Studying abroad, even if it’s only for a couple of weeks, can be a brilliant way to boost your language skills. One of the great things about learning Spanish is that there are so many Spanish-speaking countries to choose from. Too many in fact! To help you select the right place for you, we’ve put together this overview, which concentrates on the countries and cities/regions themselves.
Update January’19: We’ve just updated our Colombia and Mexico articles. New information on Argentina and Peru will be published in the coming months.
If you are living in the USA then Mexico is probably going to be at the front of your mind when it comes to studying Spanish abroad. For the US language learner it makes sense to learn Mexican Spanish as this is what you’ll hear most in the US. As a tourist destination, the Southern neighbour has a lot to offer, from the arid beauty of Baja California, to the white sand beaches of the Yucatan peninsula, and the cute mountain towns of Chiapas. Of course, we all know that Mexico has its fair share of problems at the moment, but these tend to be restricted to certain areas of the country, and if you are cautious and use common sense you shouldn’t encounter any problems.
More on studying Spanish in Mexico
Beautiful Costa Rica (which in Spanish means ‘Rich Coast’) is a nature-lover’s dream. With Caribbean and Pacific coasts, plus tropical rain-forests and cooler mountainous regions, it is considered one of the most bio-diverse regions in the world. That sounds like a lot of creepy crawlies to me, but apparently there are loads of birds and mammals too. They eat creepy crawlies, right? Right??? Anyway…Costa Rica is also one of the most prosperous, politically stable, and safest countries in Latin America, you’ll be pleased to know. If you’re more ‘turtle’ than ‘techno’ this is definitely the place for you.
See our Costa Rica course guide
If you were paying attention to current affairs during the 80s and 90s (admittedly difficult if you hadn’t been born then, but that’s no excuse) it seemed that Colombia was a broken country, ruled by guerrilla groups like the FARC and narcos like Pablo Escobar and his murderous henchmen.
Thankfully, these times are gone and Colombia feels like a country which is on the way up. It is also a country with a heck of a lot to offer the visitor, from the colonial gem that is Cartagena de las Indias, to the beaches of Parque Tayrona, the salsa bars of Cali and the rejuvenated urban vibe of Medellin. It also has natural beauty aplenty: humid cloud forests, flat coastal plains, pure jungle, and the cooler central highland regions around the Colombian Andes.
Most guide books to Argentina will tell you about the huge Iguazu waterfalls (shared with Brazil), the vast expanse of emptiness that is Patagonia and the elegant boulevards of Buenos Aires. And Argentina certainly has sights to please the visitor. However, what marks Argentina apart from other parts of Latin America are the people. Whether they are screaming at a football match, arguing with a girlfriend/boyfriend, drinking mate with friends, cooking an asado, or just dolefully lamenting the state of politics in their country, the Argentinians themselves are a tourist site in their own right. If you are a people person, you’ll love it here. Although in Argentina gender roles are, how shall we say it, very well ‘defined’. Oh, we should warn you too that Argentinians (together with Uruguayans) have their own, peculiar way of speaking Spanish, which can take a little getting used to.
Well if you want to study Spanish in Europe, then your choice is going to be a little bit more restricted! Check out Hablarama’s guide to studying Spanish in Spain.
Where to study Spanish in Spain? 
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