For families
This is the question that decides whether a move actually happens, and it is the one most listing sites skip. San Juan del Sur has three accredited international schools for a town of its size — which is unusual, and is a large part of why families stay rather than just visit.
The largest of the three and the only one running all the way to 12th grade — over 160 students, English-language, internationally accredited. Its curriculum is built around inquiry and global citizenship, the student-to-teacher ratio is low, and the enrichment list runs to soccer and surfing. Founded in 2009.
The newest of the three, and still growing — it opened a purpose-built campus in 2025 after starting out in temporary space. Bilingual, hands-on, with an international curriculum. It has added grades most years, so confirm the current range with the school.
A bilingual non-profit that splits the day between English and Spanish, and the one with a tiered-tuition model — deliberately structured so local and expat families sit in the same classrooms. Its “Growing Adelante” programme teaches food cycles through gardening and cooking on STEAM principles, and it runs after-school ESL and mentoring.
Fees, side by side, with a link to the page each figure came from. Only one of the three publishes its tuition — that is worth knowing before you start ringing round.
| Escuela Adelante | SJDS Day School | Tambran International | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Publishes tuition? | Yes, in full | No — application fee only, tuition on request | No — on request |
| Preschool | $180 / month | on request | on request |
| Primary | $230 / month | on request | on request |
| Secondary | $245 / month | n/a — runs to 12th grade, fee on request | n/a — runs to Grade 8 |
| Reduced rates | Needs-based tiers: preschool to $80, primary to $85, secondary to $100. Tier set by a review that can include a family interview. | — | — |
| Registration | One month's tuition | C$2,200 application fee (córdobas) | Application fee — amount not published |
| Enrolment fee | $500 first child, $250 thereafter for international transfers; may be waived if the year is paid in full | None for Pre-K and Kindergarten; entrance fee due 30 June for others | — |
| Sibling discount | 10% after the first child | — | — |
| Check it yourself | Registration & fees ↗ | Admissions ↗ | Join Tambran ↗ |
Escuela Adelante's figures are its published 2025 rates and are monthly. The Day School's C$2,200 is in córdobas, not dollars. Where a cell says "on request" the school genuinely does not publish a number — we have not filled the gap with an estimate. One independent guide, bvnica.com, puts the Day School near $500 a month; treat that as somebody else's reporting rather than the school's own figure. Schools change fees yearly — the links above are the record, not this page.
All three are accredited by Nicaragua's Ministry of Education. The detail here comes from Christina, who has had children in this town's schools for years — but grades, fees and campuses change every year, so treat each school's own site as the record and speak to them directly. We do not take a commission from any school and we are not recommending one over another.
If you are looking north around Tola and the Emerald Coast rather than San Juan del Sur, that is a different set of schools — Tola International School, Escuela Santa Ana at Rancho Santana and the Costa Esmeralda Education Center at Hacienda Iguana. Christina's colleague Carmen Castillo wrote that comparison up: International schools in Tola ↗
Every one of these is inside about fifteen minutes of town, so all three schools are reachable from any of them.
Three, and all of them are accredited by Nicaragua's Ministry of Education. San Juan del Sur Day School runs Pre-K to 12th grade and is the only one going the whole way through high school. Tambran International School runs Pre-K through Grade 8 in a campus it opened in 2025. Escuela Adelante is a bilingual non-profit taking children from 18 months to 5th grade.
All three are bilingual to some degree. San Juan del Sur Day School is English-language with international accreditation. Escuela Adelante deliberately splits the day between English and Spanish. Tambran teaches a bilingual international curriculum.
Only one of the three publishes its fees. Escuela Adelante lists them in full: $180 a month for preschool, $230 for primary and $245 for secondary at the full rate, with needs-based tiers taking those down as far as $80, $85 and $100. San Juan del Sur Day School publishes an application fee of C$2,200 and quotes tuition on request; one independent guide puts it near $500 a month, which is not the school's own figure. Tambran quotes on request. Every figure here is linked to the page it came from so you can check it yourself.
Earlier than you would expect. These are small schools and places go; Christina's own advice to relocating families is that registration for the autumn opens well in advance and fills quickly. If a school year is the thing anchoring your move, work backwards from it.
Every house in the collection is within about fifteen minutes of San Juan del Sur, so all three schools are a school-run away from any of them. The Prado Hills house even has a room the current owners use as a school room.
Also worth reading: where to eat → · getting here → · vs. Costa Rica →
Christina lives in San Juan del Sur and shows these herself. Tell her which one and she will send photographs, the deed position and what the closing actually costs.
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