Travel and Nature journalist, writer, photographer and blogger, Paco Nadal a native from Spain, recently shared in his travel blog in newspaper El Pais, a video that summarizes a year of traveling to eleven countries in five continents and filming with a dron some of the most beautiful places in the world. Costa Rica was one of these countries, others included in the video are: Kazakhstan, Peru, J...

Starting today and through October 11 Avianca airline is offering special rates to travel this end of the year and beginning of 2017 to selected destinations in the U.S.A. Ticket prices start at USD $399, purchase must be made before October 11th,2016 (or until spaces are sold out) and you can travel between December 1st ,2016 and January 31st, 2017 and it applies for flights leaving from the J...

By Wendy Anders The recent rainy conditions that are typical at this time of year in Costa Rica are propitious for crocodiles to enter into the sea from swollen river mouths, reported Teletica, Costa Rica’s Channel 7 TV. Rainy conditions encourage the animals to mate, said Adrian Arce, ranger at the Central Pacific Conservation Area, to Teletica. During mating, larger male crocodiles disp...

Vacation time is supposed to be fun and worry-free, it's actually recommended for our wellness, but there are those times where unfortunately we are faced with an unforeseen health problem while traveling, whether that is something as common and simple as a cold or a flu or something more serious such as a broken limb due to an accident, or an appendicitis that couldn’t wait until we got home. ...

If you are in Vancouver and want to travel to Costa Rica, take advantage of this cheap flights. This Delta flight deal is available during several dates in November and December 2016 and January -February 2017, enjoy your summer in Costa Rica! Vancouver to San Jose, Costa Rica – $354 CAD roundtrip including taxes via Delta Airlines Cheap flights from Vancouver to San Jose, Costa Rica from on...

Paris, Sept. 13 - One person was killed and four were seriously injured in an accident near a French port involving a lifeboat on the world's largest cruise liner, Royal Caribbean International, a Marseille Fire Department spokesperson told EFE today. The five victims, who were crew members of the MS Harmony of the Seas, were presumably taking part in a security drill when the lifeboat they wer...

Next time you travel to Panama, you might want to stop any make a visit to the Baha'i temple. EFE-Amid smoky and beat-up buses, street vendors and hillsides crammed with rickety shacks, the only temple of the Baha'i faith in Latin America rises like a stalagmite on the summit of a leafy green hill. "People who come to visit us can't believe that this place exists in such a difficult and chao...

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...

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 ...

By Wendy Anders  With no end in sight to Guanacaste's ongoing potable water shortages as wells throughout the region face very low levels, some businesses and also the government are turning to sea-water processing as an alternative. Last month, Reserva Conchal hotel inaugurated the first desalination plant in Costa Rica which produces 23 liters of potable water per second by processing ocea...

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...

Kaycee Landsaw (@kaycee_landsaw) is a renowned photographer based out of Salt Lake City, Utah whose work has been featured in a number of respected motorcycle and adventure lifestyle publications including Iron & Resin.       His work blends a unique candid snapshot feeling with a richness of color and perspective that allows the viewer to fall into the photograph an...

By Wendy Anders Official (red) taxi representatives cancelled a meeting last Tuesday that they had requested with the Public Services Regulatory Agency (Aresep) during the national taxi protest they held Tuesday,  August 9. When Roberto Jiménez Gómez, Costa Rica’s general regulator, called the cancellation “unfortunate,” Rubén Vargas, president of the Costa Rican Taxi Union (UTC) responded w...

Wikimedia Commons A Sri Lankan Airlines pilot intended to fly from Germany to Sri Lanka despite arriving drunk to his flight, announced Frankfurt Airport on Sunday. The plane he was due to fly carried 259 passengers and 15 crew members. The crew were forced to stop the pilot from launching the plane, and the flight, which was supposed to leave on Friday, was delayed until Saturday. Th...

By Wendy Anders The U.S. Pickleball Association (USAPA), based in Surprise, AZ, describes pickleball as “the fastest growing sport in the U.S.” Created in 1965 in Washington State there are currently pickleball play opportunities offered throughout the U.S., and even abroad. Tony Horpel, a California native who settled a few years ago with his wife in San Ramón, Costa Rica, a small mounta...

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...

When it comes to tourism, birdwatchers are often regarded as the nicest visitors Costa Rica can hope to attract. Birdwatchers like the abundant avian biodiversity of Costa Rica, and our country enjoys the fact that these tourists tend to be well-educated, generous spenders who are respectful of nature and enjoy longer stays. Central America is teeming with colorful birds, and thus other nations...

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. ...

A municipal health worker fumigates the restroom area of a shopping mall as part of the city's effort to prevent the spread of Zika virus' vector, the Aedes aegypti mosquito, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, in this January 26, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Jorge Cabrera/Files The trendy Wynwood district in Miami's urban center has become ground zero in the fight against the Zika virus in the U.S., with f...

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...

Wikimedia Commons Virgin America Inc. today announced that the merger agreement with Alaska Air Group, Inc., the parent company of Alaska Airlines, Inc., was approved by an affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Virgin America voting common stock. A report reflecting the complete voting results will be available on a Current Report on Form 8-K to be filed la...

(CRS Archive) Panama Canal administrator Jorge Quijano said Tuesday that authorities are studying "prohibiting" the use of cell phones while vessels are transiting the waterway to increase safety. "The excessive use of cell phones concerns us because they are becoming elements of distraction and that cannot be permitted here," said Quijano after presenting to the accredited press in Panama ...

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...

By Binod Ghimire and Moncho Torres Dinesh and Tarakeshwari Rathod claimed to be the first Indian couple to scale Mount Everest and even had photographs to prove it, but now they face a 10-year mountaineering ban in Nepal as they have been found to have used altered images and never actually reached the peak. "We have recommended the Tourism Ministry to take appropriate actions against the 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...

Volmundo.com Oslo, Norway – volmundo.com is a new booking platform to help individuals search and apply for international volunteering and community roles. We are an ethical and transparent recruiting resource for social impact organizations to connect with passionate people who want to contribute to making a positive change. As a social startup we charge individuals just 1 USD per day as a bo...

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...

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...