The first two months of 2019 showed an increase of 7.8% in international arrivals in comparison to the same two months of 2018. A total of 499,693 international visitors arrived during January and February 2019, the highest numbers in the past six years. In January there were a total 248,754 foreign visitors arriving through the Juan Santamaria and Daniel Oduber International Airport, an incre...

As of the end of May, the Costa rican state refinery RECOPE will be selling gasoline with ethanol with the objective of reducing emissions. Initially the new fuel will contain an 8% of ethanol in its formulation, the norm allows between 5% and 10%, to help reduce the CO2 emissions, which would contribute on public health and the protection of the environment. Ethanol or alcohol is naturally ...

The Costa Rican authorities continue with operations to battle drug trafficking particularly in the Central Pacific, where they have already intercepted several vessels loaded with drugs. During a road control operation in the area of Quepos on Route 34, two drivers disobeyed the orders of the police officers to stop the cars, the officers immediately coordinated with the police stations of Par...

Perez Zeledon, Costa Rica (April 5, 2019)                                            Crazy Jungle Love, the shocking tale of love and despair based on the true story of American millionaire John Felix Bender’s exploits in the jungles of Costa Rica, is now available on Amazon and Kindle. Written by journalist Carol Blair Vaughn, Crazy Jungle Love makes use of Vaughn’s intimate knowledge of La...

According to the Latinobarómetro Corporation, a non-profit public survey company located in Providencia, Chile, Costa Rica has the highest percentage of Facebook and WhatsApp users in Latin America. The study found that 77% of the population uses Facebook, while 83% uses WhatsApp. This percentage was much higher than in countries with larger populations. Costa Rica’s population is roughly 5 millio...

The Sloth Institute of Costa Rica (TSI) is the headquarters for the cutest animals on the planet. They were founded in 2014 with the mission of “enhancing the welfare of captive and wild sloths through research and education.” They are a non-profit institution based in Manuel Antonio, supported completely by donations. TSI is truly leading the world in sloth research, especially the study of 3-toe...

IBM, at an official event featuring the participation of the Government of Costa Rica and the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE), announced the expansion of its Global Security Services Center, located at Heredia in the America Free Zone, from which it monitors security events for hundreds of clients in more than 130 countries. The expansion triples its operating capacity and will ...

The Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) will include in its budget for 2020. 2021 and 2022, $500,000 USD each year, with the purpose of setting up a .lifeguard project in several of the most dangerous beaches in the country, the project is an strategic alliance with the Red Cross and the Firefighting Department. Additionally, the Board of Directors of ICT approved and agreement with the Costa Rican...

Costa Rica proudly welcomes the World Veterinary Association (WVAC) to the new Convention Center in Heredia, on April 27-30, “Life Connects All. Pura Vida!” There will be 1,500 veterinarians in attendance, with specialties ranging from wild animals to family pets, large animals to tiny critters -- the full range of state-of-the-art animal medicine and care. The programing will focus on continuing...

Is Costa Rica still the happiest place on earth? Travel agencies and tour groups – within Costa Rica and without – have continued to dub Costa Rica the “Happiest Country on Earth”, which would seem a ridiculous notion, were it not for the fact that there is a Happiness Research Institute which tracks such things, and Forbes Magazine just published their official Happiness findings for 2019. The...

This year Costa Ricans have been taken back by sexual abuse scandals that have tainted the reputation of a former President and Nobel Peace prize winner, the Catholic Church (An institution of great weight in the country), and even the literary world. First it was former two-time president of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias Sánchez, who made headlines, after a physician and antinuclear activist filed a...

Costa Rica inaugurated this Saturday, March 30 its biggest solar energy generation park yet, the Cooperative Solar Park (Parque Solar Corporativo), located in the area of Pocosol in San Carlos. This park will benefit close to 5,000 families of the North Zone of the country; it has 19,000 devices to capture solar energy in an extension of 11.2 hectares that will produce 5 MW, guaranteeing the qu...

APM Terminals now has access to the most modern container scanner in Latin America which will be used to verify all the loads traveling to the United States and in this way help battle illegal contraband of weapons, drugs, cash, radioactive materials, plagues, etc. ¨We have the capacity of scanning all the containers going to the United States. All operators have been trained, we trust that thi...

