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More and more travelers want to feel they are contributing in some way to the place where they vacation. Giving back while on vacation has become a global movement sparking volunteerism and community outreach with tourists.

In Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, two top hotels share a heartfelt program that lets their guests feel good about supporting the community there.

Hotel Tropico Latino and Florblanca Hotel implement the “$5 Check Out Program” that allows their guests to add an optional charge on thei

Come January 2016, schoolchildren in the southern Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica will hopefully breathe easy with cleaner air.

Roads in front of seven elementary schools in the region, that are now unpaved dustbowls, will be the first in Costa Rica to be made of recyclable plastic, thanks to the Pave the Road initiative.

The southern Nicoya Peninsula is one of those iconic Costa Rica tourism spots, where you can find paradise beaches, world-class surf breaks, forested coastline, and charming towns

If you’ve never seen it, the amazing phenomenon of massive arrivals of hundreds of thousands of sea turtles coming ashore all at once to lay their eggs on Costa Rica’s beaches is one of the world’s most spectacular nature events.

They arrive literally in waves, slowly hauling their heavy bodies out of the ocean and up the beach. They wait for the high tide at night, using the high surf to propel them farther up the sand, and the protection of darkness against predators to dig their nests and l

Article by Shannon Farley

Renting a vacation home in Costa Rica, especially one at the beach, is a great idea. Stay steps from the sand at beautiful Santa Teresa, Costa Rica in the new beachfront vacation home, Martha’s House.

The two-story octagon-shaped house is just off the beach and surrounded by lush tropical gardens. The house sleeps up to 10 persons with four air-conditioned bedrooms and three baths. Other luxury features include a fully-equipped kitchen, large swimming pool, Jacuzzi, saun

Summertime in the popular beach town of Santa Teresa, Costa Rica means it’s time to hang out on the beach soaking in the sun and playing in the beautiful blue Pacific Ocean. It’s a great time to have fun with family and friends on a Costa Rica beach vacation.

On the southern Nicoya Peninsula, Santa Teresa is one of the best beaches to surf in Costa Rica. National surf competitions are held here annually.

Knowing what you are doing when you go in the ocean, taking precautions and water safety are t

The Nicoya Peninsula in the northwest region of Costa Rica in Central America is known as a “Blue Zone”. That means people here are more than twice as likely as elsewhere to reach a healthy age of at least 90 and frequently live to be over 100.

U.S. author and researcher Dan Buettner’s 2008 book, “The Blue Zones”, is written about his research with National Geographic and the world’s top longevity scientists to identify places around the world where people live measurably longer and better. After

Guanacaste – the northwest province of Costa Rica – is known for its rolling grassy plains, “Gold Coast” beaches, towering mountains and volcanoes, sunny dry climate and unique dry tropical forest. For generations “Guanacastecos,” as the residents here are called, have been dedicated to farming, cattle and horse ranching. The “sabanero” (cowboy) traditions, folklore, music and dance are deeply rooted in the country’s culture.

But Guanacaste wasn’t always a part of Costa Rica. Once belonging to Ni

Costa Rica is celebrating International Surfing Day on June 20 big this year. Costa Rica’s surfing “dream team” made national history on June 7 when they were crowned 2015 World Surfing Champions.

Costa Rica’s team won the overall gold medal in the International Surfing Association (ISA) 2015 World Surfing Games held at Playa Popoyo, Nicaragua, competing against 26 teams from around the world. The medal, along with the Fernando Aguirre World Team Trophy and the International Olympic Committee (I

When I stay at Pranamar Oceanfront Villas & Yoga Retreat in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, one of my favorite things to do is to swim in the giant tide pool down the beach about five minutes from the hotel.

The larger-than-Olympic-sized shallow sea water swimming pool is one of the best-kept secrets of the area. It is located between Pranamar Villas and “El Peñón,” or the big rock, where Santa Teresa Beach turns into Hermosa Beach – better known as “Playa Hermosa”. Since Santa Teresa and Playa Hermos

Eco-friendly travel and sustainable tourism are some of the top buzzwords today in the travel and tourism industry worldwide. “Go Green” is the slogan you hear most often nowadays. Planet-conscientious travelers are more frequently seeking out eco-friendly lodging wherever they travel.

In ecotourism hotspot Costa Rica, L'acqua Viva Resort & Spa is a leading eco-friendly hotel in Nosara on the Nicoya Peninsula. The Bali-style Costa Rica luxury hotel is located between the beautiful white sand bea

Once, Santa Teresa was a small fishing village, home to a handful of families who lived off the sea, along with small-scale agriculture and cattle ranching. Like many of Costa Rica’s top beach destinations along the Nicoya Peninsula, Santa Teresa’s isolation from poor or non-existing roads kept this tropical paradise off the beaten track for decades.

From the hilly interior, the jungle sweeps down the mountains to the Pacific Ocean, hugging the shore and creating some of the most beautiful and hi

Walk down the Pacific beaches of Santa Teresa, Costa Rica and you’re likely to see long, empty stretches of white sand, beautiful blue rolling waves, multicolored crushed seashells and interesting rocks and pebbles. What you won’t see so much is trash.

The southern Nicoya Peninsula beaches of Playa Hermosa, Playa Santa Teresa, Playa Carmen and Mal Pais all were honored once again with the Costa Rica Ecological Blue Flag Award by the Costa Rican Tourism Board for being some of the cleanest beache

Surfing hotspot of Santa Teresa, Costa Rica is a favorite among national pro surfers in Costa Rica. The award-winning beach was in the spotlight April 18-19, 2015 for the season’s fourth 2015 Costa Rica National Surfing Circuit competition, sponsored by ISAW Action Cameras of Australia.  Competitive surfers from all over Costa Rica came to Santa Teresa to compete. 

Surfing in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

On Costa Rica’s southern Nicoya Peninsula, Santa Teresa and neighboring Mal Pais draw visitors f

What do a little black mare and the Virgin of Guadalupe have to do with Christmas traditions in Costa Rica?

One of the more interesting Christmastime festivals held in Costa Rica is the Festival of “La Yeguita” (the little mare) on December 12. Held annually on the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica, the celebration combines traditional native beliefs and Roman Catholic customs.

According to the University of Costa Rica, the indigenous legend tells about two brothers caught in a machete-fight over a

You want to visit Santa Teresa, Costa Rica – named one of the most beautiful beaches in the world with some of the best surfing in Costa Rica. But where is it and how do you get there?

Santa Teresa Beach is located on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica on the southern Nicoya Peninsula. There are three ways to get to Santa Teresa, Costa Rica:  driving, domestic flight or boat taxi.

Hotel Tropico Latino is a Santa Teresa beachfront hotel at beautiful Playa Carmen. Hotel Tropico Latino specializes in 

Costa Rica’s southern Nicoya Peninsula is full of natural beauty and rich in biodiversity. Jagged and mountainous from its volcanic origins, with pockets of shimmering beaches, the landscape is a diverse transition zone between tropical dry forest and wet tropical forest.

The Gulf of Nicoya’s placid waters stretch between the Peninsula and mainland. The tops of underwater mountains rising from the sea dot the Gulf as its many islands. The Gulf is an aquatic paradise rich in marine life and water

“Keep close to Nature's heart ... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” ~ John Muir

Leaving everything you are familiar with and going to a new destination could be the recipe for any manner of trip. Add in a program of relaxation designed to clear the mind and ease tension, he

althy vegetarian cuisine, time in nature and exercise that restores you, and you have the makings of a Yoga Holiday.

Yoga retreats, or “holidays” as