Cities of the Future: Emerging Market Champions, a global research carried out by Euromonitor International placed the city of San José, the capital of Costa Rica among the 17 most developed cities in emerging markets alongside their business opportunities and challenges. The report was released this month and was carried out in August 2016; top emerging cities are located in underdeveloped reg...

The VI edition of ExpoPYME (small and medium size companies’ expo) has become the biggest fair of its kind in Central America, and this time it will be held within Costa Rica’s “Pro-Tempore” Presidency of the Central American Integration System (SICA), which the country will hold for a period of six months. Companies from Central America that are part of SICA will be participating in the Expo;...

This time of the year Costa Rica gets particularly colorful, as trees such as Rosy Trumpet Tree (Roble Sabana-Tabebuia rosea), the Coral Tree (Erythrina poeppigiana), the Golden Trumpet Tree (Tabebuia ochracea) and the Jacaranda, bloom, offering a magnificent spectacle. For the sixth year in a row the contest “Capture the Magic” (Capturá la magia) invites everyone to participate with photograph...

New infrastructure in Irazú Volcano National Park was inaugurated by the Costa Rican government on Friday. New access control points, parking areas, exhibition room, and the Potrero Cerrado Viewpoint are some of the new facilities available for tourists. The total investment was of $872,809.00 USD and it was executed by the Tourism Program Strengthening Project consolidated under a loan contr...

The Texas A&M women’s soccer team arrived to Costa Rica last Sunday for an 8-day trip where they mixed in fun with a couple of exhibition matches with Costa Rican teams; meanwhile, the University of Louisville women’s soccer team arrived on Saturday with the same purpose, they had three exhibition matches scheduled, lots of fun and service projects awaiting. A great opportunity for local te...

The Costa Rica male national soccer team will be facing Mexico this March 24th and four days later it will measure up against Honduras as part of the hex stage of the CONCACAF elimination matches on route to Russia World Cup 2018. Costa Rica’s head coach Oscar Ramírez announced the names of all players called this Friday, the base of the team remains almost the same, with the addition of wingba...

Costa Rica is a very small country, and going from one place to the other should be a matter of a few hours, however, the different road infrastructure problems that affect certain communities, the heavy traffic during peak seasons and sometimes just the convenience of saving time, has made domestic flights a great option for nationals and foreigners. During 2015 Nature Air provided domestic tr...

The Costa Rica Electricity Institute’s (ICE) Internet Data Center (IDC), located in Cartago, has consolidated throughout the last years as the best in Central America and the Caribbean, thanks to the redundancy and services offered to its corporate clients. The technological infrastructure offers first level comprehensive solutions for the processing, hosting and safeguard of corporate and bank...

Tentaciones Fest 2017 (Temptation Festival) will bring together four pleasures under one roof: Wine, Cheese, Chocolate and Coffee, next April 1st and 2nd at the Pedregal Events Center. “In Costa Rica there have been coffee fairs, wine festivals, beer festivals etc. but there hasn’t been an event that gathers these four pleasures together. The Costa Rican consumer is more sophisticated now, and ...

The International Life Saving Federation (ILS) in conjunction with the International Surfing Association (ISA) granted Costa Rica the International License that makes it one of three countries in the world to be certified and authorized to offer training in Aquatic Rescues; this training will be taught by surf and stand-up-paddle (SUP) instructors certified as lifeguards and trained in water rescu...

The Global State of the Internet Report generated by Akamai, the world’s leading Content Delivery Network (CDN) provider,  shows that Costa Rica has dropped seven spots in the ranking going from the position 109 to 116, losing 1.2% of internet speed. Twelve countries actually increased their speed in the last four months of 2016, while only three countries went in the opposite direction, Costa ...

In an interview granted to national newspaper La Nación, Shawn Sullivan, director or public policies of AirBnB for Central America confirmed that the company is more than willing to pay taxes in Costa Rica, in fact they presented the proposal to the Tax Authorities back in August 2016 but they have not yet received a response. ¨The Government is losing money every day that goes by, and does not...

BMW Triathlon Series 2017 will take place in El Coco, Guanacaste on Sunday, March 26th with the participation of 500 athletes. The sport continues to grow in Costa Rica. This is the first of a total 6 dates that will all take place in the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, and involves three different competition circuits: Sprint, Standard and Coco. The competition is open for different age categorie...