Costa Rican ports have received 203 vessels to date during the 2018-2019 cruise ship season, which began last year on August 23 with the arrival of the Sea Princess out of Key West, United States, and her 1,870 passengers to JAPDEVA’s Hernán Garrón Salazar terminal in Limón. In the next four months, another 46 boats are expected to set in to the five main ports in the country: Limón, Caldera, Q...

Attracting Costa Ricans and visitors to stay in Sarapiquí and Turrialba to enjoy their numerous tourist attractions and stay overnight in these destinations rather than simply traveling through them—this is the objective of the six projects negotiated between the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) and local actors of Sarapiquí, Turrialba and Jiménez as part of the Comprehensive Management of Tourist ...

A 7-year-old boy of name Arden Oliver Fuss, of Rhinebeck, New York, was last seen in his native town on June 19, 2018. According to information given by authorities the child was abducted by his mother, Aleidria Riverson Lichau. The two apparently traveled to Costa Rica and a felony warrant for kidnapping was issued for Lichau on September 13, 2018. The Judiciary Investigative Police (OIJ) and ...

Four of the nine children of a US family living in Cabuya, Cóbano, Puntarenas, tested positive for measles and has been confirmed by the Ministry of Health this week. The minors are currently under isolation in their home along with the rest of the rest of their family. The US natives are missionaries who apparently became in contact with the virus when they received a visit of another missi...

The company Maderotec was awarded the construction of the new passenger’s terminal of the Limon airport; the company will be in charge of presenting the design inspired on Caribbean architecture, and will have to get all necessary permits to begin the construction work which is expected to begin in October this year and should conclude by February 2020. The construction of this terminal has a c...

The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) will be forced to put the Las Pailas Geothermal Plant into production earlier than expected due to the dry conditions affecting the country. Las Pailas II has 55 megawatts of installed capacity and its incorporation into the National Electric System is now programmed for May instead of June. The first trimester of the year has presented atypical we...

For the first time since the Ecological Blue Flag (EBF) program was launched for the beaches category, a record number of 118  beaches have attained this award thanks to the organized efforts of the committees in each of the coastal communities to achieve sustainable beaches with tourism features on the Costa Rican Pacific and Caribbean coasts. The announcement was made this morning by the Cost...

A long awaited concert, it is now a reality and the official announcement will be made in the next few days, the Foo Fighters and Weezer will be live in Costa Rica October 4th at the National Stadium. The presentation is part of the tour Concrete and Gold which began May 2018. The American alternative rock band Foo Fighters was formed in Seattle, Washington back in 1994 by Nirvana drummer Da...

The Consular Section at U.S. Embassy San Jose announced Consular outreach events in Jaco and Quepos in the coming weeks. Embassy staff will be available to accept adult passport renewals, perform notarial services, and take inquiries on federal benefits and voting. Consular staff will be on hand to hear your inquiries and concerns. Jaco: WHEN: Wednesday, March 27, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. WHE...

The Costa Rican-North American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), called on the Costa Rican Government to accept, immediately, the guidelines of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in matters of public contracting, which aim to guarantee open procedures for the competition, the no-discrimination, and the observance of adequate transparency norms, all these with the objectiv...

Once again, coordinated actions of the Costa Rican Coast Guard Service, the United States Coast Guard Service and the Colombian Army in a joint patrolling operation, allowed the interception of boat loaded with drugs by the Limón Coast Guard Station. The boat under the name "La Bendición" (The Blessing), with no registration plates or flag, was intercepted 27 nautical miles from the coast of Li...

Limon has long had a reputation as a remote Costa Rican port handling exports of of pineapples, bananas, sugar, coffee, and … cocaine. While the nearby Port of Moin has undergone a complete expansion and renovation recently, including brand new scanning technology, Limon has been left behind -- but not by astute drug smugglers. One of the largest drug busts ever in Europe happened last October...

The Tansitarte Festival 2019 in San José will fill this weekend with art, music, activities and entertainment for the entire family. The activities take place in the main public parks of downtown San Jose, where different stages have been installed for open air concerts as well as stands for the offering of different products. The complete list of activities and schedule of the same can be fou...

After an investigation and receiving information from people that worked closely in the presidential campaign of former candidate Fabricio Alvarado (PRN), the Costa Rican Supreme Electoral Court (TSE in Spanish) concluded that the campaign received money in cash which was not included in any of the reports that are demanded by the electoral law to justify the origin of the funds. The information ...

