When Fernando Madrigal was a young boy growing up in Costa Rica, the place that gave him the most happiness was his grandparents’ farm – called Finca La Troya in the Orosi Valley of Cartago. “I spent practically all of my childhood and youth on this farm until my grandparents sold it,” reflected Madrigal. “I remember that La Troya was a magical place. There was a place at the top of the farm wh...

Imagine attending a workshop or a retreat, but instead of a conference center or event hall, you were surrounded by lush coastal rainforest, listening to the sounds of lapping waves of 80-degree calm Pacific gulf waters and roars of howler monkeys in the jungle. This is what it is like to have a retreat or seminar at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge in Costa Rica. The remote oceanfront jungle lod...

“Dogs barking after midnight,” remembers David, “the dogs went crazy every time a humpback whale blew or there were whales breaching right at Rincon Bay”. Those are the memories of David Herra Miranda, who was born and raised in Golfo Dulce. Now, more than two decades later, he is a research associate with CEIC, Centro de Investigación de Cetáceos Costa Rica (Cetacean Research Center Costa Ric...

Every Expat traveler in Costa Rica has their own travel survivor kit style and items Moving abroad is in and of itself a huge feat, loaded with adventures and trials around every bend. It takes a unique, flexible individual to make it work. Oftentimes, those individuals are avid travelers, but once settled down into a new culture they stop exploring. Over the last two years living in Costa ...

If bird-watching is your passion, then you definitely want to add Costa Rica to your “Top 10 list of places to go birding.” The small Central American country is home to more than 870 bird species – more than in all of the United States, Canada and Mexico combined – and is a bird-watching hotspot. A single day of bird-watching in this enchanted corner of the globe can earn sightings of up to 85 to...

A flash of brilliant red, blue and yellow, and a loud raucous squawk, and you know you are in the jungle. There is nothing quite like the sight of wild Scarlet Macaws flying overhead or contentedly gathered in bunches in a treetop to give you the full feeling of being in the tropics. Their distinctive noisy cry carries for miles, so you usually hear them before you see them. When you do sight a...

The Cerro de la Muerte, or Mountain of Death, doesn’t exactly sound like a place for fun and relaxation, unless we’re talking about eternal sleep. Maybe that’s why places like San Gerardo de Dota and Santa Maria de Dota (the Los Santos region of Costa Rica), the Tapantí National Park and the newly formed Los Quetzales National Park are some of the least visited destinations in Costa Rica. These...

As tourism continues to grow in Costa Rica, more than ever, travelers are seeking to combine elements of adventure, culture, and active engagement for a meaningful adventure that goes beyond a typical vacation. Chill Expeditions, an Eco-tour company with nearly 20 years of experience operating in Costa Rica, seeks to connect visitors with engaging, meaningful experiences that leave them with an-in...

Meet sloths, kinkajous, tayras, ocelots, peccaries and anteaters. Stand next to Scarlet Macaws feeding on almond trees. Watch white-faced monkeys swing and play next to you, and have your heart melt when a spider monkey comes to hold your hand. This isn’t some exotic zoo, but rather the Osa Wildlife Sanctuary on Golfo Dulce in the South Pacific of Costa Rica. The Costa Rica wildlife refuge help...

Yoga and meditation are all about breathing deeply, relaxing, and reconnecting with your inner nature. What better setting for this practice than the pure oxygen-rich rainforest of Costa Rica. Be in harmony with nature around you at a yoga and meditation retreat at Portasol Rainforest and Oceanview Living. The sustainable community on Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast will hold seven Rain/Sun ...

Upon entering the hotel, the first thing one feels is peace and harmony with nature. We are welcomed right away by Marvin Seas, the hotel’s concierge, who cordially shows us the facilities and accompanies us during the tour. In Hotel Punta Islita, no detail is left to chance. Located in the Peninsula of Nicoya, in the community of Islita, this five-star hotel is the first hotel in Central Ameri...

What makes a sustainable business “sustainable” and why should we care? Here’s a news flash for you – we all live on the same planet Earth. In many ways we humans, and all of the living and non-living things and elements that exist on our planet, are connected. The dust storms in Africa that cause cloudy, windy, dry weather in Central America; the earthquake in Asia that causes a nuclear reacto...

