The tourism industry in Costa Rica is the most dynamic sector of the country’s economy, and it continues to grow year after year, however, the different crimes committed against tourists, are hurting the image of the country, the most recent case took place last Sunday morning when Canadian tourist Bruce Craig McCalum was stabbed to death in Puerto Viejo, Limón when he was taking photos of the sun...

Many tourists prefer to stay at an all-inclusive hotel when they are vacationing, specially of they are traveling as a family since this just makes things easier, there’s no worrying about where you are going to eat, or if kids get thirsty every hour, also, there are no surprises with expenses. There are many all-inclusive resorts in Costa Rica, here we list just a few: DoubleTree Resort by Hil...

The rural tourism industry in Costa Rica is in the rise as foreigners are asking for more options to enjoy rural and community activities, and also because of a higher number of foreign university students and volunteers of international organizations visiting the country. Over 200 small and medium size enterprises benefit from the growth of this industry. At the end of 2015 the number of forei...

The luxury US cruise liner Star Pride, a Windstar Cruises vessel, for the first time this year visited Panama's Cebaco Island off the country's Pacific coast with about 150 tourists on board, a spokesperson with the Panama Tourism Authority (ATP) reported Thursday. The Star Pride, which set sail from Puerto Golfito in Costa Rica, "docked last Thursday at Cebaco Island," which lies just a short ...

Tour operators from the area of La Fortuna in San Carlos, are offering guided tours to the peak of the Arenal volcano without authorization from tourism authorities. The National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) has warned tourists and the general population that tours to the peak of the volcano are not permitted since it is considered dangerous. Administrators of the National Park confi...

The community of Nosara in the district of Nicoya, province of Guanacaste, is known for its beauty, exclusivity, great surfing conditions, and because of the Ostional Wildlife Refuge, a nesting site visited by thousands of sea turtles every year. This is the location of the boutique hotel Lagarta eco-lodge which opened to the public this past January 9th. Sitting in the mountain hills of Nos...

According to a plan by the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT), the country is expected to attract close to $1.3 billion USD in the next five years by hosting at least 950 congresses and conventions with a minimum assistance of 500 delegates each. The plan of the ICT denominated “Ambassadors Program” includes the active participation of leaders in different productive sectors in the country as “coun...

If you are constantly looking for new places to discover in Costa Rica, this is one you may have not visited before, and a great option to stop by in your next visit to Puntarenas or nearby beaches (this place is 1 hour and 30 minutes from Jaco); if you are vacationing with your kids, they will also fall in love with this place. Located between the communities of Aranjuez and Pithaya in Puntare...

Tegucigalpa, Feb. 25 — Honduras, Central America's leading coffee producer, is transforming the scenic farms where that crop is grown into a domestic and international tourist attraction. The Coffee Tourist Route, an initiative centered on several farms in the western provinces of La Paz, Intibuca, Lempira, Santa Barbara, Ocotepeque and Copan, is offering prospective tourists coffee tasting, ad...

Starting with Costa Rica's coasts, and later continuing inland throughout the territory, the National Institute of Innovation and Transfer in Agricultural Technology (INTA, its acronym in Spanish) is about to embark upon a much-needed land-use mapping project. The new maps will prove an essential tool for Costa Rica’s municipal governments to draw up and enforce zoning plans. And zoning plans a...

The beach town of Jacó continues to attract visitors, its closeness to the city has a lot to do with this as for many it is the perfect destination for a day trip to the beach; a lot of people talk about the insecurity of the area or have a negative view of the place because they perceive it as a “party” zone. Granted, Jacó has quite a party atmosphere as do most beach towns, but it also has a ...

Back in October, 2016, actress Emma Stone, participated in the segment 73'Questions by Vogue magazine, where she was asked "What country in the world would you love to visit?" Her response was: "Oh man,there's too many to name...let's go with Costa Rica". Today, in a unique initiative, Costa Rica's President, Luis Guillermo Solís, published a video on his Facebook page, playing the piano and in...

Costa Rica is one of the preferred destinations for family vacation, miles of beautiful beaches, warm weather and variety of wildlife provide the perfect playground for kids, leave behind their play station and electronic toys, there are a plenty of places where the whole family can practice adventure tourism, but if your kids are too young for zip lining and white water rafting, there are additio...

