Who is this trip for?
Youth age 14-18
Parents (Not required to attend but participation is encouraged)
Best. Week. Ever.
Fly to Costa Rica for the most memorable and life changing week you’ll be talking about for decades. Take the best parts of a luxurious exotic vacation, a challenging river rafting adventure, carefully crafted soul searching activities, a grit building bootcamp, and a relaxing revitalizing retreat.
This is the week teenagers dream of, and their parents have always hoped to provide. River Raft in Pacuare River canyon, rappel down multiple waterfalls and then eat handpicked food from local organic farms and help prepare meals with a Costa Rican expert chef.
Teenagers and their parents zip-lining, learning to roll a Kayak, Stand Up Paddle boarding, paddling a raft, Cooking, Relaxing, and then a little downtime to chat and learn and make future decisions that matter. This is the week when you not only do things you’ve never done, but you decide to build the life you’ve never had.
The group size is limited to no more than 16 teenagers age 14 - 18 and their parents. If parents aren’t able to make the trip, that’s ok but the best experience will come when both the child and a parent can attend.
Why this trip for my teenager?
When adults reminisce about the most memorable experiences of their childhood, they recall times they connected with family, challenges they overcame, amazing trips to exotic locations, or serious moments of change when they decided to course correct their life. What if all of those were possible in one experience?
The week will be led by experienced youth leaders and guides, including a doctor who specializes in child psychiatry. He works with teenagers all year long, helping them build resilience and overcome extreme life stressors to reach their personal goals.
We’ve tried to create the perfect week that will be remembered for a lifetime with an emphasis on having BOTH the teenager and a parent attend and participate in activities for the week.
Goals of Youth Trip / Vision
Provide teenagers with a week long adventure that will push them mentally and physically, and inspire them for life.
Between the gorgeous sites and adventurous trips, plant mental seeds to improve communication, relationships, and determination
Experience a new culture and people
See memorable and amazing places
Provide a series of experiences for youth and parents that create a lasting impact and change them for the better.
Provide teenagers with life experiences that make them more likely to be a better leader/sibling/friend/parent/spouse in their life.
Help build positive relationships between parents and kids to strengthen families.
About the locations and areas we’ll be staying:
We’ll be flying into San Jose, Costa Rica. From there, the group will take a van/bus to the Turrialba valley. Teens will be paired up with a buddy or with parents for sleeping arrangements. Each person will have their own bed. We will have WIFI at all locations except for 2 days on the river when we stay at the Pacuare Outdoor Center which sits in the middle of the jungle.
Turrialba and the surrounding area is safe but we are intentionally staying at more remote, nice lodging locations that are outside of town. This will not be “camping” and we will be at hotels for the entire time. Everyone will have a bed, flush toilet, warm shower and water that is safe to drink from the tap throughout the trip.
About the trip leaders:
Jason Tonioli
One of the co-founders of Amazing Vacations, Jason has worked as a banker, marketing director, software consultant and built a successful software company. He also works as a professional musician and has performed across the United States and in other countries. His music has been played over 100 million times and he has been able to work with some of the most talented artists in the world. He currently owns and manages 5 businesses, including Amazing Vacations Costa Rica.
Jason has worked with youth as a scoutmaster, coach, youth leader and volunteer for nearly 20 years. He has the gift of bringing the right people together to accomplish amazing things and hopes that this program will help inspire the youth who attend to accomplish great things.
Dr. Matt Larsen
For years Matt has directed a long term treatment center for teenagers. He works daily with patients who self harm, attempt suicide, and suffer from severe mental illness and terrible life circumstances. He spends some of his free time as a youth speaker and local expert, presenting several times a month at local churches, schools, and mental health trainings.
“For years I have wanted to make parents a more integral part of these life changing experiences. I help many kids, and talk to their parents on the phone, but don’t get to help them learn and grow together, side by side, while having fun and being challenged. This program has been a goal of mine, to offer families a chance to make a lasting change in their lives.”
Walter Centeno
Walter is a Costa Rican Native and one of the co-founders of Amazing Vacations. He has been organizing and running group trips in Costa Rica for over 15 years. For five of those years he worked as a youth counselor running trips for teenagers from all over the world. He competed and trained with the Costa Rica kayak slalom team that competes internationally and currently serves as the coach of the National Champion youth rafting team that recently took third place at the international championships in Argentina this past winter.