Vacation Rates

Are regular sports not that exiting to you? Do seek a more thrilling and exhilarating experience that will challenge and push you to the limit? If you answered yes, then extreme sports might be just right for you.

Activities that have a type of danger in them are extreme sports. They involve things like physical exertion, stunts, special gear, speed, and height. There are three kinds you can do; air, land, and water.

Bungee jumping is an example of an air sport. This is where you are securely tied with a cord to something mounted and stable and then jump off of a very tall structure, such as a bridge or ledge. Some people also jump off of moving structures like planes, balloons, and helicopters. People who do this also tend to try sky diving.

Hang gliding is another air sport. In this, you act as a pilot and hang onto an aircraft called a hang glider. To fly, you launch off of your feet and into the air so you can glide. They are typically made of fabric and aluminum. You are secured into a harness and control the direction of the glider by moving your body weight.  Read more...

As a Costa Rica professional photographer, encountering new experiences is the norm, not the exception. My tour group never knows what is around the next corner.

One of the destinations for my group in Costa Rica Photo Tours is the beautiful, pristine Osa Peninsula along the southern Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, a place that National Geographic says is “the most biologically diverse place” on the planet. In order to reach this location by vehicle we drive through the tiny village of Ojochal, which is very near my home.

Some Costa Ricans in rural communities have an unusual method of moving. As one of my groups was passing through the village some folks started pointing to something ahead of us. It was a fellow moving. But, before telling you this story, let me give you a little background on this gentleman.

When we first moved to Costa Rica our only neighbours were Ticos (as Costa Ricans call themselves) and Senor Wilson (isn’t that Spanish or what?) brought us a house-warming gift of some flowering plants. It was quite humorous to see him standing at the top of our driveway holding some plants because, you see, he was too polite to come to our door without an invitation even though he was bearing a gift to welcome us.  Read more...

Recently, a Costa Rica based research satellite and fin tagging expedition got underway at Cocos Island to study the migration patterns of marine turtles.

Marine researchers traveled Costa Rica open waters for some 30 hours in their search for knowledge about these ancient marine animals.

Consider what they do as a kind of working Costa Rica vacation that perhaps will contribute to saving these marvelous marine reptiles now sadly endangered in much of their range.

Cocos Island, once described by the famed oceanographer, Jacque Cousteau, as the most beautiful island he had ever seen, lies some 340 miles off the Pacific shore of Costa Rica, nearly halfway to the Galapagos Islands.

It was not the lovely sunsets and beaches that captured the imagination of the Captain. Its beauty is just off its shores, under water, in a place that Costa Ricans have voted as one of the Seven Wonders of Costa Rica. It is there that one finds priceless treasure: vast numbers of fish, whales, porpoises, and turtles.

Marine turtles have been roaming the oceans since the days of dinosaurs. Imagine the mighty T Rex preying on them 200 million years ago when they paddled ashore to lay their eggs.  Read more...

Disneyworld brags it is the “happiest place on earth” but the most satisfying place to live in the world is officially tiny Costa Rica, winner of the Happy Planet Index.

The Index measures three factors in 143 countries, encompassing 99 percent of the population on the planet: high life expectancy, high life satisfaction, and a low ecological footprint. Costa Rica came out on top by a large margin.

The Index asked three questions:1. What is a country’s life expectancy ( premise: it is better to live longer than die young)? 2. How satisfied are a country’s people with the quality of their life (premise: living longer but miserably is not very satisfying)? and 3. What is the cost to the planet (premise: sustainable development is better than exhausting resources)?

Like me, you probably assume that the most developed nations will come in towards the top but that is not the case. Despite its wealth and power, the United States occupies number 114. England does better but still only ranks 74th.  Read more...

Costa Rica is a very small Central American country bordered by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. Many who visit find a tropical paradise. It got its name 600 years ago by Christopher Columbus who, when he landed along its Caribbean coast was so enraptured he named the place ‘Costa Rica’ or the ‘Rich Coast’.

Costa Rica is a stable democracy and, along with Switzerland, only one of two countries in the world without a military. With two international airports and an ever-growing tourism infrastructure, it is a great place to visit. There are many things to do and see and the country is particularly famous for its flora and fauna.

The world-wide economic downturn has proven challenging to Costa Rica tourism, which has been struggling. However, every challenge presents an opportunity and if you are thinking of a vacation, now may be exactly the time to travel Costa Rica. Airfares are cheap and there are some great travel and accommodation bargains. Indeed, the Costa Rica Institute of Tourism (ICT) has put together a website with discount coupons. Simply Google ‘visitcostarica.com/crplus’ to check it out. And do not forget that lots and lots of resorts and hotels will offer discounts if you just ask.  Read more...