A Month in Xela: Homestay vs Apartment, Priced

For a four-week Spanish-study stay in Xela, Kamalbe’s standard classes-and-homestay package works out to 4 × US$225.00 = US$900.00, on its fees page read 25 October 2026. Casa Xelaju’s apartment 1A plus regular classes for one student works out to US$505.00 + (4 × US$200.00) = US$1305.00, from its apartment and tuition pages read the same day. Those are study-and-housing subtotals: the homestay includes scheduled meals, while the apartment lists utilities and a kitchen, with food, deposits and applicable extras separate.

Quick summary

• Compare the same duration: the calculations below cover four weeks, rather than assuming a calendar month.
• Keep tuition with the housing: Casa Xelaju says its apartment can be rented for one or two people, with an additional bed fee of $7.00 per day; its regular tuition is per student.
• Read the meal schedule: a homestay package can leave a day, or part of a day, of meals to arrange yourself.
• Separate the cash needed from the cost: refundable apartment deposits are outside the rental subtotal, and registration fees are outside the comparison totals.
• Use the date read: the operators’ pages were checked 25 October 2026. Casa Xelaju’s individual apartment price pages do not give a publication or update date.

Four weeks: homestay packages versus furnished apartments

All operator prices in this table were read 25 October 2026. Multiplication and addition are our arithmetic from their published prices, rather than quoted package totals. Registration, deposits, payment surcharges and seasonal additions are separate. The apartment rows include tuition for one student and the full apartment rent, without splitting rent between occupants.

Kamalbe prints both dollar and quetzal prices. The calculations preserve those as separate price schedules; they are not currency conversions. Centro Maya labels its rates by season without stating a year, so a quote for your dates remains necessary. Pop Wuj does not state weekly lesson hours on the program page checked, which prevents a comparison by teaching hour.

Celas Maya’s price page does not state the billing period for its homestay, so it cannot support a four-week housing total here.

What changes when you replace a family stay with an apartment?

Meals and your own kitchen

At Casa Xelaju, the regular family stay includes meals on six days of the week; Sunday includes housing but no food. Its apartment 1A page describes a furnished apartment with a kitchen, a bedroom, a living room and a bathroom with hot water. Food is not among the apartment rental’s listed inclusions.

For the same Casa Xelaju regular classes, the difference before food and other extras is US$1305.00 − US$1200.00 = US$105.00 for apartment 1A, or US$1395.00 − US$1200.00 = US$195.00 for apartment 2, using its pages read 25 October 2026. Those differences do not buy equivalent meal coverage: the apartment choice leaves food to arrange separately.

Other schools have different meal days. Kamalbe’s homestay page says Monday–Saturday; PLQ says Sunday–Friday; Centro Maya includes Sunday breakfast only alongside its Monday–Saturday meals. Pop Wuj describes three home-cooked meals a day. The meal schedule belongs beside the price when comparing offers.

Occupancy and the length of the rental

Casa Xelaju’s apartment 1A and apartment 2 pages both describe rentals for one or two people, with an additional bed fee of US$7.00 per day (read 25 October 2026). Their displayed rent is for the apartment; the regular Spanish tuition is per person. Sharing the apartment therefore does not make the tuition subtotal cover another student.

The quoted apartment rates explicitly cover four weeks. Casa Xelaju’s rental hub says stays longer than eight weeks are charged by month. Its longer-term tiers are not the rates used for this study stay.

Extras to settle before booking

• Casa Xelaju deposit: both apartment pages, read 25 October 2026, require a refundable US$60.00 or Q500.00 before taking over the apartment. Missing or damaged items can result in charges. If Casa Xelaju does the checkout cleaning, the deposit is used to cover that service; full return depends on the stated cleaning and damage conditions.
• Casa Xelaju seasonal addition: apartment 1A’s page, read 25 October 2026, says May–August adds US$10.00 per week. Four weeks therefore add 4 × US$10.00 = US$40.00. That addition is outside the base comparison.
• Casa Xelaju registration: its tuition page, read 25 October 2026, both says the US$25.00 registration fee is waived and requests payment of that fee elsewhere. Registration is excluded until the school confirms which instruction applies.
• Casa Xelaju card payment: its rental hub, read 25 October 2026, lists a 5% credit-card surcharge. It is outside the apartment subtotals.
• Casa Xelaju discount: its rental hub advertises a reservation offer, but does not establish its applicability to either apartment here. No discount has been deducted.
• Pop Wuj payment and registration: its program page, read 25 October 2026, lists a one-time US$65 registration fee. The displayed weekly price applies when paid directly to the school in cash in quetzales. Credit-card payment adds US$12 per week, so four weeks add 4 × US$12 = US$48.
• PLQ registration and trip expenses: its enrollment page, read 25 October 2026, lists a non-refundable US$75 registration fee. Its FAQ excludes transport, food and accommodation expenses during trips from the otherwise included activities.
• Centro Maya registration and payment: its rates page, read 25 October 2026, lists a one-time US$50 per student registration fee. The first week’s tuition plus registration is required in advance; later credit-card tuition transactions carry an extra US$10.00 per transaction. Centro Maya says residence normally runs Sunday–Saturday and teaching Monday–Friday; other start days use adjusted daily payments.
• Kamalbe payment: its fees page, read 25 October 2026, lists a 2% card fee and does not state a registration fee. The comparison uses the published package price, with the card fee separate.

Casa Xelaju’s tuition page also excludes ground transport, hotels and meals during local field trips or excursions. These study-and-housing subtotals leave personal spending and travel separate. For the resident perspective, use the Quetzaltenango cost-of-living guide; for the location decision, use where to live in Xela. The Guatemala Spanish-school guide covers the wider school comparison.

Related

• Where to live in Xela
• Cost of living in Quetzaltenango
• Spanish schools in Guatemala

Sources

Operator pages below were checked 25 October 2026. The date checked describes when the prices were read; it does not establish future availability or a rate guarantee.

• Kamalbe fees — checked 25 October 2026.
• Kamalbe homestay — checked 25 October 2026.
• Pop Wuj Spanish Immersion Program — checked 25 October 2026.
• PLQ enrollment — checked 25 October 2026.
• PLQ FAQ — checked 25 October 2026.
• Centro Maya rates — checked 25 October 2026.
• Casa Xelaju tuition — checked 25 October 2026.
• Casa Xelaju apartment 1A — checked 25 October 2026; individual price page undated.
• Casa Xelaju apartment 2 — checked 25 October 2026; individual price page undated.
• Casa Xelaju rental hub — checked 25 October 2026.
• Celas Maya price packages — checked 25 October 2026; homestay period unstated.