What’s better than being in the rainforest? Being in the rainforest with expert scientists who can tell you fascinating stories about the animals and plants that live there. Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge in Costa Rica has invited celebrated U.S. scientists Howard Topoff, Ph.D. and Carol Simon, Ph.D. – both professors’ emeriti of The City University...Read More
St. Valentine’s Day is not only a time for cards, flowers, candy and dinners. It also is time for romantic getaways. With spring at our doorstep, why not escape to Caribbean Costa Rica for a romantic vacation on the beach in the rainforest. With dozens of flights to Costa Rica available from the U.S., Canada...Read More
Put aside the playful monkeys, the chewing-gum looking frogs and the fluffy sloths by which Costa Rica is known. Then you’ll learn the country is also a paradise for bird watching enthusiasts. Any web search on that matter will confirm the country as a feathered hotspot. As of 2006, there were at least 812 vouchered...Read More
Have you ever wondered where those funny names for yoga poses come from? For example, what is Adho Mukha Svanasana? And how do you pronounce it! Yoga postures – asanas – are given traditionally in the ancient language of Sanskrit. For more than 2,000 years, Sanskrit has been a classic literary language of India and...Read More
If you plan to visit the Golfo Dulce/ Osa Peninsula region on your Costa Rica vacation, one of the most wonderful day tours you can take is to Casa Orquideas Botanical Garden. Casa Orquideas is one of the oldest and most interesting botanical gardens in the southern Costa Rica region. Especially phenomenal is their collection...Read More
It’s 5:45 a.m. The sun is already shining, and I am gingerly making my way through the cow corral, being careful not to step in anything I shouldn’t nor get too close to the long-horned cows. I’m headed to the cow barn at Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin at Rincon de la Vieja, Costa Rica, to see...Read More
It’s one thing to boast about having some of the greatest biodiversity in Costa Rica – a country renowned for its legendary fantastic amount of plants and animals. It’s quite another to have plenty of scientific research to back up the claim. Not only is the rainforest in the Costa Rica Talamanca Mountains around Veragua...Read More
It’s the New Year, and that means it’s party time in Costa Rica! Kicking off with the Christmas holidays, the Costa Rica festivals season sashays into full swing in January and keeps you two-stepping to April. Costa Ricans are known for their gregarious, fun-loving style; get bit by the bug when the country celebrates its...Read More
While there may not be 70-foot point break waves like in the movies, Costa Rica’s Caribbean Coast still sports some of the top surf spots in the country and will bring Costa Rica’s best surfers to the region at the end of January for the first national surf competition of the 2016 season.Read More
In the coolest travel destination for 2016, you can plan a cool vacation knowing these top things to do in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Monteverde is famous for its cloud forests, nature and wildlife, adrenaline-inducing zip lines and suspension bridges, and its fabulous local coffee, ice cream and cheeses. So, pack your bags and get ready...Read More
Sometimes it’s not always easy to find real eco-friendly or sustainable tourism businesses when traveling. At least there are more possibilities for ecotourism in Costa Rica, which maintains rigorous standards. Costa Rica essentially pioneered the flourishing ecotourism trend nearly two decades ago. Since then, with the many stringent demands of its Certification for Sustainable Tourism...Read More
If learning to surf is on your life wish list and you enjoy yoga – or vice versa – it’s time to make your next vacation in 2016 a surfing and yoga retreat in Costa Rica. From the rush of catching your first wave to the complete blissful relaxation of yoga on the beach at...Read More
Following in the footsteps of the world-famous Burning Man festival, and other transformational festivals like Lucidity, Lightning in a Bottle and Wanderlust, Envision Festival returns to Costa Rica in February 2016. Coming back to the rainforest by the sea in Uvita, Costa Rica from February 25 to 28, 2016, the four day Envision Festival once...Read More
Christmas season in Costa Rica is here! There is a lot going on, so get your Santa hat and merry spirit ready, and let the rhythm of Christmas in Latin America dash you away! Christmas in Costa Rica is a fun time of Christmas parades, festivals, traditional performances and concerts, and family events. Atenas, Costa...Read More
It is believed that the Monteverde cloud forest in Costa Rica has the highest diversity of orchids in the world. Although no inventory has ever been made, it also is thought that approximately one-third of Costa Rica‘s flora has been recorded in the Monteverde region. This is quite significant given that Costa Rica is considered...Read More
Ever since the first commercial canopy zip line tour came into being in Costa Rica in 1997, the zip line industry has soared quickly into big business with dozens of zip lines all over the country and across the world. I recently took a friend, who is a bit of an anomaly, on her first-ever...Read More
Living blissfully, inner transformation, community, celebration and healthy superfoods are the main themes of a “conscious life retreat” to be held at Hotel Tropico Latino in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. Hosted by spiritual teachers Juan Pablo Barahona and Shivani Aum, the Bliss of Living a Conscious Life Retreat is set for Dec. 4, 5 and 6,...Read More
The thrill of seeing a wild animal in its natural habitat, even if only for a moment, is unparalleled. Some animals are very nice and often stick around for a while – like monkeys. Others are so fast – wild cats, for example – that many times you’re not sure if you saw it or...Read More
If you are stopping in Costa Rica on your Caribbean cruise, you can enjoy a fantastic full day in the rainforest at two of the top attractions in the Caribbean Costa Rica. This easy tour from the port of Limón combines a canal cruise in the Tortuguero National Park – called the “Little Amazon” of...Read More
Winter has begun across most of the United States, Canada and northern Europe. As chilly winter weather freezes the north heading into Christmas, you are not alone if you have started dreaming about a sunny tropical holiday. Escape this winter to the land of summer in Costa Rica – the “happiest country in the world”....Read More
There is a magic in peacefully gliding along in a kayak, especially when it is on calm, smooth water along picturesque coastline. Kayaking in Costa Rica in the “sweet gulf” of Golfo Dulce by the Osa Peninsula – one of only four tropical fjords in the world – it is like paddling across a giant...Read More
Here is a sampling of some of the favorite restaurants in Atenas, Costa Rica – frequented both by native Costa Ricans and foreign residents. Although it is a small town, Atenas has a great number of restaurants to enjoy. So this is definitely not a comprehensive list, and there are many more restaurants, fast food...Read More
A fun day trip from Hotel Tropico Latino in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica is to visit the Montezuma waterfalls. It is an easy 40-minute drive from Santa Teresa to get to the picturesque beach village of Montezuma on the southeastern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula. The bohemian, artsy community is known for its beautiful beaches,...Read More
Whether you are traveling for a couple of days, a few weeks, or even months, all of that sitting, standing, carrying and hefting luggage does a number on your body and especially your back and neck. You may even have been suffering from back and neck pain before your trip from stress, tension, overworking, etc....Read More
