Na'atik Language and Culture Institute
Calle 57 562, Colonia Francisco May, Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo 77240, Mexico
Na'atik Language and Culture Institute
At Na'atik, teens are empowered to immerse themselves in our Spanish speaking community through dynamic classes and homestays that embrace students as part of the family. Opportunities to volunteer in our library and/or English classes give teens the chance for professional development. Accompanied pick-ups and drop-offs from either Cancun or Tulum airport can also be arranged. Prior to solo teen travelers coming down, we schedule a video call between the parents and the program director to answer any questions. Teens aged 16 and over are accepted as solo travelers. If the teen is under 16 please contact us to discuss alternative arrangements.
We are off the tourist path in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Our interactive classes delivered by our dedicated local teachers in our sleepy town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto is the ideal environment to embrace the real Mexico through language study, accommodation with friendly and engaged homestay families, and unique activities and excursions. Course fees support our English Program for the kids of our local community.
The all-inclusive course at Na'atik includes:
*Pick up from the local bus/train station and introduction to homestay family (airport pickip for an extra charge)
*Homestay accommodation, with three meals per day with homestay family
*Walking tour of Felipe Carrillo Puerto
*Welcome dinner to meet other students and the Na'atik family
*18 hours of small group classes with a local, native-speaking teacher
*A trip to a stunning nearby Maya cenote
*Cooking class to make a local Mexican dish (included in a 2 week booking)
*Use of bike & bike lock
*Na'atik t-shirt
*Certificate of completion
*Coffee, tea, drinking water and wifi available at Na'atik
In our solar-powered school, we teach real-world, communicative language skills in a student-centered environment that encourages our students to continue learning and growing outside the classroom and builds their confidence.
Supporting the local community, you'll stay with a welcoming Mexican-Maya family throughout your stay and experience the culinary delights of the Yucatan Peninsula.
You can choose from the following class times:
Class schedule may change depending on availability and season.
Minimum level | Absolute beginner |
Average | 2 students |
Maximum | 5 students |
Age range | 16 - 19 years old |
Average | 17 years old |
Every year we welcome students from all around the world to experience our fully immersive Study Abroad Yucatan (SAY) program in the beautiful Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Our program combines small-group or individual Spanish and/or Maya language classes from local teachers, with unique excursions, and kind, welcoming homestay accommodation.
A social enterprise language school, each booking for our Study Abroad Yucatan program supports the education of local students through our English classes.
Based in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, a modern Mexican-Maya town, it’s are just an hour from Tulum but often overlooked by tourists despite being hugely important both culturally and historically. Being off the beaten track means you’ll have plenty of opportunities to practice your language skills both in and out of the classroom.
Visit our eco-friendly, solar-powered school and embrace educational travel, experience true cultural and language immersion and enjoy everything Mexico has to offer.
The nationality and age mix at Na'atik Language and Culture Institute varies over different time periods, courses and levels. Throughout the year, the average age is 17. In the summer, the average age is 17.
Na’atik is a unique nonprofit language school located in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, off the beaten path in the Yucatán Peninsula. We are just an hour south and inland from the stunning Caribbean beaches of Tulum. As very few people speak English, you’ll be fully immersed in a new language. We're a small city surrounded by low-brush jungle with a tight-knit community, so it is also extremely safe. Everything in Carrillo is within a 15-minute walk, so it is easy to get from the town center and bus station to the school. We're also located in the middle of the state of Quintana Roo so it's very easy to get to the Caribbean, famous Maya ruins, and beautiful lagoons and cenotes.
I loved my experience at Na'atik so much that I wished I could stay longer. The language class sizes were perfect (no bigger than 3 students per class), and there was a lot of conversation built in - which is most practical and engaging for language learning. Staying in Felipe Carrillo Puerto made this experience even better - it's a small town with very little tourism so you really feel like you're a local. Even still, there wasn't a shortage of activities and things to see. Na'atik provided great field trip options, and these were a great opportunity to practice Spanish and learn more about the surrounding natural reserve.
My homestay experience made this trip even better - my host family was so hospitable and I loved spending time with them. Not only was I able to improve my Spanish during my week long stay but I actually felt relaxed and centered by adopting a Felipe Carrillo Puerto lifestyle. By the end of my trip I felt super grateful and my heart was full.
I was in Na'atik for a month, and it was definitely one of the best months for improving my Spanish. I met four hours daily with a teacher, either in private classes or extremely small group classes, and we focused a lot on just conversation. It helped me improve quite a lot in confidence of my Spanish. My teacher was great, and was a trained educator who is going to get his masters in education this coming year; his activities were perfect for helping me use Spanish, and we also did a lot of trips around the town to utilize it with the local population as well as outside the classroom.
The town itself was great, and I never once felt unsafe while I was there. Many nights, I even slept with my door unlocked, as it just felt like there was no need to lock it. The school was top-class, and had great facilities and a nice library where you could study quietly. There was WiFI there (my homestay also had WiFi), so I never felt disconnected from anything I needed, and had ample of opportunity to study. We went on several excursions with bilingual teachers to visit the ruins. It was great to get to hear explanations in both Spanish and English by teachers who were themselves raised in the area, and knew a lot of the less-touristy activities to do. Overall, it was a great experience. I even got chased by a monkey at one of the ruins (terrifying, but quite funny looking back at it)!
Overall, I can't recommend going to Na'atik enough, especially if you know some Spanish and just need to get more comfortable at using it. But, go for at least two or more weeks; that's when it really starts to kick in and help, once you've worn off the exhaustion of the first few weeks!
