Costa Rican authorities continue to battle the illegal traffic of wild animals; today, a US tourist tried to enter the country through the Panama Frontier Migratory Control Station with a baby howler monkey on each shoulder. The women of last name Frame had no documentation or permit to justify having the two animals with her. The authorities seized the animals and coordinated with the Ministry...

Costa Rica has the most expensive electricity in Central America, according to the Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2017 carried out by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, known as ECLAC. The survey stated that Costa Rica has the highest rates for all types of consumption, residential, commercial and industrial in comparison to the rates...

The traffic in Costa Rica is crazy, certainly promoting other means of transportation specially clean ones such as cycling sounds like a great idea, but the problem remains that the country’s current infrastructure doesn’t make this a simple possibility, cars, buses, taxis, motorbikes and the train already have enough problems sharing the streets as it is … yet, the San Jose Municipality will be c...

Reserva Conchal Beach Resort, Golf & Spa – the luxurious resort situated on Costa Rica’s scenic northwestern Pacific coast – will host the 2018 PGA TOUR Latinoamerica Essential Costa Rica Classic May 7-13 on its Robert Trent Jones II golf course. The 2018 tournament – sponsored by the Costa Rica Tourism Institute – will feature 144 professional golfers from numerous countries. Customary for...

A man was apprehended by Tourist Police in the center of Quepos, in the South Pacific of Costa Rica, when he was on the run with three backpacks he had stolen from a group of U.S. tourists. This was confirmed by Juan Carlos Salas, the local chief of the Tourist Police, who explained that as they were doing their routine rounds in the area they saw the suspect carrying three backpacks, they imme...

“Toros a la Tica” or Tico Style Bullfighting, is a traditional activity in Costa Rica, although most popular as part of the end of the year activities in Zapote, in reality it takes place all year round in different bullrings around the country. Even though there is no actual “bullfighting” here, this is just the term used to describe the activity, which involves rodeo style activities and “tor...

The cold front that has been affecting Costa Rica since Wednesday and that has caused winds of up to 90 km/ph in some areas, caused the death of two homeless men in San Jose. The two men, of ages 46 and 50, were taken to the San Juan de Dios Hospital with hypothermia, one on Wednesday morning and the other one on Thursday morning, but they both passed away shortly after. Both men were layi...

“Due to strong winds and whiteout conditions, flights at JFK have been temporarily suspended. Travelers are urged to contact their airline carriers for updates on resumption of service”, the information was posted in the different social media channels by JFK Airport, but prior to this notification, American Airlines, Delta, Avianca, among other airlines had already suspended or canceled their fli...

Like every year, online magazine International Living offers its Annual Global Retirement Index, this is the 26th edition of this ranking where the top 10 countries to live a healthier and happier life are listed. The ranking is done by a team of International Living contributors who cover five continents, expats that have experienced life in different countries. The list of best places to reti...

Costa Rican Treasury (Ministerio de Hacienda) reminded individuals and corporations of the health sector that as of January 15, 2018 they will have the obligation of using electronic invoices. This is the first group that by law will have to start implementing this system; the second group is the accounting-financial and administrative sector that will have to use electronic invoices as of Fe...

"Happy New Year. To happiness. Health. Love. And to the simplicity of beautiful unforgettable nature, life". With this message, Lady Gaga wished her fans a Happy 2018 from Costa Rica. As The Costa Rica Star informed just a few days ago, Lady Gaga arrived to Costa Rica this past December 28 and received the New Year in Guanacaste. Unfortunately no additional information has been leaked in...

Avianca Airlines informed of the suspension of several flights to New York and New Jersey due to the winter storm Grayson which is affecting the East Coast of the United States. The press release confirmed that flights leaving from Colombia, Costa Rica and El Salvador to and from New York and New Jersey scheduled for January 3 and 4 and 5 have been cancelled. The airline went through the proc...

The Ministry of Security of Costa Rica has begun the process to purchase a King Air 250 aircraft with the purpose of having more tools and resources to combat drug trafficking and illegal fishing. At this time the country’s air surveillance depends on a US Lockheed P-3 Orion, a four-engine maritime surveillance aircraft. The acquisition will be done through a direct purchase to the United ...

The Health Ministry informed through a press release and posts on their social media accounts that they shut down the San Lucas Beach Club in Puntarenas due to certain conditions found that signify health risks. According to the Health authority, they originally shut down the business in November 29, they sealed all main accesses to the Beach Club, however, apparently the seals were broken and ...

