Looking for a Costa Rica family adventure out in nature? Spend a fun-filled day splashing in the mild rollercoaster rapids of the Pejibaye River. The beautiful, tropical Pejibaye River is a tributary of the mighty Reventazon River in the Turrialba Valley, just two hours from San Jose. Its low-key Class 2-3 rapids (in the lower...Read More
I had a pair of friends visit me in Costa Rica not long ago who were vegetarian and vegan. My first reaction was, “Oh, no, what are they going to eat?” I know how much Costa Ricans love their chicken, beef, chicharrones (fried pork), fish, etc. They said, not to worry. Rice and beans are...Read More
One of the most popular day tours from San Jose, Costa Rica, is the charming artisan town of Sarchi. Called the “cradle of Costa Rican handicrafts,” both international tourists and locals alike visit Sarchi for its more than 200 stores and small family-operated woodworking and leather workshops. It is a perfect Central Valley day tour...Read More
What’s the latest vacation craze? Surfing and yoga retreats in the balmy tropics are the hot fashion. But what if you don’t know how to surf or live far from the nearest ocean? Is it still an adventure worth taking? Try it and you’ll see. Here’s what a few surf retreat fans had to say:...Read More
At the very bottom of Costa Rica, the placid blue waters of the Golfo Dulce shine like a mirror most days, reflecting occasional clouds and the immense cerulean sky. Its calm surface is broken by the odd small, local boat cruising along, but the most action is caused by dolphins frolicking or fishing, sea turtles...Read More
We set out down the beach under a leaden sky stuffed with clouds. It was 8:00 at night, close to my bedtime (I know, I’m on Costa Rica “country” time). At first it was hard to see, with the nearly full moon sliding in and out of clouds; but soon our eyes adjusted to the...Read More
Mountain bikers around the world: There’s a new adventure race happening in August in Costa Rica – the 100-mile Rincón de la Vieja Challenge. The mountain bike endurance race is set for Aug. 24, 2013, starting off from Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin at Rincón de la Vieja Volcano in Guanacaste. The 100-mile race is the first...Read More
The entire country arguably could be considered one big outdoor classroom – filled to the brim with amazing nature and exciting adventure. For this reason, Costa Rica has become one of the top family vacation destinations in the world. All in one small country you can find warm tropical weather, beautiful beaches along two oceans...Read More
One of the top day tours on Costa Rica’s Caribbean Coast, Veragua Rainforest Research & Adventure, is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month. The highly popular nature and adventure attraction, and important scientific research center, was four years in the making and now five years open. In that time, the tour destination has achieved a...Read More
If Costa Rica’s professional surf scene had an A-team, it would look something like this: Carlos Muñoz, Jair Pérez, Noe Mar McGonagle, Gilbert Brown, Anthony Fillingim, Luis Vindas, Leilani McGonagle, Lisbeth Vindas, and Nataly Bernold. The nine top surfers seem to shuffle places between being national champions and taking the top five slots at any...Read More
While massage may have developed a reputation as an indulgence for people who love pampering, studies reveal that it has wide-reaching, evident health benefits, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. Research over the past few years has found that massage therapy boosts immune function in women with breast cancer, improves symptoms in...Read More
Looking for a family-friendly summer vacation destination? Family travel is changing as the demographics of families change around the world. No longer are there only 2-parent 2-child families. Traveling families today could be single moms or dads with one or more children, multi-generational families, families with two dads or two moms, and more. According to...Read More
New research from the United Kingdom’s National Weather Service, the Met Office investigates why there has been no increase in global average rainfall over land during the last century despite a 0.8°C rise in average temperatures on the planet. As they explain, the hydrological cycle is a key component of the Earth’s climate system. Changes...Read More
If it was 25 years ago, you wouldn’t want to go to San Lucas Island. The small, forested island in the middle of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Gulf was the roughest jail in the country. Being sent to San Lucas Island was a terrible prospect; prisoners’ lives were short and often spent in torture. Thankfully, today,...Read More
Creamy, gooey, mouth-melting, milk, white, dark, bitter, sweet … chocolate melts our hearts not just our taste buds. As the story goes, chocolate was once considered gold. Prized by the Aztecs and Mayans, and formerly reserved only for royalty in Europe, chocolate has held an irresistible allure for cultures worldwide over the past 4,000 years....Read More
Learning about a country’s culture is one of the fun and interesting aspects of traveling. In Costa Rica, an intriguing cultural location is the village of Guaitil in the northern Pacific province of Guanacaste. Located between the small cities of Santa Cruz and Nicoya, Guaitil is famous for its pottery in the pre-Columbian style of...Read More
Looking for a relaxing, restoring and uplifting vacation? Try a yoga retreat. A yoga retreat is not only yoga – add in getting away from it all to a beautiful and sunny place, exercise that makes you feel good, healthy and delicious cuisine prepared for you (as in, you didn’t have to cook it!), nature or...Read More
With Costa Rica’s most famous active volcano – Arenal – behaving quietly for the past three years, tourists to this Central American hotspot are looking elsewhere for exciting fireworks. There are actually six active volcanoes in Costa Rica, and another 61 that are dormant or extinct. For the past 50 years, Arenal was the country’s...Read More
Central America forms a bridge literally between North and South America, which throughout its three million year history has served as a natural biological passageway between the two continents. In the last century, however, much of that corridor has been destroyed by farming and urbanization. Biologists have determined that biological corridors are one of the...Read More
One of the most brilliantly beautiful tropical birds is definitely the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao). Its loud, raucous squawks carry for miles, so usually you hear them before you see them. When you do sight a Scarlet Macaw in the wild, they are breathtaking – fire engine red bodies with sunshine yellow and royal blue...Read More
What if I told you there was an animal without lungs that lives on land and can grow back any limb of its body? Crazy, you say? Well, in the Costa Rican Caribbean rainforest, there is a species of salamander that can. Salamanders are amphibians that are typically characterized by a lizard-like appearance, with slender...Read More
Fifty-three tourism companies in Costa Rica have agreed to uphold the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). At the 55th meeting of the Commission of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for the Americas, held for the first time in Costa Rica from May 13-15, 2013, the national...Read More
Little was known about life up in the canopy of tropical forests until biologists started using ropes and pulleys to climb their way up. Treetops in the tropics reach so high that it was nearly impossible to explore. Scientists now know that about 90% of all of the organisms in a rainforest are found in...Read More
Your email inbox has 50 new messages. Your boss needs that top-priority presentation on her desk by midday. Your phone won’t stop ringing. Your smart phone is buzzing with more email and text alerts. Your work team has called an impromptu crisis meeting requiring your immediate attention. Your key assistant is out sick and your...Read More
