While many countries will boast sweet spots to study Spanish, Bolivia truly offers an incredible locale. One of the cheapest countries in all of Central or South America, it is an affordable place to live and offers great destinations for weekend or week-long excursions. Bolivia is also a good location because of its clean dialect and neutral accents. Unlike countries such as Chile or Argentina, the vocabulary is not ruled by slang, and aside from the very remote mountain villages and Altiplano areas, Bolivian Spanish is quite easy to understand.
As far as a program or course goes, you can plan ahead and study with a specific school or organization, finding something online and booking it before you begin your journey. It is much more common, however, to just show up and ask around for contacts. As studying Spanish is so common in some of the more “backpacker” destinations, it is simple to find what you’re looking for once you are there. Courses or lessons usually run from $2-5 per hour, and they might be one-on-one, group learning, in the classroom, out on cultural excursions, or any number of other options. Many of the established language schools even set up events, home-stays, and specialized classes (such as dancing or cooking), so be sure to look around for what meets your needs.
As Sucre is Bolivia’s educational capital, many travelers choose to set up shop here for a while. It is a pleasant, whitewashed city with numerous cultural centers, tourist information offices and opportunities for private or communal classes. Here you can swing by Joy Ride Café, the default gringo gathering spot, and inquire about information. Other popular places to study Spanish in Bolivia include La Paz, Copacabana and Coroico. As in Sucre, you can easily access information about courses through gringo hangouts or look online for more structured programs.