The Costa Rica International Festival of the Arts – FIA 2017 kicks off tomorrow Thursday, June 29th and will fill the capital city with different art, music and theater shows. The Municipality of San José has confirmed all international and national events, the majority of which will be held indoors in 14 different sites, among them the National Theater, the Dance Theater, Theater 1887 and the Me...

Aside from the numerous activities of the International Festival of the Arts, there are other activities taking place this weekend that you might enjoy: Beer Fest: Lots of beer lovers in Costa Rica, if you are one of them and you are always looking to try new flavors and learn more about this drink, visit the Beer Fest this Saturday, July 1st at Cronos Plaza in Pinares, Curridabat starti...

Costa Rica's diverse and varied climate makes it easy for travelers to embark on a fantasy escape all year-round. Whether you're a nature buff, thrill seeker or culture enthusiast, Costa Rica's biodiverse terrain and magical wonders are waiting to be explored 365 days of the year. Classified as a tropical country because of its proximity to the equator, Costa Rica has no real winter, and it always...

Joshua Ten Brink, a Costa Rican tourist who was enjoying a few days of vacation in Tambor beach, Puntarenas, was able to capture an amazing video this Monday. Brink explained he was taking a last stroll on the beach when he saw what he thought was a log in the ocean, he then noticed it was moving and realized it was a crocodile, he ran for his camera and was able to capture the reptile just...

Jacó beach offered great conditions for the competitors at the fifth date of the Kolbi National Surf Tournament this weekend; it was a Canadian-Costa Rican, Sean Foerster who took the first place in the male open category while Costa Rican Lisbeth Vindas won in the female open. 18-year-old Foerster from Samara, Guanacaste, won for the first time in the Open category and added his name to the fa...

Costa Rican boxer Bryan Vasquez has announced his next fight; Vasquez will be facing Mexican hard hitter Raymundo Beltran on August 5th and at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, California. Vasquez will be going up in weight once again to face the current WBA International Lightweight champion, at 135 pounds. "Tiquito" as he is known, announced the fight through his Facebook account where he ...

The Costa Rica Ministry of Culture confirmed the dates for this year’s book fair that will take place August 25 through September 3. This is the 20th edition of the event as an international fair and to commemorate this the Ministry of Culture and the Costa Rica College (organism in charge of this year’s edition) will open a calling for editorials, authors, and any interested party so they can ...

Life today seems to be going by faster than ever, days seem shorter, we are always working and there’s always something to do; and that’s precisely why we need to make time for ourselves and our family, and even when we might not have time to enjoy a long vacation, stepping away from the everyday life can do wonders for our energy, mood and spirit. The “Paseo de los Turistas” in Puntarenas...

Diplomatic delegations from several embassies in Costa Rica have confirmed their participation in today’s LGBTI Diversity March which has as a slogan “Human Rights for Everyone”. The confirmed embassies include: USA, Bolivia, Canada, Colombia, Chile, France, UK, Netherlands, Israel, Mexico, Spain and EU as well as the UN System and its agencies. This is the eight edition of the Diversity Mar...

154 baby leatherback sea turtles that were born in the rescue center built by APM Terminals next to the new Container Terminal, were released at Moín Beach in Limón. A group of biologists from the Tropical Scientific Center looks after the eggs at the rescue center to protect them from poachers and predators, it also works on relocating nests that turtles have left very close to the tide line. ...

The 2017 Social Progress Index, published by the Social Progress Imperative, regional partner of the INCAE Sustainable Development (CLACDS) ranks Costa Rica in position 28 of 128. This year´s index shows that global leaders are facing two worrisome tendencies: a decline in personal rights, personal security, tolerance and inclusion and a slow and uneven progress globally. ¨At the Social Prog...

If you are in Costa Rica and want to plan some tours in the country or if you have exceeded your 90 day stay and need to leave for a couple of days visit the Expo Viajes (Travel Expo) this weekend at the Whyndam Hotel in Cariari, Heredia and plan your next adventure in or out of the country at convenient prices. The travel expo brings together 50 companies from the tourism industry, all of whic...

According to data by the World Health Organization, every three seconds a person in the world develops this neurodegenerative disease, but the majority of them do not receive a proper diagnosis or adequate support. Only 29 out of the 194 nations members of the World Health Organization have developed comprehensive plans to deal with this condition; among them Costa Rica, which has a national...

