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Planning a student educational trip to Costa Rica? This amazing country has so much to offer students in learning experiences – more than 5% of the world’s biodiversity, multiple climactic zones, awe-inspiring natural beauty, and a fun, friendly local culture in a very safe country for travel.

For an unforgettable student learning experience with hands-on research at a facility certified in sustainable tourism in Costa Rica, go to Veragua Rainforest Eco-Adventure. One of the most important resear

You always hear about Costa Rica’s amazing beauty. The fabulous uncrowded beaches. The exciting volcanoes. The thrilling adventures like zip lining and whitewater rafting. The wildlife … rainforest … and the warm, tropical climate.

What you don’t often hear about is Costa Rican food.

That’s not because there’s nothing to write home about. It’s just that Costa Rican cuisine isn’t touted as much as its sloths and surfing.

That’s all changing. Costa Rica’s government is on a mission to promote the

Costa Rica has always taken pride in its efforts to rely mostly on renewable energy sources. According to the Costa Rica Electricity Institute, the Central American nation was powered 285 days in 2015 fossil fuel-free.

Solar is the clean energy of the future, and more and more homes and businesses in Costa Rica are installing solar panels to reduce electricity costs and positively impact the environment. For remote locations not connected to the national electrical grid, solar energy is a godsend

It’s not always easy to be eco-friendly or sustainable when running a business, especially in a country like Costa Rica, which sets the bar high for ecotourism.

Costa Rica essentially pioneered the flourishing ecotourism trend nearly two decades ago. Since then, with the many stringent demands of its Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) program, it takes a great deal of commitment, hard work and dedication to authentically be a sustainable eco-friendly business.

Veragua Rainforest Eco-Adv

If you are lucky, you will be spending your Christmas vacation in Costa Rica on an amazing tropical beach alongside the incredible Costa Rica rainforest at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge.

To help get you in the holiday spirit, here are some of the fun activities the Nicuesa Lodge staff has planned for you.

There will be special dinners on Dec. 24 for Christmas Eve and Dec. 31 for New Year’s Eve. The gala feasts will include roast pork, grilled whole fresh fish caught by Nicuesa staff, and other

Winter has begun across most of the United States, Canada and northern Europe. As chilly winter weather freezes the north heading into Christmas, you are not alone if you have started dreaming about a sunny tropical holiday.

Escape this winter to the land of summer in Costa Rica – the “happiest country in the world”. It’s hard not to be happy with blue skies, warm sunshine, tropical breezes, rainforest, warm surf and soft sand. Sounds pretty good if you are looking out the window at freezing rai

There is a magic in peacefully gliding along in a kayak, especially when it is on calm, smooth water along picturesque coastline.

Kayaking in Costa Rica in the “sweet gulf” of Golfo Dulce by the Osa Peninsula – one of only four tropical fjords in the world – it is like paddling across a giant mirror to the sky. Close to shore, the clear water’s blues and grays turn to liquid jade, reflecting endless shades of green palm trees and jungle that crowd the water’s edge. Look down and you’ll probably s

Have you ever been driving down the highway in totally stop-and-go rush hour traffic, and thought, “Why the (bleep) am I doing this?”

It just took 10 minutes to go 2 miles. And this is nothing unusual. It’s every day – to work, home from work ….

Know what I’m talking about?

You have deadlines to meet, things that have to get done, places to be, and you’re already late. There’s that question that nags at you, subtly, persistently … “Is my life worth this stress?”

Then you think: “What if I just chuck

If eco-friendly travel and staying at sustainable tourism eco-hotels is a priority when you go on vacation, you’ll want to pay attention to Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge in Costa Rica.

The Costa Rica eco-hotel was awarded the highest level rating of the Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) program last month for the second consecutive year. Playa Nicuesa Lodge is one of only 41 hotels in Costa Rica that have received the highest rating of 5 Leaves in the CST Program by the Costa Rican Tou

Travelers can be environmentally conscious when going on vacation, and it doesn’t take much effort or time. Little things add up, and if everyone followed these sustainable travel tips, communities and the planet would benefit in amazing ways.

