Tortuguero National Park in the Costa Rican North Caribbean is known as an ecological paradise, a place where different species of sea turtles find a nesting refuge and many national and international tourists visit every year looking for a small taste of a lost paradise; however, community leaders in the area have raised their voice to alert of a contamination problem with sewage waters that has ...

The tourism industry is many times criticized for the negative impact it can bring to a country, in the case of Costa Rica, it is often that you hear people complaining about the many developments in Guanacaste for example, many of which benefit huge international companies like hotel chains. The effect on the environment is another concern. These feelings were recently expressed by many when t...

The province of Cartago has many wonderful touristic sites, mountain destinations that provide the perfect hideaway, places to step away from the noisy and busy city life and find yourself in touch with nature, clean air and amazing scenic views, even if its just for a day its worth the trip. Along the road that takes you from the city of Orosí to Tapantí there is a place called Monte Sky, an i...

The National Emergency Commission called a yellow alert for the county of Tilarán in Guanacaste since it has suffered the effects of heavy rainfall that has caused landslides, flooding and different emergencies that have forced the closure of some roads and the evacuation of families. The road between Nuevo Arenal and the touristic area of La Fortuna in San Carlos is currently closed due to sev...

The Costa Rican Tourism Insitute (ICT) confirmed through a market study that Americans interest in vacationing in the country continues to increase. While back in 2001 the study showed that 10.2 million Americans showed interest in visiting this country, by 2015 these number almost duplicated reaching 20.2 million interested parties. People that show a strong interest on visiting Costa Rica a...

The Rincón de la Vieja Volcano in Guanacaste registered unexpected activity this Tuesday at 10:20 a.m. with a phreatic eruption (steam and water) that elevated 400 meters over the crater, reported the National University's Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute. The short eruption lasted under two minutes, but neighbors mentioned hearing a sound similar to a jet’s engine; material (mud, ...

Guanacaste is without a doubt the preferred destination of tourists in Costa Rica, specially foreign tourists, the beautiful beaches along the Northern Pacific coast are, of course, the main reason for this; however, there are so many other places to visit in Guanacaste aside from the beaches, one of them is the area of Miravalles in Bagaces. Bagaces was one of the communities affected by Hurri...

The Prusia Forest part of the Irazú Volcano National Park, in the province of Cartago is one of the preferred destinations for tourists looking for a one-day tour; it actually increased its visitation in a 200% from 2015 to 2016 year in which it received almost 77 thousand visitors, the majority national tourists. Park authorities consider that the increase in visitation obeyed to the fixing of...

Turrialba Volcano had a new eruption the afternoon of this Friday, May 19, breaking its period of "relative calm". Although both eruptions are considered small, they are a reminder of the fact that this volcano continues with high activity and precautions and security measures should be taken seriously. The eruptions from the Turrialba volcano usually contain ash, yet, because of the rai...

According to the United States Embassy, there are currently 100,000 U.S. Citizens living in Costa Rica, 4,000 of them collecting their Social Security checks here – Baby Boomers in paradise. The Canadian Embassy reports 10,000 of their countrymen are currently residing in Costa Rica. Add to that the 1.5 million or so Anglophone tourists who visit Costa Rica annually, and you have one healthy po...

The long wait is almost over for the neighbors of Monteverde and the hundreds of tourists that visit this cloud forest reserve. The National Roadways Council (CONAVI) signed two weeks ago the contract with Grupo Orosi to pave the 18 kilometers (11.2 miles) of road between Guacimal and Santa Elena in the province of Puntarenas. The cost of this work is of close to $10 million dollars according ...

Warnings have been loud, frequent and clear both by the National Commission of Risk Prevention and Emergency Attention (CNE) and the Technical Assessment Vulcanology Committee (CAT) in Costa Rica regarding the danger of violating the restrictions in the access to both the Turrialba and Poás volcanoes; yet, time and time again, daredevils continue to disregard the warnings and find new paths and wa...

Costa Rica will host for the first time the Central America Cruise Summit, the most important cruise conference in the region; the event will take place in 2019 at the National Congress and Convention Center. “Hosting this important event is a clear example of the work we have done in repositioning Costa Rica as a profitable destination for the cruise industry, which was an area we needed to s...

