Our Location

Liberia is an authentic Costa Rican town where the sun is almost always shining and people are not in a hurry. Instituto Estelar Bilingüe is located in downtown Liberia where everything is close by: the Central Park, the bus stations, shopping centers, universities, churches, gyms, hotels, restaurants, banks and ATMs, Internet cafés, bars, travel agencies, and pharmacies and clinics. There are reliable, inexpensive buses to nearby beaches, national parks, and volcanoes. Our house is your house! Students are always welcome to study or relax on the premises while enjoying a cortesy cup of coffee, WiFi, free books from our library, and friendly people all around.

With over 55,000 inhabitants, Liberia is a typical, small-sized colonial town of the great Guanacaste plains, with wide roads and old adobe buildings. The province of Guanacaste traditionally relied on beef cattle ranching to sustain its economy and heritage. Today, due to the international drop in demand for beef and thanks to an irrigation program from nearby Lake Arenal, more land is used for growing rice, trees, cotton, and sugarcane, or it has naturally reverted back to dry forest. However, Guanacaste maintains its cowboy-country style. The most important days of the year in Guanacaste are celebrated with horse parades and bullfights where bulls are ridden but never killed.

Parroquia Inmaculada Concepción de Maria – Liberia
Our location is near the Liberia Central Park

Liberia, traditionally called Ciudad Blanca, capital city of the Guanacaste region. With an international airport, it is the gateway to many stunning locations: sunny Guanacaste beaches, such as Tamarindo, Flamingo, and Conchal, and beautiful national parks and volcanoes, such as Rincón de la Vieja volcano, Palo Verde, Marino Las Baulas, and Santa Rosa. Liberia is the preferred city to fly into to reach the luxurious resorts along the coast or go surfing at Witch’s Rock, one of the best surf spots in Costa Rica (and possibly the world). While it is a convenient “jumping off” point for many tourist destinations, Liberia itself is not a typical “tourist town.” We think this makes it the perfect spot to experience an authentic Costa Rican town and practice Spanish with the friendly locals.

The Central Park is always buzzing with activity, especially in the evenings when it cools down and people relax in the central park with their family and friends, perhaps sitting on one of the many park benches to enjoy live music or people-watching. It is warm year-round, with an average of 26-28 degrees Celsius except in the summer dry months of December to May when temperatures can reach up to 36 degrees. For those who still have energy after a day of hiking a volcano or tanning at a beach, the warm nights are alive with dancing and cold beers at many local bars and restaurants.

Costa Rica is located in Central America and borders Panama (South) and Nicaragua (North). It is a small country with plenty of fame for its tradition of peaceful democracy and lack of military. In 1949, the army was abolished and the government started spending more money on social programs. As a result, Costa Rica has avoided much of the problems of its neighbors, including extreme poverty, totalitarian regimes, high illiteracy rates, and civil strife. In 1987 then-president, Oscar Arias was awarded the Nobel Prize for his Central American Peace Plan, and in 1989 the country celebrated 100 years of democratic government.

Costa Ricans have the highest standard of living in Central America, and Costa Rica is considered a second-world country. Costa Rica is one of the top 20 countries in the world for biodiversity, and it stands out for its efforts to protect is natural treasures: around 25% of the country is preserved. In addition, the small country is big in attractions: volcanoes, beaches, national parks, wildlife, tropical climate, a pura vida (relaxed) lifestyle, and a stable government. It’s no wonder why so many choose Costa Rica as a vacation or education destination. Tourism is the largest industry, earning more than the exports of bananas, pineapples, and coffee combined. Costa Rican Spanish is easy to understand, and to top it all off, Costa Ricans (otherwise known as “Ticos”) are really friendly, open people who are never in a hurry and always willing to stop to talk.