Site Assessment
Physical walk-throughs of every community visit and operator site. Lodge capacities verified in person. Build sites and service-project locations evaluated for student suitability.
For institutions
A program designed before it is sold.
For international schools, universities, and global service organisations: bespoke Costa Rica programs combining service learning, adventure, and cultural immersion. Every route physically tested by our team before a single student arrives.
The commitment
We scout every route, ourselves.
Most operators sell programs designed from a map. We do not. Before a single student boards a plane, two members of our team have physically walked the community, slept in the lodge, run the rapid, and timed the transfer. The output of that scouting phase is delivered as a sign-off-ready dossier to the school's Global Service team.
It is a slower way to design a program. It is also why the schools we work with renew, year after year.
Who designs your program
Student travel is where we come from.
Esteban has worked student travel for most of his career: instructor and field staff on Outward Bound’s multi-week leadership expeditions through Costa Rica and Panama — backpacking, whitewater, and service programs for young adults; lead guide and ground logistics for a 35-student Montréal school journey through Costa Rica and Nicaragua in 2017; service programs across multiple summers with Travel For Teens; and a season as sports counselor at TASIS Switzerland in 2019. He guides in English, Spanish, and French.
Mario adds several years inside the classroom as an arts teacher at TASIS Switzerland. Programs designed by people who have stood on both sides — the trail and the school.
Our four-category framework.
Every program we design is structured around the same four categories — visible to the school's leadership, to the parents, and to the students themselves. When an institution already uses its own framework, we align ours to theirs. The colours travel through every page of every itinerary we deliver.
Activity Evaluation
First-hand testing of every activity students will undertake. Rafting timings confirmed with the operator. Hike durations measured from the trailhead. No estimate is published until we have run it.
Travel & Logistics
Real-time validation of every transfer and lodging transition. Road conditions, alternative routes, and timing windows documented for the design phase.
Safety & Risk
Each location is reviewed against our Wilderness First Responder protocols. Risk notes and mitigation plans are documented and approved before student departure.
The framework, applied: Site Assessment Activity Evaluation Travel & Logistics Safety & Risk
Programs in design
How we design a program.
School names are displayed only with written permission. Anonymised case studies remain available on request.
The program in design right now is our Costa Rica Global Service Program — scouted end to end, every lodge slept in and every activity tested, before a single student arrives.
Service learning, activity assessment, and cultural immersion
How a program comes together.
Typical timeline: 12 to 18 months from first conversation to student arrival.
01
Discovery
Month 0A 60-minute call with your Global Service team. We listen for educational outcomes, learner profile, service intent, and operational constraints (dates, group size, budget envelope, faculty:student ratio).
02
Concept itinerary
Month 0–1Within 14 days of the call, we deliver a concept itinerary with three route options, each costed transparently, with educational outcomes mapped per day.
03
Scouting phase
Month 2–4Once the route is approved, two of our team scout the full itinerary on the ground. Every site visited, every activity tested, every transfer timed. Sign-off-ready dossier delivered within 14 days of return.
04
Design lock + contracts
Month 4–6Final itinerary, costs, contracts, insurance verification, risk plans, and parent communication materials. Reviewed and signed off by the school's leadership.
05
Delivery
Month 12–18Student program delivered end-to-end. Two professional guides on the ground, faculty fully supported, daily communication with the school office. Photographer-videographer for the duration.
06
Debrief & renewal
Month 18+Post-trip debrief with faculty and Global Service team. Student feedback synthesis. Recommendations for the following year — refined, not redesigned.
Our guides & operators carry
The certifications a school's risk officer looks for.
- Wilderness First Responder
- CPR / AED / Basic Life Support
- Swiftwater Rescue Technician
- Leave No Trace
- IRF Raft Guide (Levels 2–4, Trip Leader)
- PADI Divemaster + Instructor
- NAUI Instructor
- Rescue Diver
- Registered Costa Rican tour operator · civil-liability cover in force
Request a proposal
Tell us about your program.
A more substantial form than a usual contact page — because the substance of your first reply depends on the substance of what you share. We reply within 48 hours during the academic year. Concept itineraries are delivered within 14 days of the first conversation.