Photo credit: Jairo Cajina Ten Costa Rican tourism companies visited the coast of Nicaragua in the South Pacific this week with the purpose of exploring the tourism offer existent in this area. According to Jose Adrián Aguerri, president of the Superior Council of Private Companies of Nicaragua, they had organized meetings with Costa Rican and Nicaraguan authorities and planned to visit diff...

When asked about Costa Rica’s gastronomy the first thing that comes to mind is the most popular dish, the “Casado” the typical dish that includes white rice, black beans, meat (chicken, fish, pork or red meat) and a small salad and perhaps the famous “gallo pinto” (rice and beans mixed together and flavored with different natural spices) also come to mind, but not every dish in Costa Rica is about...

Photo Credit: Mauricio Cortés / Rincón de la Vieja eruption seen from Upala The National University’s Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute (OVSICORI), reported an eruption at the Rincón de la Vieja Volcano in Guanacaste at 2:56 p.m. this Friday, June 23, where the column reached 2000 meters above the crater and 3,916 meters above sea level, (12844.48 ft). According to the report by ...

If you need an excuse to get off your couch this weekend and out of the house, we leave you with some activities that are taking place this weekend in Costa Rica Music: 4 Voices of Rock 90’s Edition Hard Rock Café: This Saturday, June 24 and Sunday, June 25 the Hard Rock Café is offering a rock concert with four of Costa Rica’s best voices, Gustavo Salazar, Kurt Dyer, Manuel Barrantes and Andr...

According to the Tourism and Travel Competitiveness Report 2017 carried out by the World Economic Forum every two years, the countries in the Central America region have shown little progress in the conditions offered to tourists. Panama was the best ranked, taking position 35 followed by Costa Rica in position 38. El Salvador was the country that took more steps back losing 14 positions in the...

The Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers informed that this Saturday, June 24, a total of 155 thousand residents of San José will not have water service due to the preventive maintenance of the pumping stations of Puente Mulas 1 and 2. The first cut will affect 145 thousand people, the service will be interrupted starting at 8 a.m. and through 7 p.m. The affected communities include...

The soccer match between Costa Rica and the United States that is scheduled for September 1st as part of the hex stage qualifying games for Russia World Cup 2018, will take place at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey as confirmed by the Costa Rican Soccer Federation. The announcement of the selected location was well received by Costa Rica since there is a large “tico” population in this state. ...

Jaco will be the scenario of the fifth date of the “Kölbi” Surfing Tournament, and for the first time ever the Surfing Federation will be implementing random doping tests to the participating athletes. “It is a pleasure for the Federation to announce to the country that our surfing just like the rest of the Olympic disciplines will be seeking transparency and fair play through the use of doping...

The Costa Rican company Go Pato will launch their new drone delivery service “Go Pato Now” on June 26, the express service already has the authorization to operate provided by the Civil Aviation Direction. Go Pato is a messenger / personal assistant service that delivers packages around the country but also shops for things you may need and you don’t have the time to get yourself or you simply ...

The General Direction of Migration in Costa Rica will eliminate, starting August 2017, the paper forms used for the registry of entry and exit of passengers at the Juan Santamaría International Airport. Starting August 15 the registry will be done automatically through the digital reading of the passport. According to the Migration Director, Gisela Yockchen, this is the first of a series of ...

Terrazas Lindora received the world architecture award Prix Versailles 2017 as the best shopping center in Central America, South America and the Caribbean. The Prix Versalles is an international award given out by the United Nations for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) together with the International Union. Terrazas Lindora received the recognition back in May 12 in Paris, France. This ...

La Traviata the opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi will be on stage in Costa Rica at the Melico Salazar Theater in San José from July 23 through August 1st and with the musical direction of Arthur Fagen (main music director of the Atlanta Opera) and scenic direction of Argentinian José Darío Innella. The National Lyric Company (CLN) announced the nine lyric singers selected for the main and...

This Wednesday morning the municipality of San José unveiled its official “city brand” with a large sculpture of “SJO ¡Vive!” , (San José Lives), in an act in the Central Park of the capital city and with the objective of attracting tourism. The mayor of San José, Johnny Araya explained that the launching of the brand hopes to reaffirm the identity of the residents of San José and the pride of ...

The international hotel chain Selina which focuses on millennials and offers "hostel" style lodging is expanding its operations in Costa Rica. The first hostel of the brand opened doors in Manuel Antonio, Quepos back in November; a month later it inaugurated two more locations in San José and Santa Teresa; in January the chain opened a small hotel in Puerto Viejo, Limón and in June in Jacó. Th...