Kudos to Costa Rica for having finally ended a two-decade squabble with conservationist Captain Paul Watson of the nonprofit conservation organization, the Sea Shepherd. Costa Rica's Criminal Appeals Court of the Second Judicial Circuit of San Jose has ruled in favor of Captain Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, dropping all charges against him, thereby shutting down a ...

A provoked fire that started on Saturday has affected 250 hectares of the Terraba-Sierpe Wetlands in Osa, Puntarenas. Forest of raffia palm, and native Symphonia globulifera tree has been consumed and many animal species have been affected; the strong winds of the past days and the accumulation of vegetation in areas of the wetlands complicated the work of the firefighters. The wetlands are...

Canadian site Globehunters published information based on data by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) about where it is safe to drink tap water around the world. The results indicate that there are 187 countries where drinking tap water should be avoided, “It is important to note that this does not mean that water in a country is unsafe or polluted, just that as a tourist, your body will no...

When people are trying to decide whether to move/retire to a foreign country – or even visit a foreign country – the number one question asked is, Can I Afford It? The latest cost of living statistics are now out for Costa Rica, courtesy of Numbeo, and they discovered that the cost of living for Costa Rica in 2019 is 26.81% lower than in the United States. In 2018 Costa Rica’s rate was 23.08% lowe...

Press Release The U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica announced upcoming Consular outreach for U.S. citizens in the Cobano (Puntarenas) area. To RSVP for passport renewals, notary services, and federal benefits inquiries, interested parties must indicate their preference by writing to [email protected]. Any applicable fees must be paid in cash Costa Rican colones. Exact change is greatly apprec...

The Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) and the National System of Areas of Conservation (SINAC) with the collaboration of the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) are taking measures to improve the conditions at the Manuel Antonio National Park, the most visited National Park in the country. The existing system to purchase entry tickets, long lines to access the park, the recurring problems ...

The airlines that connect Europe with Costa Rica – seven of them through direct flights- expressed their satisfaction to the Costa Rican Tourism Board regarding the results obtained in the past months as a result of their operations in the country; they also voiced their surprise with the acceptance that the destination has had in the markets served. “Back in 2006, Costa Rica only had one indi...

Airports Council International (ACI) published the list of winners of its “Airport Service Quality Awards” which recognize those airports around the world that deliver the best customer experience in the opinion of their own passengers. In the category of under 2 million passengers, the Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, Guanacaste, took the second spot in Latin America and the Car...

Four UHI-ST helicopters that are part of the Aerial Training Program that the United States maintains with Costa Rica arrived to the country this Friday, March 8; the choppers came aboard a Globemaster C-17 plane and as of this moment the process of assembly of the airlines begins as well as the training of pilots and those in charge of maintenance. The United States will be in charge of these ...

Costa Rica has already begun their version of this so-called “Green New Deal” the Washington Democrats are all excited about. This small country in Central America with a population of 5-million is leading the way in dumping dinosaur fuels for renewables. The Costa Rican government is promoting the use of electric cars and trucks through tax incentives, special parking spots with charging stations...

When foreigners consider moving to Costa Rica or buying a vacation home in this paradise, they many times choose a beach community to enjoy everything that living in a warm tropical country has to offer. Costa Rica has coasts on both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, with miles and miles of beautiful beaches to explore, however, there are a few that have become favourites among expats, one of th...

The Government inaugurated the long awaited Las Trancas-Bahía de Papagayo aqueduct in the district of Carrillo, Guanacaste. This project will provide an additional 120 liters of water per second, which will supply 14,250 people in communities, as well as the manufacturing and tourism sectors. It consists of 15 kilometers of pipes and a 3,000 cubic meter water storage tank. The project was de...

Ironman 5i50 has been added to the Ironman 70.3 Costa Rica triathlon competition. Ironman 5i50 is an Olympic distance triathlon, 1.5 kilometer (0.9 miles) swim, 40 kilometers (24.8 miles) bike ride and 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) run. The Ironman 5i50 Costa Rica will be held the same day as the Ironman 70.3 and in the same location, June 24 at Playas del Coco, Carrillo, Guanacaste. This event ...