As a result of the recent visit of the Costa Rica President Luis Guillermo Solís and the Minister of Tourism Mauricio Ventura to Spain, an agreement was signed with the Spanish aviation company Iberia to promote Costa Rica to the Italian market. Iberia will be using two direct flights Milan-Madrid and Roma-Madrid to connect both cities and their travelers with San José, Costa Rica; in order to ...

If the purpose of life is "to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences," (Eleanor Roosevelt), then choosing the Pura Vida in Costa Rica is the way to get there. Pura Vida is a Costa Rican colloquial phrase that translates to "pure life," but means so much more. It's a lifestyle in which you choose to live to the fullest, ...

The Costa Rica Brewery Company (FIFCO) opened its first souvenir shop under the name “Tienda de la Birra” (Beer Store, “birra” is the coloquial term used by ticos to refer to beer). The new store is located in San Joaquí de Flores, Heredia, in the FIFCO corporate building, and it offers articles such as t-shirts, caps, shorts, towels, lanyards, sunglasses, key chains, mugs, and more, both with ...

The World Economic Forum’s 2017 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked 136 countries according to the natural resources they possess, the number of World Heritage natural sites, protected areas and species as well as the natural tourism digital demand and the role the country’s natural resources had in attracting tourists to it. Costa Rica is listed among the top ranked countries fo...

The city of Limón is probably not the first, (or second or third), place that comes to mind when you are considering tours in Costa Rica, the Caribbean coast is beautiful, but many do not find the city as appealing. A new project denominated Explore Limón, is hoping to help tourists, both national and foreigners to see Limón with new eyes. Entrepreneur Sergio Bolaños, is hoping to rescue the hi...

Panama’s Public Prosecutor’s Office this week charged the police officer responsible for accidentally shooting a 22 -year-old American tourist in the capital's historic district April 28, reported local Panamanian media. In the incident, an agent from the Institutional Protection Service (SPI), a special police unit assigned to protecting the president and the presidential palace area, fired at...

A 22-year-old American woman tourist is in stable condition in Panama City's Santo Tomás  hospital after a shooting incident in the downtown historic center, called Casco Viejo. In the early morning hours of Friday, April 28, the woman was unintentionally shot by an Institutional Protection Service (SPI) agent, reported the local media El Siglo. SPI director Eric Estrada was quoted as saying...

The Westin Conchal Golf Resort & Spa, on Costa Rica’s north central Pacific coast, is the first all-inclusive beach hotel in Latin America and the first Starwood chain member to qualify as carbon positive. Florida Inmobiliaria, a subsidiary of Florida Ice & Farm Co. (FIFCO), owner of the Conchal resort, set aside 40 hectares of dry forest and mangrove of the resort's some 930 hectares a...

The Guayabo National Monument, the archaeological site located in Cartago, close to the city of Turrialba, has a new 323-meter-long trail named Caragra which has three observation points. Funds collected in the campaign Historical Trails made this possible, the campaign was an initiative of the Association ProParques and Teletica (Channel 7), it also benefited the Santa Rosa National Park which...

Situated in the southeast of the Nicoya Península, just 45 minutes from Montezuma, is the Curú Wildlife Refuge, famous for its pristine white sand beaches and abundant wildlife. This area, sometimes overlooked, is an obligatory stop for Eco-tourists. To get here you must take Route 27 to Puntarenas and head to the Pacquera ferry which will take you across the Nicoya Gulf in just about one and a...

In just two years the number of airlines connecting Costa Rica to Europe went from one (Iberia) to now six. Iberia, Air France, Condor, British Airways, Edelweiss and KLM are the companies that are now connecting Costa Rica to different European destinations. KLM was the most recent airline to offer direct flights, this time between San José and Amsterdam. The fact that KLM is opening the do...

Even though flying from Costa Rica to other countries within the Central American region involves a very short flight, data from the Central American Integration Secretariat (SIECA) shows that this region is not preferred among Costa Rican travelers just the same as this country is not the preferred destination for other Central Americans. The data provided by SIECA indicates that out of all th...

The expansion of the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, Guanacaste had been announced by the Costa Rica Tourism Institute since late 2016. The expansion involves 4,118 square meters (44,326 square feet) 17%, and is expected to be concluded in November this year. The work being done should increase the capacity of the Liberia Airport enabling the attention of at least 300 thousand m...

It’s always a good time to visit Costa Rica, but for the most part you will always hear it is best during the “summer” time, dry season actually is a better term considering it’s always summer in this country; however, traveling to Costa Rica during the green season or rainy season has its advantages. The green or rainy season in Costa Rica extends from May through December, however when it com...

