Costa Rica is the perfect place to escape from the cold winter of North America and Europe this time of the year. The high season has arrived in Costa Rica and will continue for the next four months, for as long as the perfect sunny days continue. The Juan Santamaria Airport expects close to 2.5 million travelers during this high season, 13 airlines increase their frequencies during these mont...

Authorities of the Government and the Costa Rica Red Cross presented the operative and preventive actions that will be in place in order to reinforce the security during this 2018 holiday season. The Public Police Force, Transit Police, Frontier Police, Aerial Surveillance, Coast Guard, Migration, National Emergency Commission, Firefighters, Park Rangers, 911 personnel and Red Cross complete th...

The Government of Costa Rica deplores the announcement of preventive imprisonment ordered today by a Nicaraguan court against Nicaraguan-Costa Rican journalist Lucía Pineda Ubau, of media channel "100% Noticias" of Nicaragua. Pineda was accused by the Nicaraguan government of terrorist acts and inciting hatred, among other charges, and she was put in preventive custody. Her first hearing was se...

After Moody’s recently downgraded Costa Rica’s financial ratings, now Standard & Poor’s followed suit and downgraded the country’ ratings of long- term debt in foreign and local currency which went from BB- to B+. This means the country went down one step as a debtor since a B rating is considered highly speculative, “An obligor rated B is more vulnerable that the obligors rated “BB”, but the ...

Three thieves pointed a firearm to a group of 23 tourists who were tourinr the Tortuguero River in Pococí, Limón, and stole their belongings. The foreign tourists left the sector of Pavona and were navigating the river the morning of this Saturday, December 22, when they were intercepted by three men that came out of the mountain area. The Public Police Force conducted a search, but this i...

Costa Rica’s Consulate in Managua, Nicaragua had to activate the mechanisms and protocols of protection of nationals in response to the arrest of the Costa Rican-Nicaraguan journalist Lucía Pineda Ubau of 100% Noticias. The ad interim Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lorena Aguilar Revelo, gave instructions to the Consulate of Costa Rica in Nicaragua to begin the necessary procedures to request fro...

In an operation carried out by the Drug Control Police (PCD) of the Ministry of Public Security that had the support of the National Coastguard Service (SNG), three Colombians were captured with 743 kilograms of cocaine. The vessel was intercepted in waters of the Costa Rican Pacific after confidential information was received by the Drug Control Police, the vessel was taken to Quepos, Puntaren...

The Poas Volcano has been registering phreatic eruptions for the past two days as a result of the evaporation of the lake. ¨Since December 19, the Poas Volcano has been generating eruptions with a high content of water vapor¨, explains the National University's Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute ( OVSICORI). These activity is very typical of the Poas Volcano, and they occur as the la...

This week Costa Rica accumulated a total of 300 days of 100% renewable energy during  2018. The last time the country had to resort to the use of bunker or diesel was back in May 17 in response to the demand of electricity of the country, which means it has ran for more than seven consecutive months without the use of hydrocarbon fuels. Wind consolidated sa the second source in terms of the ...

The Ministry of Education in Costa Rica fired 19 employees for going on trips during the strike. These employees were fired without employer responsibility, which means they are not entitled to receive severance since they incurred a serious offense. According to the Direction of Human Resources of the Ministry of Education, there are a total of 232 employees being investigated for this same...

Around 20,000 people that work in the administration sector of the Ministry of Education received the order to return to work January 4 after the end of the year vacation, a month prior to their normal return date. The order caused the personnel to immediately complained through their respective labor unions. The Administration personnel was used to taking the same amount of vacation time as...

Travel & Leisure Magazine posted their list of 50 Best Places to Travel to in 2019 and included in the list is the province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica. ¨With its beach-meets-jungle coastline, splendid array of biodiversity, and climate as warm as the locals, it's no wonder Costa Rica's northwestern corner became an early paragon of ecotourism. That's a lot of paradise to protect. Now, Guanac...

Courier services are commonly used by drug dealers to receive or send drugs or money, this is a very common crime in Costa Rica, and therefore, the Drug Control Police (PCD) the Ministry of Public Security, the Costa Rica Postal Service, and the National Customs Service of the Ministry of Treasury are carrying out operations to battle and prevent this type of trafficking. ¨We are aware that C...

