Teach English in Costa Rica.
Everything you need to know about the In-Person TESOL + Placement — the job, the money, the visa, and how to apply. Jump to any section, or just scroll.
In-Person TESOL
+ Paid Teaching Job
in Costa Rica.
Four weeks of in-person training in Costa Rica, then a guaranteed job — pura vida, on a paycheck.
There are two routes to Costa Rica.
A culture and orientation week in Costa Rica, then a 120-hour teacher-training course with real practice teaching — then your paid placement.
A one-week orientation full of cultural excursions and Spanish lessons — then straight into your paid placement.
Same schools, same salary, same pura vida — the difference is whether you need the teaching qualification first. Not sure which fits? We'll help you choose at your interview.
"Feel the fear and do it anyway."
TEFL Heaven started when I invited myself on a girl's flight to Bangkok. She said yes — and seventeen years later we've sent more than 3,000 teachers abroad, and it's still a family business.
Costa Rica is the one people pick for the life, not the ledger — volcanoes, two coastlines, and a paycheck that funds it all.
Seventeen years of putting people on planes.
"Over 17 years we've placed more than 3,000 English teachers in classrooms from Bangkok to Buenos Aires." A family business, still run by the person who started it.
Pura vida — with a paycheck.
$1,000–$1,800 a month with a degree — and North Americans don't need one. Teachers here save $100–$500 a month and spend weekends under volcanoes, in cloud forest, and on two coastlines.
Trained in Costa Rica, not on a laptop.
Town walking tour, the Las Musas waterfall, an animal rescue centre, a coffee plantation, a cooking class, a sugarcane mill — and Spanish lessons.
Full teacher training with around 6 hours of real practice teaching. Airport pickup and course housing included.
- Course housing available— shared or single rooms for the month
- Then your placement— into a guaranteed paid teaching job
International school or language academy. Your pick.
Monday–Friday, 7:30am–3:30/4pm. 40-hour weeks with 20–30 teaching. Classes of 10–30 — English only, or homeroom teaching several subjects in English.
10–30 teaching hours, often Monday or Tuesday to Saturday — morning slots plus evenings from 3pm to 9pm. Classes of just 4–10.
Kids aged 4–18, plus some adults. Placements anywhere — the top spots are San Jose and the Central Valley, and Guanacaste province, with 100+ partner schools across Costa Rica. Contracts run 12 months (renewable); some schools offer 6 or 9.
Enough to live well — and save some.
2026 & 2027 intakes.
Every intake starts on a Monday. Sign up 2 months ahead — 3 is better; 45 days is the shortest we can do. November trainees usually start work mid-to-late January, after the Christmas holidays. Move your intake free with 35+ days’ notice.
The 1 Mar 2027 intake runs from Sardinal (near Coco Beach): a small extra housing fee applies ($350 on the course route, $200 on placement), with pickup details confirmed nearer the date.
Two payments. Months apart.
Your place is held and the work starts — placement prep, visa guidance and your document checklist.
Invoiced well ahead. Nothing else falls due after this.
$695 + $1,652 = $2,347 — the whole price. The deposit is part of it, never extra on top.
And the program can pay you back. $200 every time someone books through your affiliate link — free place on our Digital Marketing Program.
What your fee pays for.
- A guaranteed paid teaching job— international school, language academy or online school
- Lifetime placement guarantee— it covers South Korea, Thailand, Japan, Cambodia and Vietnam, as long as you’re eligible for that program
- The orientation week + 4-week in-person TESOL— 120 hours, course housing, real practice teaching
- Airport pickup— San Jose airport, the Sunday before your intake
- A Costa Rican SIM card
- Full visa and document guidance
- Trip coordinator— and a 24/7 support line
- Free place on our Digital Marketing Program — earn $200 per booking through your affiliate link, plus paid content work
Not included: housing during the training course, medical insurance (you must land with at least 90 days of it), flights, visa fees, meals, fun and daily transport. Long-term housing is on you — but we help you find it.
You arrive with friends already made.
