The Costa Rica Tourism Board was clear and successful in its plan to attract more tourists from Europe in order to stop the dependance from the United States market; however, the strategy has not just diversified the potential markets for Costa Rica but it has caused a drop of in the number of US tourists visiting the country. A drop of 2% during the first semester of 2017 (going from 709,317 t...

When it comes to soccer, Costa Rica and Mexico have always had a high level of rivalry, this time around it was no different the rivalry was shown in the field, in a very disputed and complicated game that ended with a 1-1 score. During the first half, Costa Rica’s head coach Oscar Ramírez used the exact same line up as he did in the last game against the US on Friday, who can blame him, it wor...

Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve in Costa Rica is visited by thousands of tourists every year, this is not surprising since it is one of the best places in the country to enjoy raw nature and eco-tourism, excellent for those seeking to relax and those that love adventure, it all depends on what you like. If you are planning your tour to Monteverde and you still haven’t decided on a hotel, we le...

This Sunday the local soccer match between Saprissa and Grecia teams had to be suspended at minute 81 and the police ordered the evacuation of the Saprissa Stadium in Tibás after having received an alarm of a bomb in the sport facility. The Costa Rican police checked the entire stadium and its surroundings and fortunately didn’t find any signs of explosives; however, the building will be checke...

The National Seismology Network issued a statement regarding the seismic activity that has been registered in the past week in the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica. “During the last week there have been several earthquakes strong enough to be felt in Costa Rica, located in different points of the country’s Pacific coast. These earthquakes have taken place close to the Osa Península, to the south of...

If you were planning a trip to La Fortuna, San Carlos, take into consideration that as of this Saturday afternoon the two main roads to this location remain closed. The access through the community of Los Angeles-El Tanque has been closed for the past 10 days because of reinforcement works in the area of the Fortuna river where the bride is being replaced; and yesterday afternoon due to the bad...

The mayor of San José, Costa Rica, Johnny Araya, is promoting the creation of a hi-tech city that would not only generate foreign investment but also organizational linkages and the promotion of “start-ups” with great potential. The project, which is just in the beginning stages, could be ready in the next five years,”We have already been working since over a year ago in promoting San José as a...

Photo: Japanese Garden-Lankester Botanical Garden Costa Rica has several botanical gardens open to the public; the country’s privileged location and climate allow for a great variety of plants. Although there are many botanical gardens distributed in different areas of the country, here we mention three botanical gardens that are within the metropolitan area and are certainly worth the visit: ...

Hilton announced the expansion of its Latin American footprint with nine new deals signed in Central America, five of these projects will be coming to Costa Rica: Gran Hotel Costa Rica, Curio Collection by Hilton: Expected to open in Q1 2018, Gran Hotel Costa Rica is located in the heart of San Jose, Costa Rica. The 79-room property will feature a state-of-the-art fitness center, signature rest...

For all those parents of young children living in Costa Rica, here’s something your children may be interested in. The Disney Junior Latin America show “Junior Express” will present its live show in Costa Rica on September 15 (holiday in Costa Rica) at the Coca-Cola Amphitheater in Parque Viva, La Guácima, Alajuela. This is the second time the children’s show makes a presentation in the country...

Costa Rica has the perfect conditions to grow many different types of orchids. This beautiful flower has a special place in the heart of every Costa Rican because one of its species, the "Guaria Morada" (purpe orchid) is the country's national flower. The fifth edition of the Expo Orquidea (Orchid Expo) takes place this weekend in the parking lot tower of the Clínica Bíblica in San José; the ex...

Costa Rica’s “La Sele” and the USMNT offered an exciting elimination game this Friday at the Red Bull Arena in Newark, New Jersey, and it was Costa Rica that came out victorious with a 2-0 score over the United States. Costa Rica came out pressing from the first whistle, and the United States appealed to their speed. The first goal came from a perfect pass by Bryan Ruiz to striker Marco Ureñ...

Costa Rica has many beautiful places and wonderful tourist attractions, but certainly downtown San José is usually not considered among them, the traffic, the problems with infrastructure, areas that present security problems, and many times just the erroneous concept that “There is nothing worth doing or seeing in San José” keeps national and foreign tourists away from the capital city. It was...

The second edition of the International Trade Mission Costa Rica LGBTI event will take place September 4 and 5 at the Radisson Hotel in San José and will have the participation of the LGBTI Chambers of Commerce of Costa Rica, Canada and the United States. The goal of the Trade Mission event is to bring the attention over Costa Rica as an inclusive and respectful destination for the LGBTI popul...

