I did a 2 week immersion trip in Spain! (Expanish Review 2026)

Last October, I had the incredible experience of doing a solo trip to Spain.

It was actually my first solo trip abroad, and I also knew I wanted to take this opportunity to improve my Spanish. So… I signed up for an immersion school.

I had a great experience, but now that the dust has settled and the excitement has worn out a bit from my trip, here’s a full review of my experience and whether or not I’d recommend it.

Setting the scene

Why I chose a learning vacation

As a petite woman traveling solo for the first time, the idea was a little daunting. I also really liked the idea of a “learning vacation”, and I liked the idea of staying put in one city (being a homebody and the idea of traveling makes me stressed). These factors were what led me to plan a language immersion trip, complete with a language school and a homestay with a local family.

Plus, I actually haven’t done traditional classroom study of Spanish since high school, and I was curious about what that would be like, so I was quite excited to go.

The destination

I chose Madrid as my destination. After booking, I realized that a lot of people actually advise against Madrid for language learning, since so many locals speak English and it can be easy to slip into using it out of habit.

That said, I’m a big-city person (I live in New York, after all), and Madrid ended up being perfect for me. It felt feeling wonderfully walkable and quaint (Am I allowed to say that? It’s quaint compared to New York City for sure!). It felt very safe, I spent almost all my spare time walking around.

The language school (Expanish)

There are several Spanish schools in Madrid, including the Instituto Cervantes, which is the official Language School and endorsed by the Spanish Government. I ultimately chose a private company called Expanish, which has polished, boutique-feeling branding.

By that, I really just meant that their website is clean and modern, and that they have an Instagram presence, and (maybe unfortunately?) I am very easy swayed by nice social media marketing. (The marketing did play a small role in my decision to book with them.)

I also liked that their pricing was available online. Many of the other Spanish schools in the area require you to submit an email and contact them first before getting the prices. I’ve found that it’s really not a big deal to do so (since they don’t necessarily expect everyone to book with them anyway), but being able to find the prices online for Expanish was a plus for me.

That said, I feel like it doesn’t matter all that much which immersion school you choose–it seems like the experience is fairly similar across the board, and Madrid has plenty of options to compare. I think I may have picked a slightly pricier one, but at the same time, I don’t think the price differences between schools are dramatic.

Placement test

Before arriving, I completed a placement test.

I think this was one of Expanish’s weaker points. The assessment was just a simple 15-minute conversation with the academic director, which include just me giving a basic introduction of myself (my name, what I’m doing in life, why I am learning Spanish, what I’m looking forward to in Madrid).

My conversation lasted about five minutes, at the end of which the director decided to place me in B1.1. Upon arrival, however, I felt like the B1 curriculum was not challenging enough, and so I asked if I could move up a level.

It was a pretty simple process, and I was allowed to try out the B2.1 class without any problems (I have no idea why I wasn’t offered B1.2–but here we are), and I decided to stay in that class for the rest of my time.

While I was able to change classes without any fuss, I do think a more thorough placement process would saved me that friction from the start.

Classes

I enrolled in the Intensive Explore program: classes ran Monday through Friday from 9am to 1pm (three hours of instruction plus built-in breaks), with additional “Spanish in the City” sessions on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, for a total of 24 Spanish lessons a week.

The morning classes were pretty much what I expected from a structured language course–grammar, conversation, group activities. Expanish rotates instructors every two weeks; since I was there for exactly two weeks, I had the same teacher throughout, and I really liked him. From what I heard from classmates in other levels, the teaching staff are great across the board.

The Spanish in the City afternoons… well, I didn’t like them and wish I could’ve just gone without. They cost approximately 50 extra euros a week. The idea is the the instructors would take you to different places in the city and do an “interactive lesson” with local landmarks, scavenger hunts, museums, etc.

In reality, it was more of a mixed bag: we had a visit to the Telefónica Museum for example, which was cool and a place I wouldn’t have necessarily sought out myself. However, there was a whole other afternoon where it was themed “childhood games”, and we just went to the park and played games with a group of approximately 30 adults. Since it was an extra 50 euros per week (or 25 euros per session), going to play games in the park felt like it was a waste of money.

The one thing these sessions were consistently good for was getting to know classmates in a relaxed setting outside the classroom. Though again, you could do that without the extra cost.

The immersion experience

The homestay

I chose to do a homestay because it seemed like the best way to truly immerse myself in both the language and the culture–and it absolutely delivered.

My homestay was arranged through Expanish itself; from what my host mom explained, it sounded like families register in a shared database that local Spanish schools draw from when placing students. Alongside myself, there were two other visiting students staying with the host family.

The homestay package cost me 343 euros a week and included two meals a day (DIY breakfast of pantry goodies like bread/yogurt/cereals, and a homecooked dinner), plus linens, towels, and laundry.

I’m so grateful for my host family. They had two young daughters, and spending time with them turned out to be one of the most valuable parts of the whole trip. Mostly because kids don’t slow down their speech for you and they do not hesitate to correct you. They were incredibly sweet and reminded me of my own little sisters. We watched movies together, helped with craft projects (one of the girls wanted to try a lipstick-making kit and recruited me as her assistant), and I had dinner with the family every night. Having that home base made the whole trip feel grounded and warm.

Classes are fine and all, but I genuinely think interacting with my host family pushed my Spanish more than anything else.

I should note that the homestay experience seems to vary widely. From talking to my Expanish classmates, it seems that some barely interacted with their host families, while others (like me!) had a valuable and unforgettable experience. I think it depends a lot on the family you’re placed with, and you can get lucky, or not.

Free time

Classes only ran in the mornings (and twice a week in the afternoons), so I had a lot of time to explore Madrid. I booked excursions through platforms like GetYourGuide and if I was going on a tour, I made a point of signing up for the Spanish-language versions of every tour.

Beyond the organized activities, I spent a lot of time just walking the city and reading in Retiro Park. If I’d had more time, I think I would have stayed another week or done a week of classes followed by city-hopping around Spain–that’s probably what I’d plan differently if I went back.

Cost

I booked the trip in May 2025, but my actual trip was late September-October 2025. Here is my cost breakdown (prices in USD!):

Flight Flight transfer from Airport	$672 $140
Tuition and materials (incl. a 15% discount for booking early)	$563
Homestay (2 weeks homestay plus 2 additional nights)	$882
Incidentals (excursions, transport, food, coffee, etc.)	~$400
Total	$1775

I don’t remember exactly how much I ended up spending for incidentals, but that should be around the ballpark. It was by no means a “cheap” vacation, but it was not bad, either.

The verdict

Did my Spanish improve?

Yes, 100%.

But as I mentioned, it wasn’t through the structured classes, but rather through living with my homestay family and deliberately choosing Spanish-language experiences in my free time.

Furthermore, while I thought the classes were solid and the teachers were great, I realized that maybe group classes aren’t my preferred format going forward with Spanish language learning. Part of that is placement, and maybe the spread of language abilities within B2. For some reason, in my class, there were still students regularly asking the teacher to translate things into English, which felt at odds with both the level itself and the spirit of an immersion class.

Would I do it again?

For me, this was a genuinely wonderful experience, and I still think back on my two weeks fondly!

I recommend it for anyone curious about the immersion format of group classes, and for anxious travelers like myself who like the idea of a “home base” at the end of the day.

That said, I don’t know if I would do the exact same trip again. As my Spanish improves, I think I’d approach it differently–maybe skipping the formal school in favor of local language exchanges, or other informal events to expose myself to the language.

Have questions about the trip, the school, or the homestay process? Drop them in the comments below.