Fodor's Expert Review Merecumbé

Many Costa Ricans learn to merengue, rumba, mambo, cha-cha, and swing (called cumbia elsewhere) at a young age. Play catch-up at dance school Merecumbé, which has 16 branches around Costa Rica. With a few days' notice you can arrange a private lesson with an English-speaking instructor. An hour or two is all you need to grasp the fundamentals of merengue and bolero (what Costa Ricans call the rumba), both of which are easy to master and work with the pop music you're likely to hear back home.