At 1:42 a.m. this Friday morning Costa Rica felt a 5.6 magnitude earthquake. According to the National Seismology Network (RSN) the epicenter was located to the west of Sámara, Nicoya, Guanacaste and the movements began at midnight with a 3.4 earthquake, followed by the 5.7 strong movement that was felt in most of the metropolitan area and the Guanacaste and Puntarenas provinces. The RSN sho...

According to Project Wetlands carried out by SINAC-PNUD-GEF, seven of the country’s wetlands produce US$3 billion for the country annually. The study considers the Northeast Caribbean Wetland which includes the Tortuguero National Park, Barra del Colorado, and the Corredor Fronterizo Norte; the Las Baulas Marine Park; the Gandoca-Manzanillo wetlands in the Caribbean; Caño Negro, Maquenque, Térr...

The scourge of drug abuse and addiction can affect anyone, regardless of gender, social status, education or age. Teens are no exception, to the point where opioid drug overdose deaths among teenagers 15 to 19 years-old increased by 15% for males from 2014 to 2015 and an astonishing 35% for females from 2013 to 2015 according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ...

If you are planning to go to Jacó for a couple of days and you are looking for a hotel that is both affordable and comfortable, Perico Azul Hotel might be exactly what you are looking for. The adult-only 7-room hotel made the Tripadvisor's Travelers’ Choice Top 25 bargain hotels in the world; it ranked in position 22, in a list that included hotels in United Kingdom, Morocco, Nicaragua, India,...

Photo Credit: AccuWeather Hurricane Irma Yesterday it was just a tropical storm, but Irma has rapidly strengthened and is now a category 2 hurricane, still located far in the Atlantic west of Cabo Verde and at the time it poses NO threat to land according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). The update provided by the NHC reads: 1100 AM AST (1500 UTC), the center of Hurricane Irma was ...

Costa Rican coffee is regarded worldwide, yet, believe it or not sometimes it is not easy to find the best quality coffee in the Costa Rican coffee shops, this is because the majority of the best coffee is exported; that’s why Café Don Mayo decided several years back to open a specialty coffee shop with high-quality coffee of their own production. The best grains of coffee are selected from the...

The Red Bull Arena in Newark, New Jersey will be the scenario of the Concacaf World Qualifying Match in route to Russia 2018 between the Costa Rica Male National Soccer Team “La Sele” and the USMNT this Friday, September 1 at 5 p.m. Costa Rica time (7 p.m. EST) “La Sele” left this Wednesday to New Jersey. There won’t be any major changes in the main line up as reported by head coach Oscar Ramír...

Hurricane Harvey has caused a lot of damage in Texas and some areas of Lousiana, the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since 2005, Harvey has now been downgraded to a tropical depression; but the 2017 hurricane season that began on June will not come to an end until November 30, and therefore countries in the Caribbean coast remain on alert. The National Hurrican Cente...

The second edition of the Costa Rica Food & Wine will bring together renown international and national chefs. This Saturday, September 2, the Costa Rica Food & Wine Festival takes place at the Real Intercontinental Hotel in Escazú starting at 11 a.m. and finishing at 11 p.m. providing 12 hours of an incredible gastronomy experience. The entrance is free of charge and it includes entert...

As The Costa Rica Star had reported back on July 28th, former ambassador to the United States in Costa Rica, Stafford Fitzgerald Haney will be part of the “celebrities” that will compete in season four of the T.V. dancing competition “Dancing With The Stars Costa Rica”. 48-year-old Haney will have professional dancer and Salsa world champion Lucía Jiménez as his partner on the dance floor. I...

The emergency situation currently faced by several areas in Texas has caused the cancellation of flights to and from several countries to Houston, among them, Costa Rica where so far 19 flights have been cancelled, as reported by Aeris, the company in charge of the Juan Santamaría International Airport in Costa Rica. The flights were scheduled between Saturday and this past Tuesday, August 29 a...

The Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE) celebrates its 35th anniversary marking its accomplishments of bringing more than 300 multinational businesses to Costa Rica and generating 90 thousand direct jobs and 43 thousand indirect jobs. In this Celebration, CINDE's President, Luis Gamboa, pointed out that CINDE was cataloged as the world's # 1 institution for the attraction of Foreign Di...

Dental tourism has become a very popular alternative, in many cases it is actually a necessity, considering the exorbitant prices that dental work entitles in the United States and other countries; yet, it is big decision and one that cannot be taken lightly, many people refrain from it out of concern that they will not get a good level of service, but the reality is that as long as an educated de...

