Learn Spanish in Cuenca
Learn Spanish in Cuenca, a colonial city with cobbled streets, pre-Hispanic ruins, churches and colourful Indian markets.
Prices & dates for Cuenca
Why learn Spanish in Cuenca?
Cuenca, Ecuador, is an ideal place to study Spanish. This colonial city offers cobbled streets, pre-Hispanic ruins, beautiful churches and vibrant indigenous markets. Set in a high Andean valley at 6,700 feet, Cuenca sits 440 kilometres south of Quito, Ecuador’s capital.
Cuenca is also a modern university city of around 250,000 people, yet it still holds on to its colonial character. This mix makes it perfect for full immersion in Spanish and Ecuadorian culture.
Our school is based in the city centre and offers Spanish courses in small groups of no more than five students. Studying abroad is one of the most effective ways to learn a language, and small classes help you progress faster. In Cuenca, our small group sizes and the city’s welcoming atmosphere help students build confidence, improve quickly and truly enjoy their time in Ecuador.
About our school in Cuenca
Our Spanish language school in Cuenca is ideally located, in the centre of the city, between the old and new parts of the city. The local area has lots of traditional bakeries and artisanal workshops. The school itself is housed in an attractive detached building, with gardens offering views of the Tomebamba River.
There are 6 comfortable classrooms, all with natural light & digital whiteboards, a library, and a cozy student lounge. There is Free Wi-Fi throughout the building.
Location of our school in Cuenca
What courses are available in Cuenca?
Available courses
You can learn Spanish on an Intensive Spanish Course of 20 Spanish lessons/week, or else on an Intensive + Private Lessons course, which is a combination of the Intensive course and 10 private lessons/week.
As the maximum group size at our school is just 5 students, everyone on the course receives lots of personal attention, which naturally helps when learning a language.
Our school in Cuenca also provides 4 additional ‘Culture’ lessons/week, to help students learn about the history and culture of Ecuador, as well as to provide extra language practise. All lessons are given in Spanish, providing total immersion in the language.
Accommodation options in Cuenca
Available accommodation
Our Cuenca school can arrange accommodation in carefully selected Spanish speaking Ecuadorian host families, or local hotels. The families that our school uses all provide comfortable and welcoming accommodation in middle and upper class houses.
If you want to learn as much Spanish as possible, we would advise you to stay with a host family, as then you will get lots of extra practise with the Spanish that you learn in class.
Available activities in Cuenca
Our Spanish language school in Cuenca offers an extensive program of after class activities to ensure that you enjoy your time in Cuenca, as well as to help you practice out of the classroom the Spanish that you learn in class.
These activities include a guided tour of Cuenca, film evenings and parties, visits to Indian markets and various historical sites within Cuenca, as well as excursions to nearby national parks and hiking in the Andes. Our school in Cuenca also helps students organise trips to the incredible Galapagos Islands, just 2 hours by plane from Quito.
How to get to our school in Cuenca
Our school can arrange an airport transfer for you from Quito Airport, where you will be met on arrival at Quito Airport and taken to a hotel, picked up from the hotel next day and taken back to the airport for your onward flight to Cuenca. Hotel accommodation, and one-way flight to Cuenca are all included in the transfer fee.
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Cuenca: Student reviews & feedback
Intensive 20 with Host Family
I was a complete beginner and had 3 hours tuition a day for 2 weeks. I think I learned some Spanish but I had a great all round experience.
Lori, my host was perfect for me. We got on very well and I learned a lot about Ecuadorean life which for me was as important as learning the language.
Fantastic experience, I would do it again in a heart beat. Home stay is definitely the way to go.
- A. Harnell
Intensive 20 with Host Family
Being back home from Cuenca, I would like to share my enthusiasm about my journey in general, the exceptionally pleasant and clear classes that were taught with much enthusiasm, my host family was absolutely hospitable (Fabiola Ordoñez), and I experienced a most friendly welcome at my volunteering job. It couldn’t have been any better!
- I. Desplenter
Intensive 20 + Private lessons with Host Family
Absolutely excellent teachers full of wisdom and some with great humour such as Lupe in Cuenca
Thank you for the great choice of my host family
- C. Vander Linden
Everything was outstanding, the school, the accommodation, everything!
- J. Chatowsky
School statistics
Average ages (June - Aug)
Student stories on our blog
Cuenca – ‘The Athens of Ecuador!’
Cuenca, Ecuador is the most amazing place to study Spanish! It was such a welcoming city, I found I could learn, study, make friends, and practice my Spanish, all with ease. It’s a unique part of Ecuador with history so special that it has been chosen as a Unesco World Heritage Trust Site!
There are so many things to see and do in Cuenca, including admiring the amazing views of the Andean Mountains which surround the city! Cuenca is also a bustling university city, so I was always sure to find both international and local students amongst its streets mingling among the locals. The city had an awesome atmosphere – a real mix of old and traditional and youthful and modern everywhere I went.
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Company Number: 08311373