If you would like The Costa Rica Star to publish your business press release, please contact us. El Castillo, COSTA RICA – September 26 – Rancho Margot, innovator and educator in sustainable community development, permaculture and self-sufficiency, continues to build on a holistic lifestyle approach and will host two, 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Trainings (YTT) at its Center for Natural Living in 201...

If you would like The Costa Rica Star to publish your business press release, please contact us. Ylang Ylang Beach Resort in Costa Rica recently launched a new solar garden project making the resort nearly completely self-sustained when it comes to electricity needs. A collection of solar panels was placed throughout the property to harvest abundant solar energy and convert it to electricity fo...

A team of researchers from the Universidad de Costa Rica and the Universidad Nacional analyzed the color of the waters that gives the name to the famous Rio Celeste (Light Blue River), located in the canton of Guatuso, the province of Alajuela, and managed to unravel the mystery. Many hypotheses, conjectures and beliefs have been brought up, including that the color was due to the presence of a...

You too can be a responsible water consumer when you travel – re-use your towels at your hotel more than a day, ask that your bed linens not be changed daily, take a shower instead of a bath, wear water-resistant sunblock – these are some of the ways you can help protect the world’s clean water sources. Water conservation is the focus of this year’s United Nations World Tourism Day on September...

In southern Costa Rica, the tranquil blue waters of the Golfo Dulce stretch between the Piedras Blancas National Park and the Osa Peninsula. It is an area of pristine tropical wilderness and abundant wildlife. The Gulf’s calm jade green-blue surface makes it easy to see dolphins frolicking, sea turtles swimming, fish jumping out of the water, and marine birds diving for those fish. Starting in...

In the past The Costa Rica Star has published about Rancho Margot and how Eco-literacy programs are evolving within their self sufficient jungle ranch. El Castillo, COSTA RICA – July 2013 – Rancho Margot, innovator and educator in sustainable community development, permaculture and self-sufficiency, is pleased to announce the Social Responsibility Fund. Juan Sostheim, owner and founder of Ranch...

There are few better destinations in the world for wildlife spotting than Costa Rica. The government is renowned for its progressive environmental policies and has made great efforts to protect the country’s rainforests and marine habitats.As a result, there is a network of 26 national parks and a selection of privately-owned reserves where the landscape has been preserved in its natural state. On...

Article originally found on BirdingCraft.com. In the past The Costa Rica Star has published on bird watching excursions in Costa Rica and how Nature Air is supporting this fantastic hobby. Time flies just like the migrants that zip through Costa Rica. Although I haven’t listened to the night skies as much as the previous year, the Spring Peeper-like notes of Swainson’s Thrushes have drif...

University students in Costa Rica and Athens can learn about sustainability — while learning from the same professors. Beginning in the spring of 2013, the UGA Costa Rica study abroad campus has a new program option: the Sustainability in Action semester, which offers a new sustainability certificate awaiting approval and collaboration between professors in both Costa Rica and Athens. Th...

Costa Rica's national parks and preserves continue to attract attention from the world’s media. A recent story in The Australian wrapped up the appeal saying this is a park system where visitors “glimpse the seething life of the tropical rainforest” ... “simmering volcanoes and cloud forests offer otherworldly vistas and its reliable surf breaks are suited to beginners and experts alike.” T...

GET HIGH IN A CLOUD FOREST Considered Costa Rica's green jewel, the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve is located just outside the town of Santa Elena. This conservation area covers 10,500 hectares and reaches a height of 1650 metres above sea level. It is called a cloud forest because the canopy is consistently shrouded by mist. The Monteverde attracts an increasing number of visitors each...

Costa Rica often seems like it was made specifically for adventure travelers. Where else can you spend the morning scuba diving in the ocean, the afternoon swinging from tree to tree in the rainforest, and the evening at some incredible clubs, restaurants or hotels? And, just in case that isn’t quite enough to satisfy your craving for adventure, you can always get up the next day and hike ...