Das Oktober has become a very expected event in Costa Rica since the tradition began 5 years ago; every year the festival grows in attendance, last year reaching almost 14,000 visitors, and participants, while the quality of the production and organization continues to show a very high level. This year’s edition will take place at the Pedregal Event Center on Saturday, October 7 from noon thro...

The Tamarindo Art Wave Festival 2017 is the result of the hard work and passion of a group of art lovers in this beautiful and inspirational beach town of Costa Rica. A group of artists formed the Tamarindo Arts Foundation, a non-profit, non-government-organization that doesn’t just put together this artistic display but that also plans to create the Tamarindo Arts Academy in the near future. ...

At 4:38 a.m. this Sunday, August 27 a moderate magnitude earthquake woke Costa Ricans. According to the National Seismology Network the movement had a magnitude of 5.3 in the Richter Scale and the epicenter was located 43 kilometers south of Dominical, Puntarenas. It was felt in the San José, Pérez Zeledón, Alajuela, Heredia, and the communities close to the Panama boarder. The National...

Floyd Mayweather made Conor McGregor play his game,despite McGregor's superior size and power, Mayweather dragged him to deep waters, to those late rounds that only professional boxers understand how to survive and that's were McGregor drowned, he was tired, came in too heavy and took on one of the best boxers the sports has seen. McGregor started out aggressive, scored some good punches and so...

Costa Rican Francisco Fonseca had his first experience fighting in a huge stage, this was evident for the first two rounds of his fight against Davis, he looked nervous and anxious. What the public didn’t know was that Fonseca had a bad experience right before getting in the ring, something he ate made him sick, despite this, he gathered his courage and fuled by his dream he made his way to the...

Costa Rica has big goals to counter climate change, for several years now the government has talked about its objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2021 and eliminating single use plastic becoming the first country to achieve this. Whether this is realistic or not is a topic that has raised many different opinions and points of view. “We are a small country with big goals. Our pioneer...

The Russian Classical Ballet Company will present the Tchaikosky’s popular Swan Lake at the Melico Salazar Theater September 29th and 30th at 8 p.m. This renowned ballet company has been in Costa Rica before performing other classics such as Sleeping Beauty and Romeo and Juliet. One of the most loved classical ballets, Swan Lake tells the story of Odette, a princess turned to swan by an evil...

If you enjoy exploring every corner of Costa Rica specially those you don’t usually come across in tourism websites, here is an option you might enjoy: Finca Robles Mimosos in Vara de Roble, Cartago is a wildlife sanctuary that brings relaxation to a whole different level. A great area for bird watching, natural trails lodging and restaurant. This private refugee was created in 1998 with the pu...

Venezuelan company located in Panama, Cryptobuyer, will install the first Bitcoin ATM in Costa Rica. The cryptocurrency or digital currency released in 2009 has been slowly gaining ground as more and more people get familiar with how it works. The only decentralized digital currency it uses person to person technology without the interference of a central authority. Each bitcoin is worth a c...

American physician, comedian and author Hunter Doherty, better known as Patch Adams, will visit Costa Rica once again next August 29th. Doherty along with his team will make a presentation in the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Costa Rica starting at 4 p.m., with the purpose of organizing groups of volunteers that work in different countries spreading laugh and humor. The do...

On Wednesday, August 23 a press release proudly announced the opening of the new 27 kilometer road that connects Bajos de Chilamate in Sarapiquí, Heredia to Vuelta Kooper in San Carlos, a road that Costa Rica had been waiting on for at least 10 years. President Luis Guillermo Solís and the Minister of Transportation German Valverde along with other Government authorities and community members a...

The weigh-in ceremony for Mayweather vs McGregor was completed today with Mayweather coming in at 149.5 lbs while Conor McGregor marked 153 lbs. In an MGM Grand full of McGregor fans, the Irish MMA star came in looking as he usually does, cocky and confident, he pumped his chest after he made weight, screamed a few things on Mayweather's face and left the stage saying, Floyd was in the worse sh...

Tickets to the Fifth Harmony concert in Costa Rica are going on presale tomorrow, Saturday, August 26 at 10 a.m.; with the fan club members getting the first pick. Fifth Harmony will be in concert October 15 at the Coca-Cola Amphitheater in Parque Viva, La Guacima, Alajuela, Costa Rica starting at 8 p.m. as part of their PSA tour in which they are promoting their latest album 7/27 released in 2...