Current as of September 2026. Intake dates and spot counts for Costa Rica change as people apply. Confirm current availability with CEP before you commit to a timeline.
You are sitting at a kitchen table in September, running the math on a life you haven't started yet. February feels close and far away at the same time. Close because that's when the Costa Rican school year opens. Far away because you still have a job to give notice to, a lease to sort out, and a family that's going to ask you why.
I get that call a lot this time of year. Not the application call. The other one. The "am I actually going to do this" call, usually three weeks before someone finally submits their name.
The intake that lines up with Costa Rica's February school year closes January 18, 2027. As of today, there is one spot open for the in-country TESOL track. One. Not because I am inventing pressure. Because that is what the program page shows right now.
Costa Rica's academic year runs February to November or December, split into two semesters with a break in July. Schools build their staffing around that February opening. Arrive after it and you are filling a gap mid-year, if a school has one to fill. Arrive with it and you are one of the teachers the school actually planned around.
The January 18, 2027 intake exists to get you there on time. It includes an orientation week in Costa Rica first, so by the time classes start you already know your way around, you have your SIM card, and you have met the other teachers in your cohort. That week is not padding. It is the difference between landing in a new country and landing in a plan.
If you already hold a TEFL or TESOL certificate, this part is short. Show us your certificate, and you are on the guaranteed-placement track.
If you don't, you have two ways to close that gap before January. You can take the 30-day in-country TESOL course, which folds your certification into the same trip. Or you can get certified ahead of time through TEFL Plus, CEP's own 120-hour accredited course, done online at your own pace. If you are still deciding, the first three modules are free to try, no card required, so you can see what the course actually asks of you before you pay for it.
Degree holders and non-degree holders are both welcome. US and Canadian applicants do not need a degree at all. Other native English-speaking nationalities do, largely because of school accent preferences in Costa Rica.
One more thing worth doing now, not in December: start on your paperwork. Some schools require a work visa, and the process runs on apostilled documents that take time to process. Your program guides you through what's needed and when, but the clock on that paperwork starts the day you decide, not the day you land.
Teachers without a degree typically earn $700 to $1,000 a month. Degree holders often see $700 to $1,800, especially if placed in an international school. Rent runs $350 to $800 a month depending on where you land, and the income tax rate for teachers is around 2 percent. That is not a typo. It is one of the lowest tax burdens you will find in any of our placement countries.
None of that covers flights, health insurance, or your own spending money. You want to budget your startup costs at around $2,000 to $2,800 depending on your track, to carry you through to your first paycheck. The teachers who land in Costa Rica without a cushion are the ones who spend their first month stressed instead of settling in.
CEP guarantees your job placement before you get on the plane, no job, no fee. Depending on your certification status, the program fee runs from $1,990 (already certified) to $2,840 (30-day in-country TESOL included). Every tier includes a week of orientation and accommodation, comprehensive placement support, and ongoing support once you're teaching. Flights, meals, and day-to-day accommodation once placed are on you, same as they would be for any job that starts with a plane ticket.
Talk to us about the January 2027 Costa Rica intake before the last spot goes.
The January 18, 2027 intake is built for it. It includes an orientation week before classes begin, so teachers are settled in and ready when the school year opens in February. As of September 2026, that intake shows one spot open for the in-country TESOL track, though availability changes as people apply.
No, not if you're from the US or Canada. Other native English-speaking nationalities, including UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, do need a degree, largely due to school accent preferences. No teaching experience is required either way.
Salaries typically run $700 to $1,800 a month depending on degree status and placement, against rent of $350 to $800 a month and a roughly 2 percent income tax rate. It's a real, livable income in a low-cost country, not a windfall, and CEP recommends budgeting beyond the minimum for a comfortable first few months.
You can get certified as part of the trip through a 30-day in-country TESOL course, or ahead of time through CEP's own TEFL Plus, a 120-hour accredited course you can start with three free modules before paying anything.
CEP places teachers across several countries with different intake calendars, including Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Cambodia, and Vietnam, so a filled Costa Rica date isn't the end of the timeline. There is also a March 1 intake that is open. Talk to CEP about which country's next intake still fits a spring start.
The Cultural Exchange Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has placed native English speakers in paid teaching positions abroad for decades. Programs in Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Costa Rica, Cambodia, Spain, and Vietnam.
Randy LeGrant, CEP's Executive Director, writes these blog posts. If you like his writing, he also writes The Crossing, a weekly letter drawn from fifty years of watching people change their lives and their location. One story, one step, one question. Three minutes, every Friday. Subscribe free here.