It is a well known fact that Panama is one of the safest countries to visit in Central and South America. And within Panama, the rural charming mountain town of Boquete is one of the safest destinations for tourists in Latin America.

Its wonderful sense of community make it easy for students to practice their Spanish and interact with the locals. And the town's small compact layout simplifies your teen's logistics as they can mobilize themselves by short 15 - 20 minute walks or 5 - 10 minute bus rides from the school in downtown Boquete to their host family's house. The first time your teen comes to school and goes back home, a host family member will show them how to make the journey and will make sure they're comfortable.

Teens will have breakfast and dinner with their host family, and they usually have lunch at a local restaurant close to Habla Ya Boquete Spanish School. Private lessons for teenagers are normally scheduled in the mornings, and group lessons are mostly scheduled in the afternoons. During the other half of the day, when your teenager is not attending Spanish classes, he or she will do his/her homework at the school student's area or at his/her host family's house. During the remaining time of the day, teens normally socialize with each other in town and on certain days, teens also join our eco-adventure tours.

Dinner time at each family's house is different but can take place between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Teens have a curfew after dark (after dinner) and can only leave their host family's house if joined and under the supervision of one of their host parents. Teens who violate the curfew are reported to the school and depending on the circumstances can result in their expulsion from the program (under age consumption of alcohol - 18 -, results in automatic expulsion from the program). During the weekends, teens can enjoy full day eco-adventure tours in Boquete such as whitewater river rafting or island trips, and join their host family's normal activities, which vary from family to family, but can include visits to the river, beach, church, the movies or shopping in David or to one of Boquete's many parks and gardens.

It's always nice to come to the tropics, but the lowland's heat could be too much for some teenagers to adapt to. Boquete is situated 1,200 meters above sea level and enjoys a year round spring like temperature of 60° to 80° F (16° - 28° C), which is just perfect to remain fresh without being too hot or too cold.

Boquete is also blessed with abundant wildlife and nature, making it a wonderful place for outdoor exploration. With numerous hiking trails and outdoor pursuits, students have a wide variety of eco-adventures to choose from. Despite being in the mountains, we're only 1.5 hours away from the coast, so beach trips on the weekends are organized once or twice a month. Habla Ya Spanish students benefit from discounted rates on many of Boquete's and Chiriqui's eco-adventure tours.

For more information about Boquete, its location within Panama, its regions, weather and more, please click here...

For teens from 13 to 17 years of age we offer Spanish language lessons, either privately or in a small group of no more than six students per class. Teens that are 16 and 17 years of age can also be placed in a group with young adults if they are mature enough.

If your teenager would like to have group lessons, this can be arranged during Panama's high season (January and February) or during summer holidays (June, July or August). Your son or daughter's classmates will be of a similar age and Spanish level.

Parents are always amazed and delighted when they realize how much their teenager learned in just three or four weeks of Spanish lessons, generally even more than what they've learnt in several years back home. If you would like your teen to become completely fluent in the Spanish language, depending on his/her current Spanish level of proficiency, you should aim for a two or three month Spanish exchange program.

If you would like to get your teenager truly immersed in the Latin culture, experience our way of life and expose them as much as possible to the Spanish language, then a family home stay is the way to go.

Your teenagers will get a unique perspective about the way of life in Central America and they'll easily be able to practice their Spanish after class.

We currently collaborate with more than 70 host families in Boquete, Panama that make our Total Spanish Immersion Program a reality. Many host families have been closely working with us for years and have plenty of experience with teenagers. Several host families also have experience with other exchange programs such as ASF. A good deal of our host families also have teenagers, and your teenager's host parents will take responsibility for the wellbeing of your son or daughter just as if it was their own, and truly make them part of their own family. Many teenagers remain in touch with their host families after going back home and we've even had host brothers and sisters that see each other again abroad (and students who repeat their visit as university students as well!).

In order to ensure that we select the most appropriate host family for your teenager, please have your teen submit his or hers Home Stay Interview with as much as anticipation as possible. In this way, we will know their specific needs and have more host families to choose from. Once they fill out that interview, we will send you a full description of your teenager's host family with contact details and address, so that they can start imagining their exchange program and you can start having some peace of mind.

Home stays for teens usually start on a Saturday and end on a Sunday, but we are flexible and can totally adapt to the flight tickets that your purchased for your teenager as long as you let us know in advance.

Taking into account your teenager's interests, we will work with you to organize and plan a daily schedule of activities before the arrival of your teen to Panama. Please share the following information with your teenager and let us know what he or she would like to do in his/her free time after class.

Boquete, Panama's eco-adventure capital is the perfect place for a Spanish learning vacation:

• Whitewater River Rafting
• Ziplining in the Cloudforest
• Island Hopping & Beach Trips
• Rock Climbing
• Coffee Tours
• Hot Springs
• Horseback Riding
• First Class Hiking Trails

Habla Ya Spanish students have access to special discounts off many eco-adventure tours. For more information about tours in Boquete, and complete pricing info click here.

At Habla Ya Spanish School we simply love to have fun! We start off the week with several cultural activities and then we move on to more social oriented ones:

• Tuesdays - Panamanian Traditional Dinner
• Wednesdays - Movie Nights
• Thursdays - Dinner Parties
• Saturdays - Salsa Lessons & Conversational Sessions
• Daily - Yoga Classes

Several extra activities are free of charge, such as our movie nights, salsa lessons and conversational sessions. Panamanian dinners cost $5 - $7 USD per person. Yoga classes in Boquete cost $6 - $10 USD per person. Yoga classes in Bocas del Toro cost $5 - $10 USD per class. Yoga classes in Panama City cost from $10 - $15 USD per class and they also have monthly packages of unlimited classes. Eco-Adventure Tours have their own fees and students pay what they consume at bars, Dinner Parties and Get-Togethers. For more information about our extra activities please click here.

Teenagers looking to volunteer or to work on a service project can collaborate with several local organizations such as:

• Casa Esperanza Day Care Center
• Hogar Trisker Orphanage
• REAL Boquete Recycling Center
• Boquete Handicap Foundation
• English Volunteering Program

In order to organize and coordinate all of the volunteering activities there is a $5 USD per person per day volunteering fee. 100% of this fee goes as a direct donation to each Non Profit Organization.

For even more info about volunteering in Panama please click here...

When organizing your teenager's exchange program, please use the following checklist as a guide

• Choose your dates and contact us about availability
• Purchase your teenager's flight ticket
• Sign Up & Register your Teenager
• Have your teen submit his/hers Home Stay Interview
• Have your teen submit hers/his Placement Test
• Let us know about your teen's travel plans and we'll coordinate together how they arrive to Boquete
• We'll send you details about your teen's host family and Spanish level, and then you'll let us know which eco-adventure tours your teen would like to do
• Purchase travel and medical insurance for your teenager (send scanned copy to us)
• Make sure all vaccinations are up to date
• Help your teen pack for their trip
• Have your teen pay upon arrival or submit your credit card details via a secure and encrypted form on our website. We will provide the link to it.