The Costa Rica Gringo

Arenal rainforest reserve night time river adventure

March 12th, 2009 | Costa Rica - Adventure, Costa Rica - Family Friendly, Costa Rica - Gringo Favorite, Costa Rica - Must See or Do, The Best of Costa Rica | 3 Comments »

Arenal Reserve has much to offer for the adventurist, but one of my favorite activities is the night time rainforest raft tour. When I thought of doing this tour I expected to have several people with me, as we sat waiting at my hotel I saw several busses of people going off to their adventures. Pretty soon after a van with a raft in tow pulled in, I realized my group would be the only one going on this adventure.

On the way to our location we came to realize right away that our tour guide spoke pretty good English. We arrived at the river and loaded the raft into the water. Very quickly day turned into Read more

Volunteer Teaching English in Costa Rica

March 10th, 2009 | Costa Rica - Business | 2 Comments »

A year ago Costa Rican president Óscar Arias Sánchez announced the Costa Rica Multilingüe program, with its goal of having all high school graduates in Costa Rica speak English by the year 2017. (Currently only approximately 10% of Costa Ricans speak fluent English.)

A year later the program has called for some adjustments, with one of the major focuses being the improvement of the quality of English speakers.

The Casa Presidencial has decided to enlist the help of English speaking volunteers to train adult Costa Ricans who are learning English. With some 33.500 residents from the United States, Britain, and Canada living in Costa Rica, the program has an expansive resource at their fingertips.

The program is voluntary, Read more

Costa Rica Tops Latin American Countries for Tourism

March 5th, 2009 | The Best of Costa Rica | No Comments »

The World Economic Forum has released its newest Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index, and Costa Rica is up in the rankings from last year.

This year Costa Rica ranked 42nd on the list, which was released last Wednesday, up two places from last year. It also makes Costa Rica the highest ranking Latin American country on the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index.

Costa Rica placed ahead of other popular Latin American destinations such as Panama, Mexico, and Puerto Rico when it comes to tourism infrastructure, education and training within the tourism sector and enthusiasm and encouragement for travel and tourism.

The overall ranking of 42nd combines a number of individual rankings, such as tourism infrastructure, in which Costa Rica Read more

Shop for Organic and Natural Food in Costa Rica

March 3rd, 2009 | Costa Rica - Best Shopping | No Comments »

Goat’s raw yogurt… almond oil… kelp… organic fruits and veggies… the list of natural and organic products available in the Central Valley of Costa Rica thanks to Natura Style is quite long.

Living a natural life style and being in touch with the land are two things that attract many people to Costa Rica. By using natural and organic products from Natura Style you can shop for all the best foods for your body. After all, what is the point of getting in touch with nature externally and not internally as well?

Natura Style makes it possible to receive the best natural and organic ingredients and foods for cooking at home in Costa Rica. You can order Read more

Diving Cocos Island with Okeanos Aggressor

February 27th, 2009 | Costa Rica - Business, Costa Rica - Must See or Do, The Best of Costa Rica | No Comments »

I previously posted about taking the 8 day, mostly land trip to Cocos Island with the Friends of Isla de Coco Foundation and Organization for Tropical Studies, but let’s get real. Most people do not go to Cocos Island just to hike around or snorkel. The diving is where it’s at!!!

One of the two main companies who handles dive trips to Cocos Island is Okeanos. The 110–foot Okeanos Aggressor is part of the worldwide Aggressor Fleet, and has been departing from the Pacific port city of Puntarenas to Cocos for the last 20 years.

The trips are open to non-divers, but are geared towards divers, and experience is recommended, as Read more

Quick Tip for Discounts on Booking Costa Rican Hotels and Travel Services

February 26th, 2009 | Costa Rica - Travel Tips | 2 Comments »

If you are making a reservation for a hotel or a tour in Costa Rica and are able to pay in cash ask for a discount.

Many hotels and other service providers add upwards of 23% to your total bill in order to cover the taxes charged for reported bookings (16.93% for hotels) and the additional 7% most banks charge for merchant account credit card services.

Therefore, if you are looking for an additional discount, when making your reservation mention that you will be paying in cash and ask if there is any discount in doing such. The hotel or tour company should be willing to discount the price of your reservation at least somewhat, since they will not Read more

Isla del Coco Conservation Area Trip – April 2009

February 25th, 2009 | Costa Rica - Must See or Do, The Best of Costa Rica | 3 Comments »

Isla del Coco, or Cocos Island as it is commonly called, is one of Costa Rica’s virtually untouched wonders. The island is located 535 kilometers from Costa Rica’s western, Pacific coast, and takes 36 hours by boat to arrive.

Cocos Island is a National Park, and is now in competition to become one of the world’s new Seven Wonders. You can cast your vote for Cocos by clicking here.

Cocos is especially famous for diving, and the two main companies that sail there, Okeanos and Undersea Hunter, offer a variety of diving trips. But what if you aren’t a diver?

Thankfully the Friends of Isla del Coco Foundation (FAICO) and the Organization for Read more

Is the Costa Rica Economy in a Recession?

February 23rd, 2009 | Costa Rica - Business | No Comments »

I am going to start this off by stating I am no expert on the economy… I just try to provide those interested in Costa Rica with helpful information regarding travel, business, and relocation to this beautiful country.

I am an avid reader of The Tico Times, Costa Rica’s leading English News Source. There is where I found an interesting article by Tico Times Staff Member Gillian Gillers, detailing the economic situation of Costa Rica.

It seems all the numbers are currently down in Costa Rica, causing many economists to declare a recession. The Central Bank, however, is not so quick to label it as such. (They have never declared a recession, actually.)

One of Read more

Costa Rica Travel and Road Map

February 21st, 2009 | Costa Rica - Travel Tips | No Comments »

Costa Rica Travel consistently prints what I believe to be the best map of Costa Rica available. Purchase a copy today and save yourself a whole lot of trouble and headaches later.

The map is durable and waterproof, includes National Parks and Refuges, detail of the Central Valley, a blown up San Jose street map, and a variety of activities and attractions.

Street level details are given not only of San Jose, but also the whole Central Valley area. Also of benefit to many traveling gringos is the handy English/Spanish phrase section.

This Costa Rica map also includes a driving distance table and drive time calculator, differentiates between paved and un-paved roads, and Read more

Travel Deals to Costa Rica

February 19th, 2009 | Costa Rica - Travel Tips | 4 Comments »

As an avid traveler I am always interested in hearing about travel deals, tips, experiences, etc. That is one of the reasons why I sign up for the newsletters from the NY Times.

In a recent email newsletter they pointed me to an interesting link, that doesn’t really apply to most of us living abroad, but is nice for vacationers looking for deals. It’s called Luxury Link.

Luxury Link is an auction site for travel deals all over the planet. For me it was kind of reminiscent of eBay. You can bid on the package deal, or buy it now for a higher price.

I did a search for auction packages in Costa Rica and found a Read more

Arenal rainforest reserve night time river adventure

Volunteer Teaching English in Costa Rica

Costa Rica Tops Latin American Countries for Tourism

Shop for Organic and Natural Food in Costa Rica

Diving Cocos Island with Okeanos Aggressor

Quick Tip for Discounts on Booking Costa Rican Hotels and Travel Services

Isla del Coco Conservation Area Trip – April 2009

Is the Costa Rica Economy in a Recession?

Costa Rica Travel and Road Map

Travel Deals to Costa Rica

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