- You go as a group — you train together, explore together, and walk into week one already knowing people
- Proper in-person training — real classrooms and real students before your first paid lesson, with trainers who taught here themselves
- Support the whole way — a team that answers before you fly, while you train, and long after you’re placed
Most people sign up alone. Nobody finishes alone — the group you train with becomes your first circle of friends in the country.
Bring enough to reach your first paycheck.
It covers rent, deposits and living costs until your first paycheck lands. Booking the November intake? Bring a bigger buffer — placements often start mid-to-late January. You don't spend it all — whatever's left stays yours.
We're telling you this early on purpose. If that number isn't realistic right now, you should know today — not after you've paid.
Costa Rica is one of the most open doors we place for.
- Aged 22 – 45— older is case by case with teaching experience
- A citizen of the USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ or South Africa
- No degree needed for North Americans— everyone else needs a Bachelor's
- Clean national police check— dated within 2 months of your intake
- No partners or kids— pets are technically possible but strongly discouraged
Schools strongly prefer US and Canadian accents — a strong accent from elsewhere needs pre-approval first. Small visible tattoos may be fine — tell us at signup. No degree, or over 45? Send us a short intro video.
Simpler than you'd think — step by step.
Most schools help with the work permit — and many reimburse the costs at the end of your contract.
You come here for the life — not to get rich.
- The saving is $100–$500 a month — pura vida money, not Asia money. If maximum savings is the goal, ask us about Korea instead.
- The first few months can pay less — it takes time to build up your teaching hours.
- July and December semester breaks are usually unpaid — budget for them.
- Some health conditions are usually a no — speech impediments, autism, legal blindness or deafness, dyslexia, chronic dizziness, schizophrenia, severe arthritis. Others (HIV, bipolar, epilepsy, depression, cancer, anxiety) need a conversation with us first, and maybe a doctor's note. No health check is required.
- Sign up 2 months ahead — 3 is better — 45 days is the absolute shortest.
- Change of plans? Your date moves free with 35+ days’ notice — inside 35 days a $250 change fee applies. All payments for the program are non-refundable.
We'd rather you knew all of this today than at the airport.
Reviews — in their words. ★★★★★
"I think I felt extremely prepared to teach after the TEFL course. We learned a lot during class time, but we were also able to observe real ESL classes and then practice on real students."
"My students were adults — engineers, nurses, hotel managers — who paid for lessons out of their own pockets because they wanted the career benefit. That motivation changes everything about being in a classroom. I never had a reluctant student at the academy. Not once in two years."
"The course was well structured, the trainers were thorough and knowledgeable. You are never alone after the TEFL course, you are always welcome to go back and visit your trainers if you need help or ideas with your lessons. The friends you make from the course is priceless, you become close like family."
More video and written reviews — from our alumni, on teflheaven.com.
Your free place on our Digital Marketing Program.
You’re going to post about this anyway — this pays you for it.
- Full marketing training — courses, workshops, live sessions
- A Digital Marketing Certificate when you finish
- A private group and a monthly mastermind
Plenty of our teachers are still earning from this years after they came home.
Three steps to your classroom.
- Apply online — five minutes
- Video call interview — thirty minutes, everything answered honestly
- Accepted? Book your place — the $695 deposit holds it and the work starts
From there it’s guided the whole way — visa help, placement prep and your countdown to fly-out.
Start my application →The short answers.
Not if you're from the USA or Canada. Everyone else needs a Bachelor's — it's the schools' accent preference at work.
No — the 120-hour TESOL course is the first four weeks of this program.
$2,347 total: $695 books it, the remaining $1,652 is due 90 days before you fly.
You arrive on a 180-day tourist visa — no advance paperwork for most. A weekend border trip every 180 days keeps you legal.
$1,000–$1,800 a month with a degree; $700–$1,000 without. Most schools pay in US dollars.
Your date moves free with 35+ days’ notice — inside 35 days a $250 change fee applies. All payments for the program are non-refundable.
Apply now. Talk to us.
Decide after.
Apply, then talk to us — the interview is where it becomes real — your intake, your school type, your route in.