At 4:26 p.m. Tuesday, December 18, a 4.5 magnitude earthquake shook Costa Rica. The movement, according to the National Seismology Network had the epicenter 13 kilometers North of Quepos, Puntarenas, and it was felt in several areas of the provinces of San José and Cartago. The origin of the earthquake was the subduction of the Cocos Plate. Earlier this Tuesday another earthquake was felt...

The Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) in Costa Rica inaugurated this Monday, December 18, new security devices in 23 railroad crossings in sectors of San Jose and Cartago. The safety barriers and traffic lights at the railroad crossways have the purpose of offering additional prevention and security for drivers, warning them in a more efficient manner of the presence of the tr...

Las Catalinas located in Playa Dante, Guanacaste will have a new hotel in February 2019, Santarena, part of the expansion plans of independent hotel brand Preferred Hotels & Resorts. Santarena is a “bohemian gem” that promises to offer guests “unparalleled world-class service” and “one-of-a-kind experiences”. "Costa Rica, with its fantastic year-round climate, lush landscape, secluded be...

In the last five years, scientists in Costa Rica have noticed a marked increase in Black Mantled Howler Monkeys -- who are turning blonde. Howler Monkeys (called Congos in Spanish), comprise 69% of the primate population of the country. Howlers are renowned for their vocalizations made by adult males, which can be heard more than one kilometer away. They are called “mantled” howler monkeys due to ...

Public Police Force in Costa Rica received the alert of an injured person the night of this Sunday, December 16, they found a Canadian man who had been shot on his right ankle and immediately requested the assistance of the Red Cross. The tourist apparently was intercepted by two men in front of a hotel in the area of Uvita, Ballena Bay, Puntarenas, that robbed him, taking his passport, docume...

Miss Costa Rica 2018, Natalia Carvajal, was able to make it among the top 10 in this year’s Miss Universe contest, which took place this Sunday, December 17 in Bangkok, Thailand. The last time that Costa Rica was able to make it among the Top 10, was in 2011 when the country was represented by Johanna Solano; before Solano, it was Nancy Soto in 2004 who managed to make the top 10. Carvajal is t...

As the new year quickly approaches, goals are set, if you are a triathlete the Ironman 70.3 in Costa Rica can be one of your goals for this 2019. Registrations are now open for this event that will take place June 23 as usual in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, this is the third edition of this event that has gathered thousands of athletes representing more than 40 countries during its past editions. ...

Nantipa Boutique Hotel, a Tico Beach Experience, is now ready for a soft opening this December 20 in Santa Teresa beach in the beautiful Nicoya Peninsula in Puntarenas. This new hotel is being developed with an investment of $6 million and its official inauguration is set for January 29, 2019; however, this December 20 it will be receiving its first few clients in a “soft opening” with limited ...

This Saturday, December 16, the first JetBlue Mint flight arrived at the Daniel Oduber Airport in Liberia, Guanacase, from New York; even though this connection already existed, the modality of the new flights (Mint) is one of the novelties in arrivals to Liberia since its one of the most exclusive international services. Liberia became, the first city in Latin America to offer Mint, JetBlue is...

This week the Minister ad interim of Environment and Energy, Celeste López, visited the region of Crucitas to follow up on the illegal mining activity taking place in this area. The objective of the visit was to carry out an inspection that contributes to evaluating the situation and the environmental impacts that the illegal extraction of gold has caused. Back on May 9, when Minister of E...

Did you know that water accidents are the second cause of accidental death in Costa Rica? This is why, authorities of the Costa Rica Tourism Board are working on installing new warning signs at 100 beaches, that were selected as the most visited by national and foreign tourists and that are known to have a high level of risk due the presence of rip currents. The works will continue through this...

Margaritaville Beach Resort Playa Flamingo has already opened doors in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The hotel was known in the past as Flamingo Beach Resort & Spa, but back in July, 2017 it became part of Margaritaville Holdings portfolio. Margaritaville Beach Resort Playa Flamingo made its debut under the Margaritaville brand with several new signature restaurant concepts, updated guestrooms, a...

Gianfranco Pescosolido, a 50 year-old man of Italian nationality was murdered Wednesday evening in La Sabana park in San Jose, Costa Rica. The death of the Italian was the result of a failed robbery apparently carried out by three minors who have yet not been located. Authorities received the alert at close to 8:19 p.m. when calls were made by people at the park, when the Red Cross arrived t...

The Costa Rican Tourism Board declared the Fiestas Típicas Nacionales de Santa Cruz 2019 (National Traditional Party of Santa Cruz), which will be celebrated January 14 through January 20, 2019, of “public interest”. This traditional activity carried out in the county of Santa Cruz, Guanacaste, has gained popularity in the country, in particular due to the Costa Rican style bullfighting. I...