Hey Davis, cheers of the kind review, much appreciated. Delighted that you enjoyed spending the month of June with us. It was great seeing you go from strength to strength each week with your Spanish, you clearly have the knack for learning languages. Hope all is well in Kentucky, hopefully see you again at Na'atik in the future!
Our family of four (kids 8, 10) enjoyed a two week program. Our lovely home stay program set the tone and was a fully immersive experience with a caring family and 3 delicious meals a day. We were all at different language levels: I am a beginner with a semester of college Spanish, my husband lived and abroad and took classes at the university of Granada,
Our kids attend a bilingual school with 50 percent of the classes in Spanish.
The children’s teacher, jimmy, was excellent- he taught Spanish through games and encouraged conversation. My kids adored him. The only thing I would change would be to build in some excursions on the town with the kids and to consider some formal daycare time as the children’s program is 3 hours and is an hour shorter than the adults.
My class was also fun. I had two other students in it at an intermediate level. although challenging I learned a lot and advanced my skills. there was definitely structure and grammar and a lot of great conversations each day and even more fun were the 2 to 3 excursions we did during class time.
My husband got a lot out of his class but said it was a bit intense as he was the only student. He brushed off his rusty Spanish. The teacher was great, but the class would have benefited by exploring the town a bit.
The available bikes were a great bonus. Jasón the coordinator was excellent and helped everything go smoothly. My kids and I would definitely return. My husband also likely would if he were able to tailor the class a bit more to his more advanced skills and specific interests.
The town was quiet, safe and authentic and not a tourist zone. We found it helpful to rent a car to make it easier to do afternoon and weekend trips as there is not a lot going on between 2-6 in the afternoon
There are fun excursions planned by the school they were all very well done and we would recommend them
Hi Jamie, muchisimas gracias for your review! It was our pleasure having you and your family with us for the 2 weeks in June. Glad to hear that the kids enjoyed the classes with Jimmy so much. We will definitely take your feedback into consideration and look to include more excursions around town in the future. We will look forward to hopefully welcoming you all back in the future!
The people of Carrillo Puerto are so amazingly warm . They are proud of their heritage and culture, and eager to share. I was welcomed with open arms by my host family, and I consider them to be a part of my family. The classes were challenging and interesting, with a good mix of conversation, reading , writing and instruction.
The school is a beautiful building, and the staff are all very responsive and helpful.
I slept in a hammock, swam in a cenote, visited museums and churches and ate amazing food!!
I am already looking forward to returning next year with my husband, and visiting Tulum and Balacar as well as visiting my family and learning lots more Spanish!!!!
Thanks very much for your kind review Jacqueline!! Delighted that you enjoyed your time with us, we look forward to welcoming you back next year with your husband, as will Doña Candy and her family!
One-on-one for one week with one heck of a teacher. Tough to beat. Na’atik is the third immersion program I have attended over the past ten years and like the others it was a wonderful learning experience. (I am fortunate to have three home runs with three at-bats.) In addition to having an excellent teacher at the school during the week, I enjoyed a wonderful home-stay with an experienced, welcoming couple that provided a private, air-conditioned room with a comfortable bed and shower and delicious home-cooked meals with plenty of interesting meal-time conversation in Spanish (since they don’t speak English). I should also add that Felipe Carrillo Puerto is a very friendly and safe city that is easy to get around on a bike. I enjoyed my daily bike ride to and from school. The entire package offers a great learning experience at a very reasonable price. Would I return? Absolutely yes.
Show details » Read more...Thanks you very much Mark, Dianela and Miguel really enjoyed the week with you, as did everyone here at Na'atik, we look forward to seeing you again in the future!
I studied at Na'atik for one week, and was joined by my boyfriend. We stayed in an air-conditioned home stay and were in a group class, which consisted of just the two of us. Our teacher was incredible - a former history professor who conscientiously taught to the exact areas we had asked to study, while weaving in his extensive historical knowledge into the classes. The instruction was our favorite part of the program. We enjoyed our homestay, where we had the privacy of a stand alone casita, the comfort of air conditioning, and plenty of time at meals and throughout the day to spend time with the host family. The school is in an off-the-beaten path city in the region, and there was plenty of opportunity to practice Spanish. We felt very comfortable there, especially with the constant support and communication from the Na'atik staff and extra touches like organizing a welcome dinner, a trip to a local lagoon and lending us bikes and locks at no extra cost.
Show details » Read more...Thanks so much Greg, it was a pleasure having you you and Joe here for the week, teacher Pedro had a fantastic time working with you both, please drop back in and say hello to us at Na'atik if you are in the area in the future!
Homestays are carefully selected and offer students the opportunity to learn more about the local culture in a comfortable setting while studying Spanish in Felipe Carrillo Puerto. These homes are often between 25 - 50 minutes away from the school by public transport. Families usually offer affordable meal plans that allow you to sample the local cuisine. If you have special requests or diet restrictions (because of religion or health reasons), please let us know in advance. Your housing starts on the Sunday before your first day of class and ends on the Saturday after your last day of class, unless otherwise noted. Learn more about homestay housing
We cannot apply for visas on behalf of students. The school is also not authorized to issue documents to support your visa application. If you need a visa, you have to apply for a visitor or tourist visa on your own.
Please note that we do not book flights for our students. If you are researching airfare costs, we recommend using Kayak.com, a search engine that lets you compare flight options from your home country to Felipe Carrillo Puerto based on your budget, schedule and preferences.
Study abroad worry-free with Language International's health and personal effects insurance coverage. When you book a course with us, you can opt to purchase an international insurance plan that covers not only your health care cost but also loss of your personal belongings. You must book your insurance in advance when you register.
Have questions? Get answers from Na'atik Language and Culture Institute staff, Language International student advisors, and past students.
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