10 Easy & Simple Sustainable Travel Tips

1.  Re-use your hotel towels and sheets; don’t ask for new ones every day (you don’t at home!).
2. Turn off the lights and air conditioner when leaving your hotel room.
3. Don’t leave the sink tap or shower running water unnece

You’ve been to Costa Rica on vacation, and you’ve thought: “Wouldn’t it be great to live there?” Or, invest in a vacation home that you can rent out and visit frequently?

Besides being one of the top five best places in the world to retire according to the 2015 International Living Retirement Index, a lot of people from other countries invest in real estate in Costa Rica for vacation homes and rentals.

But where do you start to look for property in Costa Rica?

Location is most important. Two of the

People in other countries pay big money for audio programs like this, while here at Portasol Rainforest & Ocean View Living eco-community it’s real. The sounds of the Costa Rica rainforest: crickets chirping, big bullfrogs burping and booming, Common Tink Frogs “tinking”, myriads of other insects whirring, and the Portalón River bubbling over stones and boulders.

I returned to Portasol Living eco-community on Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Coast a couple of months ago for a much-needed weekend get

Time to get away from it all, but you want something different than the usual packed beaches and crowded hotels? What if I told you there was a tropical paradise of rainforest and beach with bright sunny days and warm balmy nights, and you could have it all to yourself? No crowds.

You’d probably think: now hold on, I can’t afford a private island or multi-million dollar hard-to-get-to swanky hideaway. So what if I told you this place is completely affordable, easily accessible, and brand new in

What is it like to stay at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge?

The extraordinary Costa Rica eco-lodge is designed sustainablywith lodge buildings tucked into the forest back from the beach. All construction is from beautiful tropical hardwoods taken from naturally fallen or farmed trees, and recycled materials.

For accommodations at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge, there are three one-bedroom cabins, one cabin suite, one two-bedroom cabin, four rooms in the two-story Mango Guesthouse, and the two-sto

In ecotourism pioneer Costa Rica, being eco-friendly is extremely important. Eco-friendly travel and green tourism continue to be the fastest growing sectors worldwide in the tourism industry.

Nearly two decades ago, in 1999, the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) founded the Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) program to regulate Costa Rican tourism businesses that are truly sustainable and eco-friendly. Their goal was to differentiate the real ecotourism businesses from those that are “gree

Building a new home is an exciting venture. When you are building a new home in Costa Rica, it is even more thrilling! And there are so many innovative possibilities with tropical architecture design.

Costa Rican architect Richard Muller, head of the firm RM Architecture & Engineering, has been designing and building innovative tropical architecture in Costa Rica for more than 35 years. One of his favorite spots for home building is at the Costa Rica eco-development Portasol Rainforest & Ocean Vi

What’s better than being in the rainforest?

Being in the rainforest with expert scientists who can tell you fascinating stories about the animals and plants that live there.

Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge in Costa Rica has invited celebrated U.S. scientists Howard Topoff, Ph.D. and Carol Simon, Ph.D. – both professors’ emeriti of The City University of New York and former Research Associates at the American Museum of Natural History – to be special guest lecturers at the award-winning Costa Rica e

Normally, you don’t see tough, radical conservationists attending lectures by land developers. But there they were, 100 strong, from the Nature Conservancy, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and from all over Latin America – all raptly listening to how land development can actually preserve forests.

Nervous before his formidable audience, Guillermo Piedra Gonzalez explained how his small residential development in the tiny country of Costa Rica is carving out a niche

Re-use your towels at your hotel, ask that your bed linens not be changed daily, take a shower instead of a bath, wear water-resistant sunblock – these are all ways travelers can be responsible water consumers and participate in this year’s World Tourism Day that highlights water conservation.

In support of the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation for 2013, this year’s World Tourism Day (WTD) on September 27 is themed: Tourism and Water: Protecting our Common Future.

Travelers ar