The already traditional Festival de la Luz or Festival of Light will take place this Satuday, December 15; for this reason the transit authorities and the Municipality have already started their work to set up all the infrastructure and will be closing some roads since the early hours of Saturday. The works to install the platforms and bleachers began the evening of this Wednesday in Paseo Colo...

The eruptions of the Turrialba Volcano the morning of this Wednesday caused the delay of almost two hours of five flights that were departing from the Juan Santamaria Airport. The flights affected included two flights from Copa Airlines to Panama, another two from American Airlines to Florida, and the fifth flight was from Avianca with destination to Guatemala. In addition to this, a flight ...

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Epsy Campbell, presented her resignation to this position this afternoon at the Legislative Assembly; Campbell will continue in her position as Vice-President of the Republic. Campbell has been questioned for her decisions to name people to positions with a certain closeness, relation or affinity to her and who apparently did not fulfill the requierements establ...

Three out of the five juvenile delinquents that escaped the Zurqui Juvenile Complex in San Luis, Santo Domingo, Heredia on Saturday, were captured again this Tuesday, December 11. The minors were staying in the house of a family member in El Roble, Puntarenas. Anonymous tips and reports from citizens played an important role on locating the three 16 year-old fugitives. Pablo Bertozzi, Direct...

The work of the different police bodies of the Ministry of Public Security during this 2018 has allowed the seizure of 25 tons 165 kilograms of cocaine, number that exceeds the total amount seized for the previous year which was of 22 tons 567 kilograms. This number was reached with 365 kilograms that were seized by Costa Rican Coast Guard from two Colombians on Saturday, December 8 in waters o...

The sixth edition of the Costa Rica Surfing Awards will recognize the best athletes in this discipline in an event that will take place Saturday, December 22 at La Fira, Via Lindora Shopping Center in Santa Ana, starting at 9 p.m. The event will bring together athletes such as Leilani McGonagle, Noemar McGonagle, Cali Muñoz, Malakai Martinez, Brisa Hennessey, Eva Woodland and Rubiana Brownwell;...

After three months of strike, the labor unions of the education sector lifted the movement and will go back to work Monday, December 10, for the remaining 4 days of the 2018 school year. Even though the fiscal reform was already approved by congress on second debate and the Labor Court ruled for a second time the strike of educators as illegal only one of the labor unions, SEC, had already retu...

The constant eruptions of the Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica that have been registered since yesterday and throughout the day today have caused ash fall to different parts of the Great Metropolitan Area. The activity this Sunday, December 9, began since the early morning hours (1:15 a.m.) and again (6:52 a.m.) with a column of ash that reached over 800 meters above the crater, 4.140 meters abo...

According to a survey carried out by the Costa Rican Hotels Chamber, hotels in the country are registering already over 80% occupancy for the holiday season. Beach hotels as it is common for this time of the year are the ones registering higher occupation numbers of over 82% while mountain hotels are at 80%. It is likely that the upcoming weeks register an increase specially of national to...

Five juvenile delinquents escaped the evening of Saturday, December 8 from the Zurqui Juvenile Complex in San Luis, Santo Domingo, Heredia. Officers at the prison noticed the group was missing when they were doing the evening count. The young men have criminal records for murder, robbery, attempted murder and aggravated robbery. Penitentiary Police officers with the assistance of Public P...

The color of the water of the lake of the Poas Volcano in Costa Rica, changed its coloration from its regular turquoise to green. According to information given by volcanologist Guillermo Alvarado, from the National Seismology Network, the reason for the change of color occurs because the volcano has two sources of activity under the lake which constantly inject sulfur dioxide to it; the effect...

This Saturday  December 8th and 7:49 am the Turrialba Volcano registered another eruption with a column of gas that reached approximately 500 meters above the crater and 3,840 meters above sea level (12595.2 ft). The direction of the winds during the morning directed the ash towards some areas of the Central Valley such as Coronado, Goicoechea, Moravia and several cities in Heredia. Smell of su...

Costa Rica became the first country to gather 25 tons of plastic in under 8 hours, this gives the country the Guinness Record which was previously held by India which had gathered 23 tons in less than 8 hours. Only type 1 and 2 plastic bottles counted. The activity took place at the Pedregal Event Center in San Antonio de Belén, Heredia, here all the plastic was gathered and weighed which re...