Since 1999 Costa Rica hasn’t built a new prison, but for this 2017, the country will have three new Comprehensive Care Units that will host 1,600 prisoners in spaces suitable for work and study. The new centers, which involve an investment of $66 million USD, will be located in San Rafael de Alajuela, Pococí de Limón and Pérez Zeledón,San José. The prisoners that will be allocated in these ...

According to an investigation ran by local newspaper La Nacion, a total of thirteen Costa Rican soccer players are currently part of different Major League Soccer teams. This small country has become one of the main sources of soccer players for the MLS in this 2017 season, taking the fourth spot in the number of foreign players currently in this professional soccer league. Argentina takes th...

A special event for wine lovers will take place for the first time in Costa Rica, more specifically in Campo Lago, San Antonio de Belén, Heredia, May 6th and 7th. Showcasing a wide range of wine bottles,  the Wine World Festival will have wine tasting, special offers,  shows, family entertainment, food trucks, kids’ corner and daycare,  wine cocktails, cooking classes, and general information o...

So, you came to Costa Rica on vacation and you want to take something back with you as a reminder of your fun time here, or maybe you live here and you need to take souvenirs back to your family abroad. The thing is, sometimes it is difficult to know where to get nice souvenirs at a good price, and more often than we’d like we end up buying them at the airport on our way out of the country, and le...

The new cars fair “Expomóvil” kicks off this Thursday and will extent through Sunday, March 26th at the Pedregal Event Center in San Antonio de Belén, Heredia. More than 20 cars and motorcycle agencies will take part in this fair, as well as 9 banking institutions. Entrance tickets will have a cost of ¢3,000.00 ($5.50 USD), and the same cost for parking. The fair will open Monday through Fr...

German power metal bound Helloween will perform a concert in Costa Rica next October 23 as part of their tour Pumpkins United. This event has the particularity of bringing together the current members of the band and the founders of the same. The concert will take place at the BN Arena in Hatillo and it is the only stop in Central America. The production company Black Line Productions explai...

More than often it is overlooked, perhaps because of the misconception that insecurity is higher in this province (San José is actually the province with highest crime rate); or maybe because there are no huge, luxury resorts; others don’t like the drive, as the road (Route 32) is considered dangerous; whatever the reasons may be, the fact is that Limón Province and the beaches in the Caribbean Co...

The community of Carrillo in Guanacaste prepares to receive the visit of more than 15,000 people of 40 different countries next June as Costa Rica hosts the world famous triathlon competition Ironman 70.3 for the first time in history. Over $350 thousand dollars will be invested in total, the majority of the funds will be go to paving 3 kilometers of road that extends from the community of Sa...

According to the testimony of a victim, a taxi driver from San José thought he was an Uber driver and tried to attack him, the victim who turned out to be a bodyguard, took out his gun to defend himself. This situation occurred some days back, apparently the taxi driver started following him, the bodyguard noticed the situation and parked his car, at which point the cab driver got out of his c...

The best Costa Rica has to offer is probably not in San José, instead it’s the coasts and the different natural attractions what most want to see; yet, some tourists choose to stay in San José for a few days to get familiar with the capital city and the urban lifestyle, others come in for business and they need a good lodging option. There are many hotels in San José, it is important to conside...

There is no doubt that Costa Rica is a land of contrasts, and few places demonstrate this more than the Central Pacific coast, where several mountain ranges meet the Pacific Ocean, creating some of the most spectacular landscapes one can imagine. Stretching from the southern tip of the city of Puntarenas all the way down to Punta Uvita, the region offers something for everyone; from busy beach ...

There are many restaurants in Costa Rica, but the selection of vegan and vegetarian options, although it has increased in the last few years, is still limited. Some regular restaurants have incorporated a couple of dishes in their menu for people that follow a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, but these are the least. There are, however, a few alternatives where vegans and vegetarians can enjoy a won...

A week ago today, Canadian tourist Bruce McCallum was mugged and stabbed to death in Puerto Viejo, Limón, when he was taking photographs of the sunrise. 51-year-old McCallum was a math teacher who apparently was on a sabbatical from his job at Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute; according to the Toronto Sun, McCallum loved traveling, nature and photography. Yesterday, close to 200 people f...

The International Project Habesha and Cenfotec University are gathering efforts to provide a Syrian refugee with the necessary financial help so he can conclude his college studies. The young man/women has yet to be selected through an interview process, “We are working together with NGO’s and educational centers in the Middle East that represent the first contact to recommend candidates for th...

