Trying to find a Spanish Immersion Language school that is not in a big city or big tourist area but as I am 50+ yrs and travelling on my own I would prefer a relatively safe area.
I thought Tepoztlan (Experiencia school) looked okay. Has anyone attended the school there or heard of the Trinidad Home Tuition School in Cuba.
Thanks for your time

Well it is big city BUT very safe, clean & sophisticated with marvelous architecture, near the butterfly preserves & lots of ruins. Morelia (600,000) is such a place. I at 65 spent Semana Santa there last April all alone. Contact
http://www.baden-powell.com/Asp/
For both schooling but also marvelous apartments at bargain prices.

I have had wonderful experiences in 3 school in Honduras and 2 in Guatemala. I prefer those 2 countries because the schools are inexpensive and offer 1-on-1 instruction which is not available in many countries. The ones I recommend the most are in Copán Ruinas, Honduras, and San Pedro La Laguna, Atitlán, Guatemala. Both are nice, traditional, safe small towns in lovely settings with interesting outdoor and cultural pursuits available. Check out the

Ixbalanque school www.ixbalanque.com and the

Cooperativa school http://cooperativeschoolsanpedro.com/

You might also want to check out my travelogues and photos:

http://flickr.com/photos/staceyholeman/collections

If you make contact with either school, please tell them Stacey from Oregon sent you. Happy trails!

I had a good experience with Montana Linda school in Orosi, Costa Rica. It had a friendly, small town atmosphere and our homestays were great.

When did you go, Heather, and did you have 1-on-1 instruction? I've heard that's a lovely area.

I went twice - 2002 and 2005 - my, how time flies.

I had one on one instruction both times.

It's a lovely little town and the people all seem to adopt the role of your Spanish teacher. A storekeeper once stopped someone from speaking English to me - saying I was there to study. It was great.

I am not sure Tepotzlan would be my choice. It is really touristy and has a lot of day trippers from Mexico City and Cuernavaca. I have never seen much reason to visit there other than for the day. Although there are many tourists I have had good experiences at langauge school in Oaxaca. There is a lot to see, do, and culture to absorb. I have attended Becari multiple time, fellow language students I have talked have spoken highly of El Instituto Cultural and Amigos del Sol as well.

For Mexico, I vote with Dude, I wouldn't do Tepoztlan for an extended visit. Fun for a day then time to go someplace else. I liked Becari in Oaxaca, SLI in Cuernavaca, Ixbalanque in Honduras and PLFM in Guatemala. Also, INtercultura in CR--after that, the acid test: the streets.

Thankyou to everyone for your input. I have now decided to forget about Mexico for now and I have decided that I will attend 3 different schools. One in Patagonia, Trinidad and Peru.
I am choosing Peru purely because I want to visit Machu Picchu. If anyone has attended any schools in any of these countries or have any tips - that would be great.
Thanks again everyone.

Angelica - I'm interested to hear how you reached your decisions aside from Peru, which is on my radar for a future language trip as well. For example, Trinidad is primarily English speaking, though I read recently there is a small but growing Spanish speaking population. Also, Patagonia isn't a country but a region which includes parts of Argentina and Chile; is there a specific part of that area that interests you most? Please keep us posted.