This past week’s escalating violence across the USA from “sea to shining sea” will be the last straw for thousands, perhaps millions of retirees and affluent singles and families sick and tired of the current multi-faceted problems facing America -- they will pull up stakes searching for somewhere else to live and enjoy a peaceful life. High on that list of possibilities is Costa Rica. Without ...

Costa Rica had the very first confirmed COVID-19 case in Central America on March 6. Yet this tiny country has since managed to out distance other countries internationally in the fight to protect its population against this pandemic. Costa Rica has the lowest mortality rate from COVID in all Latin America. Just think how amazing that is. They have received praise for their success against the vir...

AERIS Holdings, administrator of the Juan Santamaria International Airport in Costa Rica released the following updated information regarding the operation of the different airlines in the country under the current pandemic Covid-19: AEROMEXICO: operations suspended until further notice. AIR CANADA: will resume operations in July. AIR FRANCE: operations suspended until further notice. AIR PA...

It is no secret that in Costa Rica the tourism sector took the biggest impact from Covid-19 pandemic; the numbers shared by the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) reflect this reality, for the month of March the country registered only 127,201 international arrivals, a considerable downfall from March 2019 when this number was 276,036. The difference of -51.4% is just the beginning, the month of ...

The General Directorate of Migration (Immigration) established through Executive Decree 42256-MGP-S the temporary measures that are in place through April 30th to prevent the effects and spread of Covid-19 pandemic. According to Laura Gutierrez of Immigration help Costa Rica measures listed in the Executive Decree apply to foreigners who have: Permanent Residency; Special Categories; Non-Residents...

UPDATED 3/27/20 Source: US Embassy San Jose "Costa Rica has now announced 263 cases of COVID-19 in the country. As messaged previously, we urge all U.S. citizens who wish to depart Costa Rica to do so now. U.S. citizens who remain in Costa Rica should be prepared to remain in Costa Rica for an indefinite period. For the latest list on the very limited flights into/out of San Jose and Liberia...

Video Credit and thanks to Adam Baker and Namu Travel Group. ***Repost from the President of Costa Rica*** We all know that small businesses, restaurants, workers in the service industry, etc. have been affected economically by covid-19. The entire travel industry; airlines, hotels, tour companies, travel agencies, entire countries, and everyone in between were immediately impacted by cov...

Costa Rica, like the rest of the world, is in a full-blown war against the coronavirus COVID-19. Officials are making every effort possible to prevent this deadly virus from entering the country, and from spreading within its borders. There have been 50 confirmed cases of infection in Costa Rica. The virus first arrived via two American tourists who visited asymptomatic in early March. They quickl...

This Sunday, March 8 the National Emergency Commission (CNE) in Costa Rica declared an interinstitutional yellow alert due to the recent rapid cases of coronavirus (Covid-19). The alert system used in Costa Rica for emergencies simply allows institutions to know how to proceed under particular circumstances. GREEN ALTERT is issued when a specific phenomenon is expected to affect or endanger ...

Costa Rica has 6,5% of the world’s biodiversity and talent as its flagship differentiating resources which might amaze its visitors, just like it did to FDI Intelligence’s judging panel. They chose Costa Rica as the top-two country globally for FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) Strategy in fDi’s Tourism Locations of the Future 2019/20 rankings. Australia tops the list. The ranking belongs to the ...

Photo Credit: Irina Shayk Instagram Sam Smith, Neil Patrick Harris, Chris Martin (Coldplay) and his girlfriend Dakota Johnson, Gina Rodríguez, Christian Bale and Irina Shayk are just some of the celebrities that chose Costa Rica as their vacation destination this December and not only does this mean they spent money in the country benefiting local businesses, but they also help put the name of ...

The United States Government elevated the travel alert for Costa Rica from a Level 1: Exercise Normal Caution to a Level 2: Exercise increased caution in Costa Rica due to crime. "While petty crime is the predominant threat for tourists in Costa Rica, violent crime, including armed robbery, homicide and sexual assault, occurs in Costa Rica. The Costa Rican government provides additional securit...

Hospitality investment and development firm Gencom announced the acquisition of Hacienda AltaGracia, Auberge Resorts Collection, a high-end resort in the mountains of Pérez Zeledón in the southern region of Costa Rica. The resort was originally conceived and developed as a family retreat and coffee farm in a storied agricultural town and has consistently ranked among the top resorts in Central Ame...