In a survey carried out by InterNations, a network for expats with local communities worldwide, Costa Rica holds the second position in the world in the ranking of most welcoming countries. How easy is it to settle in the destination country? How easy is it to make friends? These type of questions were included in the survey that InterNations used to create the ranking. Cultural aspects, th...

The Jungle Jam festival is taking place in Jacó this weekend, next to the Best Western Hotel, and will feature concerts with national and international artists and yoga workshops on the beach. Jam, rock, reggae, funk and soul are part of the rhythms that will fill the ambiance at Jacó beach; Ryan Montbleu, Thievery Corporation, Harley Jane, Matt Carey and Roots of Creation are part of the int...

35 golf players, among them professionals and amateurs participated for a spot among the athletes representing Costa Rica in the PGA Tour Essential Costa Rica Classic; only 10 qualified and will be part of this international sporting event that will take place at Playa Conchal, Guanacaste, May 1st-7th. The classifying event took place at Cariari Country Club, and after three days of competition...

Many are not familiar with the term glamping; glamping refers to “glamorous camping”, and is a new trend that has been extending throughout the world, and Costa Rica is no exception. Glamping provides the possibility of enjoying an outdoors experience without sacrificing on comfort; which is the reason many do not like regular camping. Glamping includes tents, huts, villas, cabins, treehouses o...

Rural tourism is one of the many attractions Costa Rica has to offer, Finca El Porvenir (El Porvenir Estate) in Los Chiles, Alajuela, offers visitors an experience like no other. This 407 acre property has kept 50% of its territory for the preservation of primary and secondary forest, the other 50% of the property has a farm, a small, rustic house, and the rest is used to grow different organic...

March 17th through March 19th more than 150 artistic shows will take over San Jose, in the 13th edition of Transitarte Summer Festival. Transitarte is part of the initiatives of the San José Municipality to provide artistic and cultural events to the population and part of the efforts to recover the use of public spaces, it is also an option for foreign visitors to get to know the Costa Rican c...

This year Holy Week begins Sunday, April 9th, normally for this celebration Costa Rica has two mandatory holidays, Maundry Thursday and Good Friday; this year however an additional holiday celebrated in Costa Rica falls precisely in that same week, Tuesday, April 11th, with the celebration of Juan Santamaría Day (national hero). With three mandatory holidays hoteliers expect to have very busy wee...

The Quantum Dot Summer Cup, will gather gamers from the Central America region and will take place from March 24th through May 7. The event is organized by Region Central Gaming , the event will give out cash prizes adding up to $4,000.00 USD among the winners in the different categories and additional prizes by sponsors: Samsung, HP, Logitech, Linksys, Forza, Redbull, Creta, Avermedia, Intelec...

Quimio Center in Costa Rica is a private healthcare center located in Pinares, Curridabat that was created with the idea of providing cancer patients with the best conditions to have their intravenous chemotherapy treatments, or any other intravenous treatment that requires long hours of administration. Quimio Center offers patients ambulatory care in a private and properly equipped area, which...

According to MarViva Foundation 80% of the residues in our oceans are plastic, and 8 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans every year, a group of concerned Costa Rican’s take it upon themselves to make a difference and help the environment by collecting the plastic that washes ashore in the different beaches, one of these groups is the Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper, a non-government organiza...

The Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) is taking part of the ITB Berlin, the world’s leading travel show which will extend through March 12 at the Messe Convention Center in Berlin, Germany. The Tourism Minister, Mauricio Ventura, explained that Costa Rica has been strengthening its participation in international fairs, presenting a stronger image and caring for all details involving the representa...

Thirty girls died and 32 others were injured in a fire that broke out on Wednesday in a Guatemalan children's shelter, when female residents attempted to protest over alleged sexual and physical abuse they were suffering. Secretary general of the Public Ministry, Mayra Véliz, said that of the first 19 deaths, 17 of them were caused by severe burns, while the other two were still being investiga...

Creative minds will gather for three days in La Antigua Aduana building in San José, Costa Rica from March 10th to March 12th for the seventh edition of the International Design Festival (FID17). This year the event will have the presence of regarded world leaders in the areas of graphic design, photography, architecture, publicity and product design; Zosen and Mina Hamada visual artists who fo...