According to a 2016 Nielsen Company study, the average American spends about 11 hours a day looking at a screen and American kids are not far behind, clocking in at an estimated 6 hours per day. It is well-documented that overusing technology can have a hugely negative impact on one's health, but there are numerous other ways digital displays can harm us if we don't moderate its use. If you're fee...

The activity began at 11 a.m. this morning at the Poás Volcano, the cameras located in different points of the National Park captured two “mouths” or active emanation points. Large columns of gases, vapor and ash were emanating from the volcano for several hours and at 1:50 p.m. a larger eruption was registered which reached 400 meters above the crater (3108 meters above sea level or 10,194...

The “low season” for the hotels in Costa Rica begins in May and usually continues through November, reaching a low peak in the month of September. According to a survey carried out by Costa Rica’s Hotel Chamber between May 2 -31 and answered by 76 hotels distributed around the country, the expectation of occupation was of 51% in May which represents 16% less than the average occupation of 66.67...

American professional triathlete Kevin Collington took the first place in the pro category of the Ironman 70.3 Costa Rica in Guanacaste with a time of 3:43:21. The second place was for Colombian Carlos Quinchara who stopped the clock at 3:47:58, the third spot was taken by Felipe Van de Wyngard from Chile with a mark of 3:49:44. Costa Rican Leonardo Chacón came in fourth with a time of 3:53:...

Photo credit: Humane Society International/Latin America The Zoo technical Diagnosis of Dog Breeding Centers in Costa Rica, an investigation carried out by Mario Torres a student of the School of Zoo Technology of the University of Costa Rica confirms that 75% of the breeding centers registered in the country operate without permits. Torres obtained the date from the National Service of Anim...

If you are looking for options to spend a fun day in Costa Rica enjoying the outdoors TuruBaRi adventure park in Turrubares, Alajuela offers different activities for both kids and adults oriented towards adventure and ecotourism. TuruBaRi used to be land dedicated to farming and agricultural activities, the same was reforested in 1996, and over 80,000 trees have been planted. 236 hectares out o...

Costa Rican Elayne Whyte Gómez ambassador for the UN is presiding this year the United Nations Conference that is currently negotiating a legally binding instrument to ban nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination. More than 120 countries ratified Whyte to preside the conference which is taking place in New York, USA since June 15 and will conclude July 7. “Advocates of a ban tr...

Ironman 70.3 will go down tomorrow in Carrillo, Guanacaste with the participation of over 2100 athletes, but only 13 in the category of professional triathletes; among them 2 Costa Ricans. Leonardo Chacón and Pablo Herrera are the only two “ticos” with professional license and will be competing against 4 representatives from the U.S., 2 from Colombia, and one each from UK, Australia, Guatemala ...

Costa Rica is looking to reach 300 days of running in clean energy breaking the mark of 271 days the country achieved during 2015 and 2016. The weather conditions during the first semester of the year and the new energy generation plants will allow the country to surpass its goal of producing energy from 100% renewable sources. In the first five months of this year bunker plants have been us...

Photo Credit: Dr. Pablo Ruiz Turrialba, Poás and Rincón de la Vieja volcanoes have continued to register activity on and off throughout all week, with several eruptions sometimes including ash but mostly consisting in gases and steam. The eruptions registered in Poás volcano are non-explosive but extend for long periods of time presenting internal seismic activity and low frequency tremor that ...

The Ministry of Education of Costa Rica (MEP) registers more than 500 private education institutions in the country; the large number of options can make picking the right school for your kids quite a challenge, that’s why today (Saturday,June 17) EKA Business Magazine is presenting the Private Schools Fair at the National Stadium. The entrance to the fair has a cost of only ¢1,000 (under $2), ...

August 22 and 23 in the Melico Salazar Theater in San José The Virtuous Children of Caucasus will be presenting their show for the first time in Costa Rica. Dance, acrobatics in the air and incredible spins are part of the abilities this group of thirty talented children - whose ages range from 6 to 14 years - and originating from Georgia (Eurasia), will showcase in Costa Rica. Inheritors of...

A group of three American tourist and their Costa Rican guide were able to capture today a video of a young tapir (Tapirus bairdii) bathing in a sector of the Celeste River in the Tenorio Volcano National Park in Guanacaste (video included at the end of the article). The tourism guide in an interview with local journalist Allan Jara, explains that the video was taken when it had just began to r...