Enio Cubillo, director of Civil Aviation and Michael Soto, Chief of Plans and Operations of the Judicial Police in Costa Rica have stated that three elements are being considered as possible causes of the light aircraft crash that occurred on Sunday, December 31 in the mountains of Nandayure, Guanacaste: weather conditions, mechanical problems and human error. “We are not ruling out anything”, s...

The holiday celebrations sometimes help us reflect on our life, our self-destructing “habits” that have perhaps gotten out of control and taken over our life. A new year is also the perfect time to get help and change our life for the best. If you are dealing with substance abuse problems make the decision to take your life in a different direction, perhaps the guide you seek can be found in Costa...

If exploring the different corners of Costa Rica is one of your New Year’s resolutions, we would like to give you a list of 10 places that you need to visit in Costa Rica this 2018, granted there are many more than just 10, but with 12 months ahead of us 10 seems like a good number for you to take your pick or visit them all. 1) Cabo Blanco Natural Reserve: Cabo Blanco in the Nicoya Peninsula h...

Several members of Congress in Costa Rica presented officially the “Ley de Cinematografia y Audiovisual” or Law of Cinematography and Audiovisual” a project that seeks to promote these activities in a systemic way through all its production and creative cycle. Some of the proposals included in the Law include changing the name of the Costa Rican Cinematography Production Center to Costa Rican C...

The Costa Rican National Meteorological Institute informed that a new cold front will be affecting the country as of Wednesday, January 3, 2018. According to the information provide, this system is currently south of the Gulf of Mexico and about to enter to the north of Central America and the Caribbean Sea; the effects of the same will be felt in Costa Rica as of Wednesday and will bring stron...

A lot of car accidents take place every day in Costa Rica, the majority of them minor incidents, and many times it happens that drivers are unsure on how to act or what to do in these situations. If you have a minor accident whether it is your fault or the other driver’s fault, you have two choices, you can call the traffic cops and insurance company, which means you have to stay in the scene o...

The morning of Monday, January 1st, information posted by international media spoke of another family of four among the victims of the light aircraft crash that took place December 31st in the mountains of Nandayure, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The list provided yesterday to the Local press were records of a family of 5 and 5 other US tourists. The Ministry of Public Security stated yesterday durin...

It is just the first day of 2018 but you know what they say “death and taxes”. The Costa Rica Treasury Department (Ministerio de Hacienda) reminds all owners of Costa Rican corporations that the tax payment for these, are due this month. The payment can be done starting today and the last day is January 31st. The amount each corporation pays will depend on how it is classified in the National ...

10 US Tourists, 5 of them members of the same family, Bruce, Irene, Matthew, William and Zachary Steinberg along with Leslie Weiss, Sherry Wuu, Amanda Geissler, Thibault Astruc and Charles Palmer all found tragedy today in Costa Rica, when the Nature Air light aircraft they boarded on route to the Juan Santamaria Airport, crashed 10 minutes after takeoff in the mountains of Guanacaste and exploded...

With just a few hours left in 2017, we reflect on everything that happened this year earthquakes, volcano eruptions, tropical storms, cold fronts, cement storms, the good,the bad and the ugly, after all everything is a learning experience that should help us build a better 2018. Here are some of the main events that rattled Costa Rica this year: The Good: Costa Rica runs on almost 100% cl...

A light aircraft crashed in the mountains of Guanacaste this Sunday, December 31 at 12:16 p.m. According to initial reports by the director of Civil Aviation, Enio Cubillo, there were 12 people aboard including the crew (2), the aircraft operated a private flight apparently contracted by a group of tourists who apparently were staying in a hotel in the area. The plane took off from a local r...

The beautiful Guanacaste beaches, the peace of the Costa Rican forests and the amazing weather of this time a year have attracted yet another celebrity that apparently has decided to begin the New Year in Pura Vida style. Lady Gaga arrived to Costa Rica the night of December 28 through the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, Guanacaste, the information was confirmed to The Costa Ric...

There is certainly a lot to be said with regards to health insurance in the United States and what it covers, we are not getting into this subject except to say that it is not uncommon for health plans to not include dental coverage; and even when you choose a plan that does include dental or opt for a separate dental insurance the majority of times the coverage only applies for needed or basic tr...

