Costa Rica has always stood by the defense of human rights, promoting an inclusive and tolerant society; and even though this is still a work in progress, there is a big sector of the population that is not only respectful of the LGBTI community but in fact they understand the big potential behind this market, the tourism sector. Costa Rica’s Diverse Chamber of Commerce also known as Costa Rica...

The best time to visit the Caribbean Coast September and October are very rainy months in Costa Rica, the former is true for the Central Valley and the Pacific coast, but did you know these months are also the best time of the year, weather wise, to visit the Atlantic coast? The Southern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica is not the most popular destination for tourists, perhaps this is because y...

A new survey by international luxury travel network Virtuoso® has revealed the hottest destinations, activities and trends in the rapidly expanding world of adventure travel. The list includes Costa Rica as one of the top destinations. An overwhelming 95 percent of Virtuoso travel specialists say they have seen active, adventure and specialty travel sales rise within the past 12 months. As w...

By Wendy Anders During the upcoming two weekends, visitors can take part in whale and dolphin watching tours, as well as recreational and cultural activities, during the southern Pacific Bahía Ballena Marine Park's annual whale and dolphin festival. From Sept 2-4 and again from Sept 9-11 visitors can participate in activities such as foot races, cycling, family walks, a sand sculpture contes...

Source: Pure Hospitality Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc. (OTC PINK: PNOW), parent Company of the Central American-Caribbean Online Travel Agency (OTA) Oveedia, announced today, that the Company is launching an international, bi-lingual newsletter, in conjunction with the release of the next iteration of Oveedia. "Here in Costa Rica, we have a very strong following and somewhat substantial ...

Source: Spirit The low tourism season in Costa Rica tends to create some extremely affordable deals on air travel, and this year is no exception. According to a recent query on Fly.com, an airfare search engine that makes looking for airfares both quick and easy, round-trip flights to Costa Rica are as low as $133 per traveler on Spirit Airlines. The search parameters are as follows: D...

By Wendy Anders Yesterday, on National Parks Day, President Luis Guillermo Solís met with park guards on a visit to Tenorio Volcano National Park in the northern Guanacaste mountain range. Tenorio National Park is where Costa Rica's enchanting Río Celeste, or Blue River, is located. Park rangers had been threatening to close one or more national parks if their repeated requests for increa...

Source: SWAmedia.com FareCompare.com has released a second set of findings based on a comprehensive analysis of the Southwest Effect in new international routes. The study reveals that while consumers traveling to the U.S. did experience the Southwest Effect initially, those average lowest fares have since increased, returning to the levels they were prior to Southwest's foray into those marke...

Illustrative image. (Flickr Commons) A 45-year old man survived a shooting that took place just outside of the Del Rey Hotel, a major sexual tourism hotspot in Costa Rica. According to a news report filed by Esteban Mora of daily tabloid Diario Extra, the man was identified by the last name Fonseca. He is reportedly a taxi driver whose workday often includes parking at the Hotel Del Rey and...

With festive season fast-approaching Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica invites guests to enjoy an exclusive holiday season on Peninsula Papagayo filled with memorable experiences and festive celebrations. From eco adventure to relaxing beach gatherings with rum tastings and Costa Rican sunsets, create a festive tradition between the Resort's two beaches. From the moment one's plane lands at the Da...

By Wendy Anders Source: Flickr PLEASE SEE SALES FOR OCTOBER 4TH HERE Airfarewatchdog.com announced today a one-day 99 percent discount on Spirit Airway round trip flights from several U.S. cities including Atlanta, Boston, and Minneapolis for Tuesday and Wednesday travel between Aug. 23 - Oct. 5, 2016 (Sept. 6 is a blackout date). Book this fare on Spirit.com using promo code 99PCT. ...

Arequipa. Wikimedia Commons A magnitude-5.3 earthquake left four people dead, 68 injured and 1,253 families homeless in a rural area of Caylloma province in southern Peru's Arequipa region, to which the authorities have sent humanitarian aid in helicopters and by land. The fatalities were an 80-year-old woman, another age 70 and her granddaughter, a minor, as well as United States citizen E...

Two weeks after eight people were rushed to the hospital due to lightning strikes at the main airport of Costa Rica, tourists visiting the Fraijanes lakes sector of Alajuela were also affected by a strong discharge of atmospheric electricity. The incident, which was reported on Saturday by Roger Soto of daily tabloid Diario Extra, took place in the early afternoon hours. A man and a woman were ...

