Travelers in search of innovative wellness therapies that promote a sense of wellbeing and vitality should consider Costa Rica as their next travel destination, as many have already discovered. Costa Rica is the perfect setting for detoxification from stress and the daily grind and now offers visitors' inventive opportunities that extend beyond classic spa services and traditional yoga retreats. ...

Access to Playa Naranjo in the Santa Rosa National Park is closed for indefinite time due to the damages caused to the road by tropical storm Nate. The access road to Playa Naranjo, a preferred spot for the practice of surf, is damaged in several points, in the area of Ojochal, where several fallen trees are blocking the road, and the Poza Salada River has large amounts of sand deposited in i...

The Recreo Verde touristic complex in the area of Venecia de San Carlos in Alajuela, is surrounded by lush nature and has delicious and healing hot springs, however, it is also home to something a bit less appealing, The Cave of Death. Any living being that goes into the cave does not come back out, this happens because the inside of the cave is filled with carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorles...

The Scuba Diving Community Center Ambassadors of the Sea, is an non-profit organization that offers free diving classes to the South Caribbean youth with the purpose of teaching them about the importance of protecting the ocean from an environmental and historical point of view. The project began in 2014 with the intention of offering a work opportunity to the young men and women from the area,...

The 2017 Costa Rica Sustainable Hotel and Tourism Investment Conference was held at the Real Intercontinental Hotel this past November 13 and 14 and had the presence of over 200 participants, among them, investors, developers and specialized media from different parts of the world. This was the first edition in Costa Rica  of the conference on sustainable tourism investment, organized under the...

This holiday season, globetrotting families should consider exploring the cultural wonders that are waiting to be discovered in sunny Costa Rica. Celebrating the season with an unforgettable immersive experience is one way to ensure lasting memories that will be treasured long after the tan lines are gone. Experiential travel, which continues to rise in popularity for its transformative results...

Despite a recent lessening in the intensity of its eruptions, scientists and emergency officials will keep restrictions in place on entry into the Poás Volcano National Park, much to the dismay of local tourist businesses who depend on the park to draw visitors. The park was the most frequently visited in the country, being within an hour's drive from San José and about a half-hour from the int...

The small community of Ojochal in Puntarenas is located in the South Pacific, about 30 minutes south from the popular beach town of Dominical and also 30 minutes north from Palmar Norte. The South Pacific of Costa Rica continues to grow in popularity since many tourists try to escape the crowded beaches of Guanacaste, but this is not the only reason, this area is beautiful and has a lot of att...

The efforts done by the Costa Rica Tourism Board with the objective of increasing the visits of tourists from Europe to the country have paid off, especially when it comes to tourists visiting the country from the United Kingdom. The number of tourists from the UK to Costa Rica has grown by 9.1% in comparison to the previous year; this 2017 the country has received in the period from January to...

These past few weeks Ostional in Guanacaste has been as it is several times a year the nesting site of thousands of sea turtles, an impressive event that attracts national and international tourists to this beach that receives four different species of sea turtles. In this occasion, however, the number of olive ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) arriving at the National Wildlife Refuge ...

Readers of the prestigious tourism magazine Condé Nast, placed 9 Costa Rican hotels in the list of 15 Top Resorts in Central America: Readers' Choice Awards 2017. “More than 300,000 travelers took part in our 30th annual Readers' Choice Awards survey—setting yet another new record—submitting millions of ratings and more than 100,000 comments to help us create a list of winning favorites”, state...

Costa Rica’s tropical climate makes it a great place to spot whales and dolphins; these marine mammals enjoy the warm waters of specific areas of the country and visit during certain months a year, according to the Keto Foundation close to 34% of the world’s cetacean species can be found in Costa Rica. Dolphin and whale watching tours continue to grow in popularity, and although with some luck ...

Costa Rican and global business and government leaders will meet next week to discuss investment opportunities in Guanacaste, Costa Rica's northern province known for its idyllic beaches and stunning national parks, including the now active Rincon de la Viejo Volcano. Toronto, Canada-based Colliers International, a global commercial real estate services giant will be hosting the event. This is ...

