Costa Rica’s greatly varied terrain, from beaches to jungle to rugged mountains, makes for a fun playground for ATV tours. Officially known as All-Terrain Vehicles, or “Quads” in North America and “Quad Bikes” in England and Australia, ATVs can be an exciting way to access Costa Rica’s beautiful landscapes where other vehicles can’t travel. You...Read More
They bring life to rainforests, both with their brilliant colors and with the magnificent flowers they help to pollinate. Everyone loves butterflies – these delicate creatures flit and fly gracefully, brightening our gardens and wild spaces. Their beauty and allure has given butterflies a special place in both ancient and modern cultures. Many societies, including...Read More
Writer and poet Henry David Thoreau said it best, “I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least … sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements.” I agree wholeheartedly. I always feel renewed, refreshed, and more...Read More
I met Nemo the other day. Well, actually it was his cousin. Instead of a cute bright orange and white striped Clownfish, this little guy was a vibrant yellow and turquoise with dark stripes. It swam right up to my snorkel mask, in my mind to say, “Hi!” Really, what it was probably thinking was...Read More
Looking for ideas on where to go and what to do on vacation in Costa Rica? Here’s an interesting and fabulously varied trip to 6 of Costa Rica’s top tourist destinations, and all while staying in charming and luxurious boutique hotels. The unique architecture, personalized service and enchanting intimacy that you find at boutique hotels...Read More
Dazzling white sandy beaches backed by tropical rainforest, shimmering tropical-warm blue-green water, fresh ocean breezes, and a diverse array of wildlife – Manuel Antonio is one of Costa Rica’s most popular beach destinations. Conveniently located on Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast, here you can experience nearly all of the country’s enchanting attractions in one place....Read More
Suspended on cables gliding through the tops of giant tropical trees, amid hidden, dripping, hanging gardens full of plants and animals in the rainforest, is a pretty cool experience. Rainforest trees are tall, really tall, even towering up to more than 100 feet high. The microcosm of life happening at this level is abundant and...Read More
Tantric Yoga is kind of touchy. The ancient Hindu practice gets a lot of press for its sexual image. However, if you delve deeper than the popular hype, you find that the 1,600-year-old ritual is not concerned with sexuality, but rather the goal of Tantric Yoga is to awaken and harmonize the male and female...Read More
Headlines this week reported most of North America, Europe and even China locked in winter’s icy grip. A mix of sleet and snow, accompanied by lightning, made travel a mess in the Dallas/Ft. Worth metro area. A swath of snowfall from portions of Mississippi and northern Alabama/Georgia spreads through the Central Appalachians. Trees snap in...Read More
Traveling to the Central American isthmus of Nicaragua–Costa Rica-Panama presents travelers with a unique panorama of diversity. This narrow bridge between North and South America may be small in size but is packed with an exotic mix of steamy jungles, rugged volcanoes and mountain ranges, fabulous tropical coastlines, charming colonial towns and growing tourism destinations....Read More
The world as we know it has certainly shrunk a great deal due to the interconnectivity of the internet, and especially social media like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. When the number one music video rocketing around the world is from South Korea (“Gangnam Style”), and kids in places like Costa Rica have memorized the dance...Read More
Costa Rica’s fabulous year-round sunshine, balmy weather and remarkable championship golf courses are fast earning the country the reputation as an “ace” place for world-class golf. The best part? Located just a few hours’ flight away from North America, Costa Rica’s weather is best when all points north are frozen in winter’s icy grip. Missing...Read More
Walking in a winter wonderland is just a tad different on Costa Rica’s Santa Teresa Beach. Rather than the traditional “white Christmas” and “snow glistening in the lane” scene, it is closer to Frosty the Snowman’s situation … “The sun was hot that day. So he said, let’s run and we’ll have some fun now...Read More
Christmas carols, traditional ballet, concerts, art tours and exhibits, and the magnificent annual Parade of Lights are all coming to town this holiday season in San José, Costa Rica. The vibrant capital city is looking very festive these days in preparation for Christmas, New Year’s, and the kick-off to the summer “fiesta” season for 2013....Read More
Any Olympic athlete or professional athlete, or high school or university athlete, or even a child on a sports team for that matter, has a coach. Actors have coaches. Singers and dancers have coaches or trainers. Over the past decades, executives and businesspersons have joined the ranks of seeking coaching for success. In today’s modern...Read More
One of the most amazing things I’ve learned how to do is scuba dive. It’s the closest thing to flying I’ve ever felt, and given my fear of heights (or, rather, falling from them), it feels a whole lot safer. When you get your buoyancy worked out right, being weightless under water, drifting here and...Read More
The neat thing about river rafting is that you get to see parts of the country that otherwise go unnoticed. The Peñas Blancas River in north central Costa Rica is a good example. The clear tropical river runs through the Tilaran Mountain Range, fed by pristine waters of the Monteverde cloud forest, and converges with...Read More
It’s been a good year so far for Nataly Bernold. The 19-year-old from Jaco Beach, Costa Rica, was just crowned Costa Rica’s National Surfing Champion in the Women’s division in August (2012), making it her third national surfing title. In May, she won the Quicksilver Cup on the Olympus National Surfing Circuit in Dominical, placing...Read More
Starting this weekend the port city of Limón kicks off its annual Carnival festivities, a 12-day Caribbean street party celebrating the kaleidoscope of cultures on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast. The famous party commemorates Christopher Columbus’ historic arrival to Costa Rica’s coconut-fringed Caribbean coast in 1502. Visitors will come from all over for the 2012 “Carnaval...Read More
Ecotourism and Costa Rica are practically synonymous, especially since Costa Rica essentially pioneered the flourishing ecotourism trend. In April of this year, Costa Rica was named the most popular eco-friendly destination in the world by TripAdvisor members. The country has been on the forefront of the eco-friendly travel movement ever since it developed its Certification...Read More
The buzz is true – Costa Rica is a surfer’s paradise. There are hundreds and hundreds of beach towns, from little villages to bustling cosmopolitan centers, and just as many surf breaks. The country counts more than 700 miles of coastline between both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts. With warm tropical water, long rolling waves,...Read More
Most tourists to Costa Rica never see San Jose. They are whisked off from the Juan Santamaria International Airport outside the city to the “pretty” sights of the country; or they fly into the northern Guanacaste international airport at Liberia and don’t go anywhere near the Central Valley. That’s too bad. San Jose has a...Read More
It is a gigantic journey. A one-way trip can last upwards of 5,000 miles. Imagine walking from a bit north of Anchorage, Alaska, all the way to San Jose, Costa Rica, and that’s the distance we’re talking about. Or, think of swimming from Antarctica to Costa Rica. Now imagine not resting nearly at all, and...Read More
The year was 1998. There was a very small flow of visitors coming to Costa Rica, about 100,000 according to the official numbers. A decade later, that number has increased up to 2 million tourists per year. This $1.9 billion industry is mainly based on Eco-tourism and has been driven by the green buzzword. As...Read More