Less than a month after starting operations, budget airline Volaris is considering adding a route to Nicaragua, said José Adán Aguerri, president of Nicaragua’s Superior Private Business Council (Cosep). The airline has expressed an interest in starting a flights between San José, Costa Rica and the colonial lake-side city of Granada, Nicaragua located in the southern part of the country. "V...

While business leaders clamor for expedited border crossings, the issue has been pulled from the legislative agenda for further consultation with indigenous groups living in the southern and northern border regions, according to reports in several Costa Rican national media. A border integration program established with the Inter-American Development Bank to provide Costa Rica with US$100 milli...

Costa Rica has a total of 28 National Parks and 72 areas that are either protected zones, biological reserves or wildlife refuges, covering over 26% of the total area of the country. Tourists both local and foreigners prefer coastal and mountain destinations, those that are conveniently located, are easily accessible and of course, those that have more attractions to offer. According to inform...

Based on thousands of endorsements from previous travelers for the best places in the world for wildlife, Booking.com featured the top six destinations in the world to enjoy nature and relax, among them we find Copa de Arbol Beach and Rainforest Resort in Drake Bay, Osa Península, Puntarenas. With its tropical climate and outstanding flora and fauna, Drake Bay in Costa Rica is an explorer's dre...

The Poás Volcano has been experiencing a peak of activity for almost a month, the last big explosion took place on Saturday evening, since then, the volcano has continued emanating a column of vapor and has presented small eruptions, a few reaching just close to 1 kilometer in altitude. Although the eruption on Saturday evening forced the park rangers to leave the National Park, the professiona...

The Balmoral Hotel is offering a new flexible, furnished lodging option in downtown San José for short or long stays. Preferential rates are available in a number of different room sizes and types for stays ranging from 3 days up to a year. The remodeled “micro apartments" range in size from 32m2 to 86m2, and are newly fitted with Italian porcelain floors, fine locally crafted wood furniture...

48 hours of continuous eruptive activity at Poás Volcano were marked this Saturday at 10:12 p.m. with a strong explosion that was captured by the cameras of the National Seismology Network, this explosion only lasted one minute and threw rocks at high temperatures in the areas close to the crater: This is the view from the thermal cameras located near the crater: The peak of activity...

On the morning of this Friday, April 21, the community of Golfito in Puntarenas, inaugurated the first stage of the Golfito Marina Village & Resort, a project of tourism attraction that hopes to increase the number of visitors to the Southern region of Costa Rica. The official inauguration had the presence of Costa Rica’s President, Luis Guillermo Solís, the Minister of Tourism, Mauricio Vent...

Poás Volcano had another eruption that reached an altitude of over 1 kilometer this Friday morning and could be easily seen from many spots of the metropolitan area. Since 11 p.m. on Thursday night the National University’s Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute (OVSICORI) reported an increase in the tremor which fluctuates in intensity; the majority of the events expel only water vapor ...

Costa Rican Minister of Foreign Affairs Manuel A. González Sanz met today, April 20, 2017, with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, on the sidelines of the meeting of ministers of foreign affairs of the Central American Integration System (SICA) in Istanbul, Turkey. At the meeting, the Turkish chancellor offered his support for the reconstruction of damages caused by Hurricane Otto in Co...

The 33rd edition of ExpoTur Costa Rica, an event that is considered the most important tourism travel mart of Costa Rica and the Central America Region, and one of the most relevant in Latin America will take place May 10-12 at Centro Kolbi in Parque Viva, La Guácima. This event offers companies involved in the tourism industry an opportunity to showcase their services or products to national a...

Hotels.com published the list of winners of their yearly Loved by Guests Awards, which recognize hotels all around the world that receive the best scores by their clients in nine different categories: beach, boutique, business, family, LGBT, luxury, newcomer, spa and gold. To receive a gold award, properties must have received an average customer review score of 4.7 or higher, based on a minimum o...

Last night Poás Volcano spitted out incandescent rocks in an eruption that occurred at 7:08 p.m. local time, it registered a few smaller eruptions during the early hours of this Wednesday, April, 19; but this morning at 6:29 a.m. and 8:43 a.m. it had two important eruptions (video available at the end of the article). Volcanologists that have been studying the recent activity at Poás where able...