As company retreats and team building activities continue to grow in popularity, one destination rises to the top as distinctive for its range of offerings and advanced tourism infrastructure: Costa Rica. The invaluable benefits of more engaged employees--to a company's bottom line, means that taking time away from the office to re-energize and refocus your employees is the new "smart investment....

The Manuel Antonio National Park in Quepos, Costa Rica will remain closed today and until further notice according to the decision by the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) and as a preventive measure due to the heavy rainfall expected in the area. The decision to close the park was not well received by the park rangers and business owners in the area who consider that the decision m...

Costa Rica’s rich biodiversity is one of the many attractions this small country has to offer, the variety of fauna is more evident when it comes to birds, amphibians and insects. There are actually a few species that are endemic to the country, here is the short list of the animals you will only see in Costa Rica: 1) Red Poison Dart Frog or blue jeans frog: Its beautiful red color lets predato...

The prestigious travel magazine Condé Nast Traveler published its “Top Hotels in the Caribbean and Central America: Readers’ Choice Awards 2017” list and Hotel Grano de Oro in San José, Costa Rica took second place in the list. This boutique hotel received a score of 95.59 just behind Hotel Casa Palopó in Guatemala which received 96.79. The list is a result of the reviews and comments given by...

San José, the capital city of Costa Rica is considered by many as dirty, collapsed by heavy traffic, street vendors, and affected by insecurity; many times, however, we have highlighted the many treasures that this city hides and that are worth discovering; and apparently there are many tourists that have made their way to San José attracted by some of those jewels. According to Global Destinat...

Recently Forbes published an article on “27 Best Places for Solo Female Travel”, the list was made by three experts in solo female travel and includes destinations in different parts of the world that are considered exciting and a good choice for women who enjoy traveling alone; among them, they include one destination in Costa Rica, but, there are certainly several other destinations in Costa Ric...

What happens when entire communities build their tourist businesses and livelihoods around an active  volcano? That is the story of the rural communities surrounding Poás Volcano in the aftermath of this year's eruptions that caused closure of the Poás Volcano National Park. The closure has left dozens if not hundreds of families struggling for their survival, having switched from agricultur...

A project to improve the infrastructure and conditions of the different Wildlife Conservation Areas in the South Pacific is already on its way, the same is part of the program “Tejiendo Desarrollo” of the Ministry of Environment and the National System of Areas of Conservation. Improvements include, lodging shelters, adequate bathrooms and showers, souvenir shops, bridges, among others, and wi...

This is the opinion of Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) in interviews given to different Costa Rican media outlets. Rifai, who was in the country participating in the international conference Planet, People, Peace (P3), said that Costa Rica is perceived in the world as an example of sustainability, not just environmental but also economic and social. Acc...

A 15-year-old foreign tourist dropped from a height of about 35 meters while he was on a canopy tour in Costa Rica's northern Pacific coast town of Sámara. The incident occurred in Santo Domingo de Sámara on Wednesday afternoon, reported the Nicoya Red Cross who attended the incident. Once the young man was stabilized, his parents rented a private helicopter to transfer him to a medical cent...

The National System of Conservation Areas has announced that several National Parks in the Guanacaste Area and Southern Zone will remain closed after damages caused by Tropical Storm Nate. Last Wednesday the Ministry of Environment and the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) took the decision of closing National Parks in different areas of Costa Rica as a preventive measure, the par...

Police made eight arrests this weekend thus breaking up two alleged groups of delinquents operating in the Jacó Beach area of Garabito, Puntarenas on Costa Rica's central Pacific coast. One group targeted focused on stealing cell phones, mainly in tourist areas and also apparently targeted tourists, and the other apparently was dedicated to breaking into vehicles. Both groups had Costa Rican an...

The National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) of the Minister of Environment and Energy and the Guanacaste Conservation Area have closed the access to several national parks as a preventive measure due to the bad weather conditions the country is currently experimenting. The Santa Rosa National Park, the Rincón de la Vieja National Park, the Barra Honda National Park and Bahia Junquillal ...

At 14:45 local time this Tuesday, October 3rd, the Rincón de la Vieja Volcano in Guanacaste, Costa Rica registered an eruption that reached over 1,500 meters above the top of the crater, 3,416 meters above sea level (11,204.48 ft), the eruption was still going strong at 4 p.m. and is considered, according to Geologist Waldo Taylor Castillo from the National Seismology Network the biggest phreatic ...