Wikimedia Commons Red Cross volunteers searching for a drowned young tourist from the United States were led to discovery by a jaguarundi (eyra cat, similar to a mountain lion), which seemed to be guarding the deceased child. As reported by The Costa Rica Star earlier this week, a flash flood swept away three U.S. tourists swimming in the Blanco river in the Rincon de la Vieja (Old Woman's ...

A river in Costa Rica Three tourists from the United States, including a little boy, were mortally caught in a flash river flood near Hacienda Guachipelín, one of the most luxurious and exclusive country resorts of Costa Rica. According to a news report recently filed by Manuel Estrada of daily tabloid Diario Extra, four relatives were enjoying a pristine swimming spot at the river located ...

Manuel Antonio Beach in Costa Rica With summer slowly coming to an end and school just around the corner, many families are looking for the perfect way to end it with a bang. End of the summer celebrations are fun, but a family vacation will give you the perfect amount of relaxation and togetherness before the stress of school hits the entire family and the arguments over math homework begin. ...

By Wendy Anders Canada’s low-fare leader WestJet announced last week it will add dozens of new flights to its growing domestic and international networks as part of its 2016-2017 winter schedule. New flights will run from Toronto to a number of Canadian and international destinations including Vancouver, Ottawa, Moncton, Myrtle Beach, Aruba, Kingston (Jamaica), San José and Liberia (Costa Ri...

Cartoon by Clay JonesJust a day after the much awaited release of the latest smartphone game 'Pokemon Go' in Japan, some of the country's most popular tourist attractions have started urging visitors to use caution when playing or stop playing altogether at their facilities. The most emphatic protest came from the Izumo-taisha shrine, considered the second most sacred in Japan, which banned th...

Wikimedia CommonsIf the Panama Canal is on your bucket list there is no better time to sail than on Saga Sapphire in 2017. The 700-passenger ship will sail through the canal on January 30 and again on February 17 for the return leg of her 66-night Central American Discovery cruise. The grand voyage to Latin America departs on January 11, 2017 and will offer guests the chance to view Mayan r...

Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika are spread by the Aedes aegyptie mosquito (Wikimedia Commons)Bismarck, N.D.— The North Dakota Department of Health (NDDoH) has confirmed a second case of Zika virus illness reported in a North Dakota resident. The individual who tested positive for Zika virus is a man who traveled to Costa Rica. This case was not hospitalized for his illness. As reported by Th...

Billy Geno and Christi Carr A visitor from the United States enjoying his honeymoon in Costa Rica made a daring water rescue to save a man from drowning. According to the Facebook Timeline of the Volusia Surf Lifesaving Association, the rescue took place recently while Billy Geno and Christi Carr, newlyweds from Florida, were celebrating their honeymoon at a beach resort in Costa Rica. A c...

EZ Waves Google PlayEZ Waves, an online charter booking service for fishing, sailing, kayaking and all other water-based activities, announces its launch today with nearly 500 captains available for bookings in the United States, Costa Rica, Mexico, Canada and Norway. EZ Waves is the only program that streamlines the maritime booking process, providing live scheduling that allows guests to book o...

Wikimedia Commons A New Jersey resident who was gored as he ran with the bulls in Spain's famous San Fermin festival in Pamplona on Wednesday has described the experience as the highlight of his life. Matthew Levin, 39, had clambered onto a fence during his first ever running of the bulls when a charging bull slammed into him and his friends completely by accident, driving a horn into his l...

Wikimedia Commons A terrifying and chaotic running of the bulls on Friday left a toll of 16 thrill-seekers injured and two of the eight participants gored were in critical condition, officials said. Of the wounded, five were American citizens, three of whom suffered goring injuries, the regional government said. One American, identified only by his initials P.G., received a 10 centimeter...

File photo By Wendy Anders Located along the sumptuous Gulf of Papagayo in Costa Rica’s northern Guanacaste province, Hotel El Mangroove recently stunned ABC’s Good Morning America producers with their swimming pool. Ranking second after a hotel in the Seychelles, El Mangroove’s 130-foot-long fresh-water, black-tiled pool directly faces the Pacific Ocean. “Flanked by private cabanas and l...

Lifeguard Seco Herrera. Source: Facebook By Wendy Anders Waves in the Caribbean are predicted to reach up to 8 1/2 feet tomorrow, Friday, and over 9 1/2 feet on Saturday, dropping on Sunday, and then rising again next Tuesday, said the University of Costa Rica’s Ocean Sciences Investigation Center (CIMAR) in an alert today. Likewise, small crafts under 24 ft. are warned that rough Pacific ...