It is early morning, and my guide, Jose, has just stopped the four-wheel drive jeep in the middle of a dirt road in the middle of the forest. “We get out here,” Jose says. “But first we stop and listen.” We stand in the hush of dawn, the gray light slowly lifting the night, revealing a gray-green mist-shrouded forest. And then we hear a shrill, delicate cry. “Listen,” says Jose excitedly...

Finca Bellavista -- the world's first treehouse community -- yesterday announced the formation of its non-profit branch, the Bellavista Initiative. For their highly anticipated launch, this Ewok-themed community that swings high in the tropical forests of Costa Rica came to San Francisco, a city on the cutting edge of lifestyle curation and environmental awareness. For the last six years, t...

Alton Biggs and his wife Louise recently traveled more than 2,000 miles to point out the behavior of monkeys and various other Central America animals for a group of teachers and friends. Among the 17 participants in the trip to Costa Rica were biology teachers, a nurse, an editor and one of Mr. Biggs’s previous students. This was Mr. and Mrs. Biggs’s second trip to the Central American coun...

Recently, Julia VanTieghem – New York-based coordinator for the Rainforest Alliance’s major gifts’ team – had an opportunity to travel with colleagues to Costa Rica to see firsthand the benefits of the Rainforest Alliance’s work on farms, forests and hotels. She writes… Our home base for the week was a hotel that has worked with the Rainforest Alliance to put good environmental and social prac...

The Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality company, a hotel and tour operator with resort properties located in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, is offering special promotions for families traveling with children within the ages of 12 and below, according to the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail. Six of Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality's resort properties are included in this Preferred Family Promotion, which ...

Costa Rica Extrema 2012 is our country's first expo dedicated to ecotourism, adventure and extreme recreational activities. It brings together the best Costa Rica has to offer to people who enjoy both active and relaxing vacations. The three specific areas of interest at Costa Rica Extrema 2012 will be: extreme sports, ecotourism and adventure travel. At the fair, visitors will have a chance to...

Author’s Note: This is the second item in a series of articles that touch on the subject of sustainable practices in Costa Rica. There is a high degree of innovation and street smarts involved in sustainability; if you happen to know of a good sustainability tip, please feel free to share it with The Costa Rica Star. An artificial ocean reef project in the sandy bottoms of Playa Hermosa in Guan...

Author's Note: This is the first item in a series of articles that touch on the subject of sustainable practices in Costa Rica. There is a high degree of innovation and street smarts involved in sustainability; if you happen to know of a good sustainability tip, please feel free to share it with The Costa Rica Star. There are some aspects of sustainability that may strike people as revoltin...

Author's Note: This article uses the term "submersible" instead of submarine to describe manned vehicles for underwater exploration. Submarine is a military term, while submersible is used by the civilian and scientific community. The growth of ecotourism means that some tourists who arriving in Costa Rica may want to go beyond our national parks and volcanoes. Getting wet at our beaches is one...

While Liberia and other parts of Guanacaste are developing fast and experiencing significant growth, the sustainable communities in the Osa Peninsula and our Southern Pacific seem to be taking a different approach to residential development. In the case of Finca Bellavista, sustainability is achieved by seeing the forest for the trees and showing deep respect for nature. Finca Bellavista is a t...

A couple of dear readers have sent us questions related to environmental issues in Costa Rica. Our country has considerably stepped up conservation efforts since the mid-1970s, and there is a commitment in place to achieve carbon neutrality by the year 2021. Conservation and carbon neutrality are two issues that go hand-in-hand to ensure that our country remains pretty and pristine, and thus The C...

In San Isidro de Penas Blancas, not far from where the Palmares festivities recently took place, a local farm located on acres of pristine rainforest land, is involved in some ancient practices that are currently and rightfully enjoying newfound interest around the world. Finca Luna Nueva Lodge is an organic and biodynamic farm involved in several activities that are essentially retooled from phi...

Although Costa Rica is a really small country (think of West Virginia), it has been one of the top ecotourism destinations in the world since the late 80’s, when bird watchers started to arrive in large numbers thanks to a book by Alexander Skutch and Gary Stiles named A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica. Around 1.5 million foreigners visit the country on a yearly basis, and many of those are not j...