Why should you learn Spanish in Monanita

Montanita is a little known Surfers paradise, with warm water, great waves and great parties and a great place to kick back an learn Spanish, which is essential if you are serious about taking your Gap Year in South America - "getting by" on English alone just are not gonna cut it here.

• People don´t generally speak English in South America
• Montanita is one of the coolest Surf towns in South America
• You have fun and learn a language at the same time.
• You spend your gap year constructively! Learning a language in an awared winning language school, a new skill (surfing) with a world pro surfer and you live in a cool place!

Surfing in Ecuador During this Ecuador Gap Year programme you will enjoy the consistent waves that has made Montanita so popular for surfing all year round. In fact Montanita, a small beach side town, is undoubtedly Ecuador's main surfing destination, with a laid back yet exciting social scene. But the surf is not only in Montanita. There are hundreds of miles of other breaks all throughout the coast. If you want a deserted first class break, you can easily find it! And surf boards are allowed in local buses. What if you have never surfed before? No worries, most people on this program are in the same boat.  Montanita is perfect for beginners and advanced surfers alike, the waves at low tide are a little more relaxed for beginners. When you are feeling confident, grab your surf board and get out there at high tide, where the biggest, gnarliest tubes are waiting to challenge your new surf skills. You will certainly gain some impressive surfing ability, with one of Ecuador's top instructors who came an impressive 17th in the World Championships on hand to get you moving through the water like a surf crazed torpedo!

Instructors and surfers from Montanita (comprising half of the Ecuadorian National team) placed in TOP 10 in Billabong ISA World Surfing Games 2011 in Panama!

And you get learn to surf with these guys! Unbelievable! So then once your surf skills are a little more established, we will hit the road: Every second weekend we load up the surf truck and make a short surf trip up or down the coast. This is the perfect occasion to practice those new moves you have been learning in class and explore some of the more secret surf spots which are usually guarded as local knowledge.

The surf section of this program comprised of 5 lessons per week (Monday to Friday) 1.5 hours per day.

Spanish Lessons

You will be living in South America. Nice, but you will need to learn the lingo, to get you up and running in no time, there is an intensive Spanish course set up for you.

Not just any language school either, set right on the beach a stones thrown from the Pacific, you will be enrol in a multi award winning language school.

There are 4 lessons per day (1 hour duration), 5 days per week. With 6 different ability groups you will be with others also keen to learn at the same level. By having others in your class it is an excellent way to stay motivated, practice what you are learning and to meet other students.

There are a maximum of 6 students per class so you learn pretty fast.

Great for meeting people and onward travel

Lots of people come to Montanita to learn Spanish and hang out before heading on with their travels to South America, if you are a little nervous about travelling or going it alone, this is a great programme to ease yourself into South America, and get you set up before you head off on your travels. It is not uncommon for our groups to travel together after the programme and people often meet others wanting to do the same adventures.