By Wendy Anders Zurich, Switzerland is the latest European destination to offer a direct flight to San José, Costa Rica’s Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO). Starting May 2017, Edelweiss Air will offer twice-weekly non-stop service on Tuesday and Friday, the airline stated in a press release last week.  Edelweiss is a member of the Lufthansa Group and an affiliate of Swiss Internati...

Poas Volcano crater in Costa Rica Earth scientists at the National Seismology Network (Spanish initials: RSN) and at the National Observatory on Seismology and Volcanology (Spanish acronym: OVSICORI) are being kept on their toes by the activity of two colossi in Costa Rica. Readers of The Costa Rica Star are likely to be familiar with the hyperactive state of the Turrialba volcano, located ...

(Illustrative image. Courtesy Thomson Airways) Over the last few months, the tourism industry of Costa Rica has enjoyed an increase of British and European visitors thanks to the inauguration of two flights from London, but officials fear that this joy will be diminished by Brexit. The people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, which means that European tourists can no ...

Source: Ge PC Facebook LAS VEGAS, NV--(Marketwired - Jun 6, 2016) - Pure Hospitality Solutions, Inc., parent Company of the Central American-Caribbean Online Travel Agency (OTA) Oveedia, announced today, that in continuing support of Central American tourism, Oveedia, upon multiple requests, has begun developing and sponsoring travel websites and resource pages for Central American tours, hote...

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – Last year, Costa Rica received over one million North American visitors who arrived in the country by air, and over 13 percent of these directly associated to business related travel. In recognition of the key role that the meetings industry has on the country, Costa Rica joined hundreds of other nations around the world to support the first ever Global Meetings Industry Day...

Source: Southwest Airlines DALLAS, June 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) is launching a three-day domestic and international sale offering extra low fares for fall travel, so grab your ticket and go!  Customers may take advantage of low domestic fares starting at $49, $79, $99, and $129 one-way to select destinations today through Thursday, June 9, 2016, 11:59 p.m...

Star Breeze SEATTLE, WA (PRWEB) June 02, 2016 - Luxury cruise line Windstar Cruises announces its 2017 Voyage Collection. Known for in-depth cultural exploration, the line’s broad spectrum of worldwide cruise vacations includes two new cruises added to dozens of itineraries visiting more than 150 ports of call — including 13 new ports for 2017 — in 50 countries. The luxury cruise operator d...

Wikimedia Commons By Marina Villen Luxor, Egypt, May 30 (EFE).- Temples that are almost empty and docked cruise ships unlikely to sail the Nile anytime soon are elements of the image presented by the Egyptian cities of Luxor and Aswan, whose Pharaonic ruins wait impassively for tourists to return. The dispirited inhabitants of these historic sites dedicate themselves - or rather dedicate...

Bull shark. Wikimedia Commons DALLAS, June 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) is partnering once again with Discovery Channel's Shark Week, taking television's longest-running and most anticipated summer event to new heights.  Today, the companies unveiled the first-ever Shark Week-themed 737-700 aircraft proudly displaying the majestic sea life that is widely cel...

Source: Air France French culture is known to be classy and stylish, and these are cultural aspects that certainly apply to travel. Air France, an airline that recently announced new flights to Costa Rica, is taking classy and stylish to a very high level with an actual sleeping suite and even fashionable pajamas that match the decor. As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star, Air Franc...

Source: Pure Hospitality LAS VEGAS, NV -- (Marketwired) -- 05/23/16 -- Pure Hospitality Solutions, parent Company of the Central American-Caribbean online travel Agency (OTA) Oveedia, announced today, that the overall response from Expotur 2016 has proven to be overwhelmingly successful for the Company''s OTA, as nearly 100 hotels and tour providers have expressed interest in aligning with Oveed...

(Archive / Delta Airlines) Some 534,000 foreign visitors arrived at Costa Rica’s Daniel Oduber International Airport (LIR) in Liberia during the first four months of this year, an increase of 30.5 percent compared to the same period last year, according to information released by Coriport, the company which manages the airport. The significant increase represents the fastest growth in arriv...

Wikimedia Commons3 El Castillo, Nicaragua, May 22 (EFE).- A 341-year-old fortress in southern Nicaragua that was formerly a bastion against English pirates is nowadays a growing tourist attraction. The town of El Castillo, in southern Rio San Juan province, owes its name to the local fortress - "El Castillo de la Inmaculada Concepcion," built by the Spanish in 1673-1675 and nowadays one of ...

Conservationists from the Leatherback Trust, an international non-profit conservation organization that protects leatherback turtles and other sea turtle species from extinction, recently released rare drone footage of a female olive ridley swimming away from a beach in Costa Rica. The nesting event was filmed in Las Baulas National Park, located in the Playa Grande sector of the Guanacaste pro...