The first question most families ask us, after they have read the cohort page once and let it settle, is some version of: "okay, but what does this actually cost, and is that a normal amount of money for what it includes?" Fair question. The answer is more interesting than the brochure version, because most families have never had to compare like-for-like before.
The honest range
For a thoughtfully run, family-included month-long cohort, you can expect somewhere between two thousand and six thousand euros or dollars per family, total. The variation depends on five things: location, accommodation type, what is included in meals, the number of children's program hours, and whether there's a dedicated facilitator on site.
To make this concrete, two of our 2026 cohorts:
- Casa Sumapaz, Colombia, four weeks, all meals, full kids program, retreat-center accommodation: from $3,215 per family (solo parent with one young child); most families land between US$ 4,600 and US$ 6,000.
- Aterra, Portugal, 27 days, meal plan optional, full kids program, glamping-style accommodation: starts at €4,600 per family.
Different price points, different inclusions, different country economics. Not better or worse, just different.
What is actually inside the price
When you pay a cohort fee, you are paying for several things bundled together that you would otherwise procure separately. Roughly:
- Private accommodation for your family for the full duration, in a setting most Airbnbs don't replicate.
- Most or all of your meals, prepared on site, often with local ingredients. This alone typically saves a family of four 600 to 1,200 dollars a month versus eating out plus groceries.
- A daily kids program, run by an educator on site. If you priced this as private tutoring or a day camp, it would run 800 to 2,000 dollars per child per month. We include it for the family.
- A facilitator who holds the social container of the group: opening circle, weekly parent circles, conflict mediation, the rituals that make a temporary village function.
- Coordinated activities and excursions: skill-shares, host introductions, cultural visits, sometimes guided trips.
- The vetted community of other families, which is the part nobody can quote a price on but is, honestly, the thing.
What is not included
To be clear about the rest:
- Your flights to and from the country.
- Travel insurance (we strongly recommend it).
- Personal incidentals (extra excursions, alcohol, souvenirs, the ice cream the kids will keep asking for).
- Sometimes ground transport from the airport, depending on the cohort.
- If a cohort has an "optional meal plan" rather than meals included, that's a separate line item.
We list everything explicitly on each cohort page. If anything is unclear, we'd rather you ask than assume.
Compared to what?
Most parents arrive at the price thinking it sounds like a lot. Then they do the math against what they were already planning to spend, and the picture flips.
Take a family of four planning a month abroad. The traditional cost stack looks something like:
- Airbnb or apartment rental: $2,500 to $4,500 for a decent month
- Groceries and eating out: $1,500 to $2,500
- Tutoring, day camp, or activities for the kids: $1,000 to $3,000
- Local transport, weekend trips, miscellaneous: $500 to $1,200
- Logistics time (researching, booking, troubleshooting): not money, but hours
That stack lands somewhere between $5,500 and $11,000 for a family of four, in a regular month abroad. And at the end of it, you may or may not have made any new friends. You almost certainly haven't built a community.
Cohort pricing for the same family, same month: roughly $3,500 to $7,000 at the upper end, with community, kids program, meals, and logistics all handled.
The cleanest way to think about it: a Cohli cohort is not in addition to a month of travel, it is the substitute for it. If a month abroad was already on your calendar, the cohort fee usually replaces several other line items, not adds to them.
Why the range varies so much
A few reasons cohort prices differ between countries:
Local economics. Colombia and Mexico are simply less expensive to operate in than Portugal or France. The pricing reflects what it costs to run the cohort there, not arbitrary tiering.
Accommodation type. A 12th-century chateau in Normandy costs more to maintain than a holistic finca in the Andes. Both are beautiful. Both are different price points.
What is included by default. Some hosts include three meals a day; others include breakfast and offer a meal plan. Some include all activities; others let families pick.
Length and intensity of the kids program. Four hours a day, five days a week, with a dedicated educator costs real money. We include it because we believe it is the difference between a vacation and a worldschooling cohort.
Solo parents, partial stays, payment plans
For solo parents, most cohorts have a separate, lower price point that reflects the smaller family unit. We list this explicitly when it applies, and never make people ask.
Partial stays (joining for two of four weeks, for example) are sometimes possible but disrupt the cohort's social rhythm, so we approach them case by case. Mostly we discourage it: the value of a cohort is in the depth of the bonds, and bonds need time.
Payment plans: yes, on request. We have done deposits plus monthly installments for several families. We would rather work with a family on a plan than have them stretched thin.
Is it worth it?
The honest answer: depends entirely on what you're comparing it against and what you're hoping to get out of it. If you're comparing against a beach resort, no, a Cohli cohort is more expensive than a beach resort, and a beach resort does what it does very well. If you're comparing against a month of remote-work travel with two kids, planned by you, alone: a cohort is usually less expensive and a lot less logistical lift, with significantly more community at the end.
The families who say "the math worked" are the ones who came looking for community, not for a discount on lodging. The families for whom the price feels too high are usually the ones who haven't yet decided whether community is what they're actually buying. Both responses are valid.
If you'd like the specific math for a specific cohort and a specific family configuration, we'll do it with you. The cohort pages have starting prices, and the application form lets you tell us about your family so we can quote what fits. No pressure: if it's not right, it's not right.