Out of Costa Rica’s seven provinces maybe Cartago is the one that tourists know less off, however, this province has a lot to offer. Cartago was once the capital of Costa Rica, and home to some of the most influential families of the XVIII and XIX centuries. The temperature here is colder than the rest of the country, and the scenic views impressive. If you are interested in exploring all Co...

With the purpose of increasing the tourism and improving the conditions for national and foreign tourists that visit Corcovado National Park, and in order to provide park rangers with an adequate space to do their work, the Costa Rica Government inaugurated today the new infrastructure at Corcovado in which $2.4 million dollars of the Sustainable Tourism program were invested. The works were ha...

If you live in the province of Heredia, Costa Rica, you may feel trapped sometimes by the difficult traffic situation of this area, which has gotten worse with the road work being done, so if you want to go out of your house and see some of Costa Rica but you don’t want to drive much, here are some places in Heredia that you may have not visited yet and that offer a great way to spend your day, th...

The lack of adequate water supply infrastructure in the province of Guanacaste is taking its toll in the tourism sector that has to take on additional costs to be able to run their operations normally. The Guanacaste Tourism Board estimates that during the high season of 2015 and all through 2016, hotels and restaurants located in the counties of Carrillo and Santa Cruz had to incur additional ...

Thousands of dead fish, mostly sardines but also sea bass, are covering several small beaches in the Nicoya Gulf since Tuesday night. Executive president of the Costa Rica Fishing and Aquaculture Institute (Incopesca), Gustavo Meneses, confirmed to national media that the affected area is of around 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) along several small beaches and the Moraga estuary in Puntarenas The...

According to the advice from an experienced travel agent, the best time to buy airline tickets are Tuesday and Wednesday nights; that being said when it is high season in Costa Rica it is hard to find cheap airline tickets, but today might be your lucky day, if you are suffering with the harsh winter or you simply need to get away, this is the perfect time for you to escape to sunny paradise and ...

The National Commission of Risk Prevention and Emergency Attention (CNE) and the Technical Assessment Vulcanology Committee (CAT) insist that the security of the people visiting the areas close to the Turrialba volcano is a priority, and for this reason the current restrictions most remain in such way that visitors must stay within a 2 km radius (1.24 miles) and when necessary at a distance of 5 k...

With the purpose of improving the visitors’ experience and encourage them to visit the forest, wetlands, beach, coral reefs, and the lively afro-Caribbean culture , new infrastructure was built in the Cahuita National Park, both in the sector of Puerto Vargas, and the community of Cahuita. The work done in Puerto Vargas includes the construction of new restrooms and showers, the reconditioning o...

The Manuel Antonio National Park remains open to the public and receiving the visit of national and foreign tourists. Even though this past Wednesday the Quepos Health Department notified the Ministry of Environment through the sanitary order number: PC-ARS-A-OS-022-2017 the possibility of the park being closed down in the event that the authorities in charged failed to comply with what is indi...

By Wendy Anders The Ministry of Health yesterday delivered an ultimatum to Manuel Antonio National Park officials: Comply with health orders, or face closure on Monday, said Protur, a pro-tourism business association based in Quepos, Puntarenas, the town adjacent to the park. A closure of the park at the height of tourist season could damage the country's international tourism standings, as ...

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados; Feb. 8 -- The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), the region's tourism development agency, and Airbnb, whose community marketplace provides access to millions of unique accommodations, today signed a landmark agreement to develop a set of policy principles and recommendations on the sharing economy for Caribbean governments and other stakeholders. Under the agreement, si...

-- With over 2.9 million visitors in 2016, tourism in Costa Rica grew 10 percent over 2015. By Wendy Anders The Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT, its Spanish acronym) just released its data on last year’s tourist arrivals to the Central American country, and things are looking good. Costa Rica registered nearly 270 thousand more visitors in 2016 than in 2015, for a notable 10 percent in...

Hate to pack? A nude cruise might be for you. The Bare Necessities 2017 Big Nude Boat, equipped to hold up to 3,000 passengers set sail from Tampa Harbor February 5 with four gorgeous stops in the Caribbean. Director of Bare Necessities, Nancy Tiemann, says that on average cruises, “Over 70 per cent of the passengers have been on a Bare Necessities cruise before, which is extremely competiti...

By Wendy Anders The recent birth of four Bengal tigers in El Salvador’s Fundación Refugio Salvaje (Wild animal refugee foundation, FURESA) made headlines in Asia, but wild-animal-loving readers in Costa Rica might take interest in the cubs from a different angle. The Asian tiger is endangered with only an estimated 2,500 living in the wild, mainly in India, according to the World Wildlife Fu...

