Yucatan Mexico Language Immersion Cultural Exchange Program | Yucatan Mexico Travel Camp

High School Students

Cultural Exchange &
Service Programs

Language Immersion,
Cultural Exchange &
Service Programs

(For High School Students)

La Ruta Maya

Language Immersion, Cultural Exchange &
Service Program

* This Program Offers Staff Escorted Group Flights

YUCATAN, MEXICO WILL TRANSPORT YOU FROM GLORIOUS MAYA CITIES AND MAJESTIC SPANISH COLONIAL HACIENDAS TO SPECTACULAR CARIBBEAN BEACHES. Join us on a journey through the Yucatan Peninsula that tourists never encounter. Explore and swim in breathtaking freshwater ‘cenotes’; work and play with Maya families while helping them improve their homes and community facilities; eat a home-cooked Mexican meal; and vastly improve your Spanish along the way!

Service Projects*

Earn 25-45 community service hours
Work as activity coordinators at an elementary school in Izamal, Mexico
Plant coastal vegetation to control beach erosion that is caused by both over-development and weather (hurricanes)
Build concrete floors for and with several Mexican families
Distribute ‘dispensas’ of food and toiletries to low-income families

Language Immersion*

Engage in formal language classes with instructors from the Centro de Idiomas del Sureste
Experience a homestay in the “yellow city” of Izamal
Practice Spanish while taking salsa dance classes

Adventure and Cultural Activities*

Visit the Maya ruins of Chichen Itza
Participate in sea turtle monitoring beach hikes to study nesting leatherback, green, and hawksbill turtles
Scuba dive the famous Palancar Reef
Swim and explore underground freshwater caverns or “cenotes”
Sleep in a hand woven Mayan hammock

*Please note that some of the projects and activities will change from year to year. A final itinerary will be printed prior to each trip.

SAMPLE ITINERARY

Merida, Cuzama, and Orientation (2 days) – A journey to Yucatan must always begin by acquiring a hammock! After arriving to our wonderful Hacienda retreat center, we will take a day to make new friends within the group, take a short excursion to explore the charming colonial city of Merida, and bargain for our colorful, hand woven hammocks. The following day we improve our Spanish through a morning of lessons and then are off for an unforgettable journey via the Hacienda railway system to swim in the spectacular, clear blue waters of the three majestic Cuzama underground cenotes.

Izamal and Homestays (8 days) – Families from the “yellow city” of Izamal eagerly greet us and take us into their homes for the next week. With one or two students matched per homestay family, you will share in the daily lives of your new host-family. During the day, the group will come together for service projects, such as working as activity instructors at a local elementary school, and pouring cement floors for several Mexican families in need of improving their homes. We will take afternoon swims in a nearby cenote that provide a unique opportunity to cool off in the heat of the day—a big hit! In the evenings we’ll keep busy with activities such as attending a Mexican professional baseball game with our homestay families as they cheer for the local team, Los Leones de Yucatan.

Akumal beach and Centro Ecologico Akumal (4 days) – With promises to stay connected to our new family and friends, we’ll look forward to a fun and enriching Caribbean experience. We live and work as volunteers at the Centro Ecologico Akumal (CEA). CEA, located right on the beach in Akumal, is a well established international non-profit organization whose mission is to monitor the impact of development in the regional ecosystems and culture; to report findings and their significance to the public through education; and, through education, to influence public policy. We participate in several conservation programs with CEA including Marine and Coastal protection, Sea Turtle Protection, and Environmental Sustainability. One of the most rewarding highlights with CEA is our participation in turtle monitoring beach hikes. We scuba dive the famous Palancar reef, the second largest barrier reef in the world! We take a PADI introductory scuba diving lesson (resort course) in Akumal, a perfect beginning for thos who always wanted to give scuba diving a try. We take an exciting day trip to Playa del Carmen’s bustling Quinta Avenida for some great people watching, beach combing, and shopping.

Travel Home (1 day) – On the final night we’ll enjoy a farewell celebration before boarding a short flight home. It is the end of a trip, but a beginning to a new awareness about yourself and new cultures. Join us for an amazing journey through the land of the Maya!