Statement for the proposed Nicaragua Grand Interoceanic Canal, with field work and biodiversity analysis. By studying Spanish and volunteering with us, you help support activities that impact the environment for all Nicaraguans.