Because we all need some adult time, there are some hotels in Costa Rica that are exclusively for adults, no kids allowed; this means, quiet pool time, sleeping in if you wish, sophisticated environment and elegant dinners with no kids meals menu. Here are some of the best adult only hotels in Costa Rica: Gaia Hotel & Reserve: Located in Manuel Antonio, Puntarenas this is a 5 star eco-fr...

Costa Rica has many beautiful places that are worth visiting, granted everyone has different preferences when they travel, but there are some destinations in the country that are a must visit for any tourist: 1) La Fortuna, San Carlos: Whether you are the adventurous type or the Eco-traveler, if you are here in a romantic trip or traveling with kids. La Fortuna in San Carlos has something for e...

National Geographic published a 48 second video that highlights Costa Rica’s best attributes. The post was published in the channel’s facebook page,and it was captioned "The Greenest and Happiest country in the world". The video already has over 2 million views and thousands of comments. It is not the first time that the famous channel features the beautiful nature of this country. ...

After more than a decade of wait, the President of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solis, along with the Minister of Tourism, Mauricio Ventura, placed the first stone of Costa Rica’s National Congress and Convention Center (CNCC) today. Solis confirmed that beyond the infrastructure in itself, the CNCC represents a challenge that the country had to take on when it decided to diversify its offering a...

By Wendy Anders The Costa Rican government announced this month plans to build a tourist reception area for travelers arriving on cruise ships at the southern Pacific port of Golfito on the Golfo Dulce, or Sweet Bay. The building project will begin February 1 and should be completed June 15, 2017, said government officials. The 40 million colón dockside investment (over US$73,000) will in...

Back in 2015 the magazine Scientific America included Monteverde in Costa Rica as one of “11 Natural Wonders to See before they are gone”, victims of the climate change. “Monteverde Cloud Forest, This tropical rainforest some 1,700 meters above sea level in the volcanic mountains of Costa Rica gets its name form living among permanent clouds. The humidity is often 100%. But as the warming clim...

Costa Rica was selected as a guest country by the organizers of the International Fair FESPO, the most important touristic fair in Switzerland. This is the first time that Costa Rica participates in this international event that is taking place January 26th -29th in Zürich, Switzerland. “The participation in this fair will allow us to position the country in the European market, which repres...

Santa Elena Bay Costa Rica is located in the province of Guanacaste, district of La Cruz, it is close to the Santa Rosa National Park with access through the Murcielago sector, part of the Guanacaste Conservation Area and an UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its unique geological characteristics; it is actually considered geologically the oldest region of Costa Rica The area is a natural mu...

By Wendy Anders Costa Rica is working to attract more European tourists to their verdant country, said the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), as the agency winds up their participation in the International Tourism Fair (FITUR) in Spain. Mauricio Ventura, Costa Rican Minister of Tourism, held meetings with airlines while at FITUR, including with the President of Iberia airlines, to analyze ...

Hard Rock International makes waves today as it announces plans to bring the Hard Rock Hotels experience to Costa Rica with the all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotel Papagayo, Costa Rica. Hard Rock, in collaboration with Sunwing Travel Group, is set to open Costa Rica's first Hard Rock Hotel by early 2019. The brand's strategic partnership with Sunwing Travel Group, the largest tour operator in North Ame...

By Wendy Anders The Guardian’s recently announced 2017 travel photography competition gives readers the chance to win a fantastic 16-night wildlife holiday for two to Costa Rica with Exodus Travels – and see the photos from the trip published in Guardian Travel, reported the U.K. paper Friday. Guardian Travel’s monthly readers’ photography competition is an opportunity for amateurs and profe...

By Wendy Anders Beyond the direct and indirect economic benefits derived from tourism, Costa Rica’s Tourism Institute (ICT, in Spanish) wanted to start measuring the industry’s broader impacts on local communities. In a first study, done last year, they interviewed residents in 10 such towns, and now have a baseline for monitoring progress. "We wanted to measure social progress in these t...

Millennials have a different outlook on life, enjoying every day to the fullest is one of their goals, and doing new things and having different experiences are certainly part of the lifestyle of this generation. If new and amazing experiences is what you are looking for, here’s a few options you might find fun and that are certainly a unique way to explore the wonders Costa Rica offers… but, ...