Global Entry is a US Customs and Border Protection program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States. This is the program that the Costa Rican-American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) is trying to implement for Costa Rican tourists when they travel to the United States. Costa Rican tourists experience first-hand the long lines in migrat...

A total of 384 tourism companies have received the Tourism Sustainability Certification from the Costa Rica Tourism Board which is recognized by the World Tourism Organization. “For over three decades Costa Rica conceived sustainability as a base to its Model of Tourism Development, making it a competitive advantage and the main differentiation of the country as a destination. The country crea...

Living in Costa Rica can be fun and full of adventure, but sometimes the stress of work, the traffic jams can quickly get to us too, and that’s when it’s important to remember that this country has many great hotels were you can relax, both in the city and at the beach even if you can only afford to get away for the day. Plenty of hotels offer day passes that are a great solution to get away fo...

According to data by the World Health Organization, accidental drownings are the third cause of accidental death in the world, statistics show that over 370 thousand worldwide die by drowning every year and more than half of these victims are under 25 years of age. When it comes to Costa Rica, between 2001 and 2012 there were a total of 1,391 deaths by accidental drowning, averaging 120 deaths ...

The Central Market (Mercado Central), the Borbón and the market located in the area known as the “Coca Cola Terminal” in downtown San José are historic landmarks, the Central Market for instance was established in 1880; these markets offer visitors an example of the Costa Rica of the past, and have a variety of handmade crafts, souvenirs and local products at great prices that attract local and in...

The Festival ART&TUR, International Tourism Film Festival of the wellness tourism fair Termatalia recognizes the best tourism audiovisual productions worldwide and in this year’s edition Costa Rica was recognized as the Best Production in the competition with the video of new international image “Costa Rica, My Choice, Naturally”. Termatalia is considered the world’s most important wellness...

Travel Excellence is the first company in Costa Rica to be certified for gender equality in the workplace (a program initialed SIGIG in Costa Rica). The Technical Standards Institute of Costa Rica (Inteco) issued a national gender equality standard in December 2013 with input from the National Institute of Women (INAMU) which sets out the requirements for an organization to achieve gender equal...

Travelling is something most of us enjoy, there are many ways of vacationing and sometimes the popular vacation experience just takes you to the most beautiful places in a country but doesn’t allow you to really explore the country’s culture, the way of living, traditions, and needs. Turtle Trax S.A. in Costa Rica offers precisely that, it is a company that organizes rural tourism projects on t...

Manuel Antonio National Park has always been the main reason why national and international tourists visit Quepos; The beautiful beaches and lush nature of Manuel Antonio makes it the most visited National Park in Costa Rica, and precisely the high number of visitors in the area that has provided the right conditions for the offer of more alternative and attractions for tourists. Marina Pez Ve...

It’s been one year since seven Costa Ricans joined efforts to start a project that would truly have an impact on the quality of life of Ticos and the image of the city of San José; after a year of long work, the first kilometer of Rutas Naturbanas is designed and has the necessary funding to make this first step of the project a reality. Rutas Naturbanas seeks to connect people to the city thro...

September and October are great months to travel to the South Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, Puerto Viejo, Punta Uva, Puerto Vargas, Manzanillo, all amazing beaches that sit a short drive away from each other, surrounded by wonderful nature and wildlife. The South Caribbean is charming, full of color and culture, but if there’s one thing you won’t find here is a big resort, and this is actually...

LGBTI tourism continues to grow at a faster pace than the regular market reaching 10.7% in 2016. According to information released at the London World Travel Market in November of 2016 the global value of the LGBT travel market is worth over USD$211 billion in consumer spending; this is the market that many Costa Rican companies are now targeting. Targeting the LGBTI market has proven to be ...

The Costa Rica Tourism Board was clear and successful in its plan to attract more tourists from Europe in order to stop the dependance from the United States market; however, the strategy has not just diversified the potential markets for Costa Rica but it has caused a drop of in the number of US tourists visiting the country. A drop of 2% during the first semester of 2017 (going from 709,317 t...