German airline CONDOR will be offering a direct flight connecting Frankfurt, Germany to San Jose, Costa Rica, starting October 2020, reinforcing Costa Rica as a destination and eliminating the stop in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The route will operate Thursdays and Sundays in a Boeing 767-300 with capacity for 255 passengers, (18 in Business class, 35 in Premium and 202 in Coach). The pl...

American Airlines inaugurated this Thursday its new daily flight that will connect the JFK International Airport in New York and the Juan Santamaria Airport in San Jose. The first flight landed at 8:30 p.m. in Costa Rica with 160 people aboard. “This new route is an example of our commitment to Costa Rica”, commented Rafael Sánchez, Regional head of Operations for American Airlines. “Very ...

Thanks to a strong inter-institutional coordination, the support of the community and the private sector, the Ministry of Energy and Environment (MINAE) was able to implement several improvements at the Manuel Antonio National Park to respond to tourist visitation, guaranteeing the protection of ecosystems and the good service to visitors. This National Park, created in 1972, protects 352 plant...

On Sunday, November 17th, Fox TV aired episode #669 of the famous cartoon family The Simpsons, in “Livin’ La Pura Vida”, in which the entire Simpson family and members of their Springfield community visit Costa Rica on vacation. Amazing. La Nacion newspaper commented about the episode, saying that it “without a doubt, positions tourist information (about Costa Rica) before the eyes of the world.” ...

Costa Rica (Rich Coast), has become a favorite playground for rich and famous Americans, i.e. Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Gisele Bundchen, Mel Gibson, Usher, Leonardo DiCaprio, and many other celebrity Americans who visit Costa Rica to unwind, relax and have quality time with their families. Recently Kim Kardashian’s oldest daughter, North West, daughter of Kanye West, and barely 6-years old, has f...

Sun Country Airlines announced it will be adding the route the Costa Rica-Dallas route to its options starting the summer of 2020. Sun Country will connect Dallas, -Fort Worth (DFW) to Liberia, Costa Rica (LIR) during the months of June, July and August 2020, with a flight departing at 8:00 a.m. from the Dallas Fort Worth airport ad arriving at the Daniel Oduber airport in Liberia, Guanacaste a...

SKYWAY Costa Rica annouced its new flights to Bocas del Toro, Panama. "A short 45-minute flight from San Jose Costa Rica, Panama’s popular destination offers white sand beaches, clear water and a fun party atmosphere. It is a great add-on to a vacation to Costa Rica or a stand-alone getaway", states the press release. Flights are available Thursday through Monday each week. Located on the north...

Early Saturday morning, three American tourists and their Costa Rican van driver were killed in a head- on vehicular crash near La Cruz, Guanacaste. They were traveling in a minivan, when they were hit by a truck driven by a Salvadoran citizen, who remains unidentified. The three who were killed were a 46-year old couple by the last name of Niemiec, and their 50-year old fellow passenger whose las...

The coasts of Golfito in the South Pacific received “Crystal Symphony” the first cruise of the 2019-2020 season this past weekend with a total of 639 passengers and 590 crew members aboard. The Costa Rican Institute of Ports of the Pacific (INCOP) was in charge of the port operation and receiving the ship. The vessel arrived to the coasts of Golfito the morning of October 13th. Tourists were...

Conde Nast Traveler published it’s ranking of “The 40 Most Beautiful Countries in the World” and Costa Rica tops the list. CN Traveler took the top 30 countries listed in the “attractiveness” section of the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report and polled their editors for their personal picks to come up with a final list. “It's easy to sink into the pura vida (pur...

Tourism and economic reactivation of the district of Drake in the Osa Península begins to show growth after an increase in the number of flights and passengers since the Drake airfield started operations in January. According to Guillermo Hoppe, General Director of Civil Aviation, the number of passengers using the new airfield during the first seven months of this year is of 12,727 almost doub...

Visiting Costa Rica is an opportunity to connect with the essence of life: nature, wellness, culture and adventure. This is the message that the Costa Rican Tourism Board used to launch its new “Only the Essentials” promotional campaign in the country’s two largest tourist-sending markets, the United States of America and Canada. “The campaign seeks to form a personal connection to what really ...

ColorTexturePhotoTours, provider of exceptional photography tours in the United States and Costa Rica, has released its 2020 Costa Rica photo tour schedule. “We are excited about the 2020 Costa Rica photo tour season and have created new itineraries so clients have more options. We also reduced the size of each tour to only four clients so each client gets even more help creating better images,...

