Nashville Suzuki Academy Costa Rica 2027

The itinerary is the starting point to your tour, but it’s not set in stone. Your group leader may make changes leading up to departure.

Day 1, Saturday May 29: San Jose

Departure from the Los Angeles. Arrive in San Jose, Costa Rica. The tour opens the moment students step off the plane. Rather than a quiet transfer day, the Academy heads straight into Costa Rican culture with a visit to a local covered market, one of the country's classic markets, before checking in and settling in for a welcome dinner together as a group. Arrival: San José, Costa Rica [SJO]. Local market visit and tour. Quick empanada lunch included — gluten-free and vegetarian (cheese) options available. Check-in to hotel. Dinner. (L,D)

Day 2, Sunday May 30: San Jose

The first full day pairs Costa Rica's natural beauty with the reason the Academy is here: to make music with Costa Rican students. A morning among rainforest trails and waterfalls gives the ensemble its first taste of the rainforest, and by late afternoon instruments are out for the first rehearsal with a partner school — the exchange partner for tomorrow's opening concert. Buffet breakfast. Departure to a waterfall garden reserve. Arrival and trails. Lunch. Return to hotel for instruments. Rehearsal with a partner school. Dinner at hotel. (B,L,D)

Day 3, Monday May 31: Aguas Zarcas

The Academy's first Costa Rican concert. After yesterday's rehearsal, students perform their opening solo concert for a partner-school community and share a meal with their new Costa Rican peers before the group travels onward to Aguas Zarcas — the kind of face-to-face cultural exchange that made the 2024 Austria and Germany tour the Academy's best yet. Buffet breakfast. Departure to the partner school. Solo Concert #1 at the partner school. After the concert, lunch at the school to share with students. Departure for Aguas Zarcas. Arrival to hotel. Dinner. (B,L,D)

Day 4, Tuesday June 1: Aguas Zarcas

A full day of exchange, on and off the stage. The morning's hike through a rainforest biological research station connects students to the ecosystems that anchor Costa Rica's sustainability story, while the afternoon turns to music: a conductor exchange and gift of sheet music (partitures) between directors, a joint student rehearsal, and an evening concert built entirely around collaboration with Costa Rican musicians and a local youth orchestra. Breakfast. Departure to a rainforest biological research station. Trail hike. Lunch, paid by students on-site (approx. $10). Rehearsal. Conductor exchange / partiture gift. Return to hotel. Student exchange / rehearsal. Concert #2 at the hotel — opened by a Costa Rican national music-education program, joined by a local youth orchestra. Dinner. (B,D)

Day 5, Wednesday June 2: Monteverde

The tour's sustainability theme comes into sharpest focus at a family-run organic farm, where students see, taste, and learn from a working model of the land stewardship Costa Rica is famous for, before the group makes its way up into the cloud forest region of Monteverde. Breakfast. Departure to a local organic farm. Organic farm visit, with lunch. Departure to Monteverde, with a stop along the way. Arrival to Monteverde. Dinner at a local restaurant. (B,L,D)

Day 6, Thursday June 3: Monteverde

A day that balances adventure, community, and performance. Students start the morning zip-lining and crossing hanging bridges above the cloud forest canopy, take free time in the nearby town center, and rehearse with a partner school before an unforgettable open-air evening concert in the cloud forest itself — opened by a regional wind band — followed by a community potluck dinner hosted by the partner school. Breakfast buffet. Morning zip-line and hanging bridges canopy tour. Free time in the nearby town for lunch. Rehearsal at a partner school. Concert #3, cloud forest open-air — opened by a regional wind band. After the concert, potluck dinner at the partner school. (B,D)

Day 7, Friday June 4: San Jose

Before leaving the cloud forest, the Academy takes a deeper dive into the sustainability practices that define this region: a guided sustainability and coffee tour tracing the crop from farm to cup. The afternoon is given to travel back to San José ahead of the tour's final two days. Breakfast. Departure. Sustainability and Coffee Tour in Monteverde (lunch, approx. $10, paid by students). Travel to San José. Arrival. Dinner. (B,D)

Day 8, Saturday June 5: San Jose

The tour's grand finale. After a morning of downtime and a possible directors' exchange, the ensemble sound-checks in a historic national theater — one of the region's most storied concert halls — before an evening performance opened by a Costa Rican national music-education program. The night, and the tour, closes with a farewell dinner and masquerade celebrating everything the Academy has built with its Costa Rican partners over the week. Breakfast and downtime. Possible directors exchange. Lunch, buffet style, TBD (approx. $10 p.p., paid by students). Sound check at the theater. Short drive back to hotel to get ready. Departure to the theater. Concert #4 — opened by a Costa Rican national music-education program. Farewell dinner / masquerade. (B,D)

Day 9, Sunday June 6: Departure

A relaxed final morning before the group heads to the airport, carrying home four concerts, shared performances with Costa Rican youth musicians, and a week of Costa Rican hospitality. Late breakfast. Departure to airport. (B)