196 Pre-Columbian pieces mainly made of stone and others in ceramic which were part of Costa Rica’s archeaological treasure and that had been taken out of the country to Venezuela illegally will arrive back to the country on January 2, according to a press release by the Costa Rica National Museum. The items were pieces sculpt by native Costa Rican indigenous, and have, therefore, historic impo...

The Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Guanacaste 2017 had its fourth edition this December 28 at Hacienda Pinilla, where more than 50 models worked the runway showing the work of seven national designers. This edition of the MBFWG was unique in the sense that it had the biggest runway that has been set up so far in the country, 18x24 mts (59x78.7 feet), the size of a tennis court and all white sand. ...

Costa Rican police had two new cases of cocaine in the Pacific Coast, completing for this year more than 30 tons of this drug seized. The first case was reported by the Colombia National Police, which informed of a vessel possibly carrying illegal substances. The vessel by name CAP PATTON of Colombian Shipping & Marine Supplier Eduardo L. Gerlein S.A., navigating under Liberian Flag and wit...

James Wallace Kirgin also known as James David McDonald, one of the most wanted man by Costa Rican justice was detained this Thursday, December 28 in Guatemala City. The Guatemala National Civil Police confirmed the arrest which took place in Zona 1 in the capital city. 56-year-old Kirgin was wanted by the Interpol at the request of Costa Rica authorities accused of “committing sexual and e...

The first flight of the South American airline Latam will arrive to Costa Rica on Tuesday, January 2, 2018 from Lima, Peru; this will be the first direct service offered by this company between Costa Rica and Peru. Latam will offer three weekly flights, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, leaving from the Juan Santamaria International Airport at 4:45 p.m. and arriving in Lima at 9:25 p.m. Flights ...

The route that connects San Jose (Sabana) to Caldera, Puntarenas, known as Route 27 will have another increase in its toll fees as of January 1st, 2018; the increase corresponds to an ordinary adjustment as established in the concession contract. The price will increase between ȼ10 and ȼ30 colones depending on the type of vehicle and some of the tolls will maintain the same price; in the case ...

British actor Christian Bale, famous for his role as a serial killer in American Psycho and more recently for giving life to Batman in the trilogy of the Dark Knight (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises) was spotted with his wife and kids at the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, Guanacaste. Apparently Bale and his family have decided to spend their end of th...

Kelly Clarke was a former East Texas Youth Pastor who had moved with his family to Costa Rica earlier this year as missionaries, here he was close friends to the family of Costa Rican Pastor Manuel Garcia, and together their families were spending time together at the beach (apparently Playa Hermosa, Garabito, Puntarenas). According to the information published by Fox51 News, Clarke and his fam...

This Thursday the Costa Rica Drug Control Police detained another vessel carrying 706 Kg of cocaine in 15 packets, the boat was intercepted in waters of the South Pacific with 4 Colombian men on board. With this, the Ministry of Public Security reported that with just 3 days left in this 2017 they have already seized 29.8 tons of cocaine, in addition to 232,003 doses of crack, 238.18 Kg of mari...

As 2017 comes to an end Costa Rica will close with an alarming rate of 600+ homicides, at least 22 more than the total registered in 2016. 48% of the homicides that have been taking place obey to organized crime, confrontations between gangs to settle scores and win over specific territories. In 2012 the year finished with 407 homicides, in 2013 there were 411; 477 in 2014 and a year later 5...

Although the date announced for the opening of the first Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurant was October this year delays occurred and it has been confirmed that now the franchise will open its first location at the end of January 2018. With an investment of close to $3 million the first of three Chuck E Cheese’s will open at Plaza Bratsi, Heredia. The franchise is a project of Costa Rican Corpora...

Kahli Gastronomy Center opened doors in Curridabat, a space to enjoy amazing dishes and learn about gastronomy. The Center is led by Costa Rican chef Sophia Rodriguez owner of Kahli Café located in San Francisco de Heredia. The new project in a 2500 square meter property with 600 square meters of construction offers a restaurant, cooking school, special events area, executive area and VIP area....

The Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel, located in the heart of Playa Guiones­, one of the most consistent surf breaks in the world, underwent a world-class renovation and expansion. This hotel is designed by and for, surfers and outdoor lovers. A landmark at the beaches of Nosara, Costa Rica, The Gilded Iguana Surf Hotel provides casual relaxation, comfort and excellent service. Internationally acclaime...