Glamping “glamorous camping” is becoming more and more popular specially among young travelers looking for an experience that bring them closer to nature. Costa Rica has several options for glamping and luxury glamping, one of this last lodging options opened doors just close to a year back for private groups, but is now open to the public, Kinkára is part of the Coyuga Collection Hotels. The b...

The Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) confirmed that during the first six months of this year, international arrivals by air grew to 1,335,687, which represents an increase of 4.5% over the same period in 2018, with 57,565 additional arrivals. If all ports of entry to the country are considered (air, sea, land and river), international arrivals grew to 1,725,963 in the first six months of the yea...

The Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) has implemented a series of twenty actions to strengthen tourist safety in the country. The measures adopted included inter-institutional partnerships with the Public Safety Ministry, the Costa Rican Red Cross and the University of Costa Rica (UCR), since ICT understands that risk management is a task that it is facing alongside other social, academic and pol...

Whale watching is one of the most attractive activities for national and foreign tourists in Costa Rica, the temperature of the water as well as the abundance of food sources offer humpback whales the perfect conditions. Tourists come every year to Quepos and Uvita to witness this incredible spectacle, where not just humpback whales but also pilot whales, bryde whales, fake killer whales, in ad...

Guanacaste and San José were included in the list of the best Latin American cities to hold events in the meeting and congress tourism market, according to the global network of suppliers in this sector, called Cvent. The ranking measures locations with the best standing and characteristics for the MICE sector (Meetings, Incentives, Congresses and Events). In the Cvent rankings, published this ...

Cruise ship visitors arriving in Limón will soon enjoy a new experience when they debark at the Hernán Garrón Salazar port terminal, which welcomes the 193,000 cruise ship passengers who come to the Costa Rican Caribbean each year. “We want to take their breath away right from the first glance, so that they will go on to fall in love with the flavor, natural surroundings, music, culture and bea...

Not only was Costa Rica selected as Mexico’s and Central America’s Leading travel Destination 2019 by the World Travel Awards but it also took 10 additional awards. The 2019 Latin America World Travel Awards ceremony was held in Bolivia. The Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) received an award in the category of Leading Tourist Board for Mexico and Central America .Costa Rica’s Hotel Nantipa p...

Costa Rica is home to seven of the best resorts in the world, distributed in the Pacific coast and in La Fortuna de San Carlos, according to Forbes magazine: Forbes Travel Guide - 2019 Star Award Winners These are the seven resorts listed by Forbes as being among the world’s best: Four Seasons Costa Rica at Península Papagayo: The spa is a destination in itself, with a volcanic purification ...

Costa Rica won the World Travel Award as Mexico & Central America's Leading travel Destination 2019, the award was presented in a ceremony held in the city of La Paz, Bolivia. The country’s biodiversity and rich nature positioned it as the best destination in the region, the country was picked by a jury of professionals of the tourism sector and representatives of specialized media. The ...

Starting November, JetBlue will offer a new route to connecting New York, USA to San José, Costa Rica , the announcement was made by the Costa Rican Tourism Board and Aeris, company in charge of the administration of the Juan Santamaría Airport. The direct flight #1793 will leave from John F. Kennedy Aiport in New York on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays at 6:25 p.m. and will arrive in San José a...

US Embassy in Costa RIca Alerts: On Monday, July 1, 2019, the U.S. Embassy received credible open source information that student protestors and trade unions will continue to protest against government politics with a new focus on the resignation of Finance Minister Rocio Aguilar. In addition to these demonstrations, protestors continue to block main roadways throughout the country, reportedly to ...

American Airlines announced it will have two new flights from the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York to the Juan Santamaría Airport in Alajuela (SJO) and the Daniel Oduber Airport (LIR) in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The route JFK-SJO will begin operations November 21, the flight will be daily, leaving JFK at 3:59 p.m. and arriving in SJO at 9:42 p.m. and leaving SJO at 11:03 to arrive at New York...

Have you seen a stone sphere since you’ve been in Costa Rica? They can be seen used as lawn ornaments in the yards of important people, or in front of some government office buildings, or at the National Museum in San Jose -- but in 2014 UNESCO declared the “Pre-Columbian Chiefdom Settlements with stone spheres of the Diquis” a World Heritage Site – and that’s a huge deal. A museum was established...

Tamarindo is setting out to be a regulated, authentic tourist destination, with sustainable practices, community participation, and a diversity of products primarily geared towards family entertainment. Local Tamarindo stakeholders have established three priority projects to be completed within a period of five years. The projects are focused on the integrated management of solid waste and sewa...