Blogs

When you think of having a destination wedding, is the usual location of a picture-perfect beach in some exotic tropical setting what comes to mind? What about scenic countryside? Or a live volcano?

What if you and your betrothed, or your family and friends, are not really beach people? Luckily, beaches are not your only option for a destination wedding in Costa Rica. An equally romantic choice for where to tie the knot is at Hacienda Guachipelin by Rincon de la Vieja Volcano in the countryside o

For its fourth year, the intense ultra-trail running endurance race The North Face Endurance Challenge Costa Rica returns to the Rincón de la Vieja Volcano in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

On Saturday, May 28, 2016, hundreds of runners from all over the world will challenge themselves and each other in four endurance trail-running races of 10 km, 21 km, 50 km and 80 km on the slopes of Rincón de la Vieja Volcano. All races are individual, with no teams.

Demanding trails cover difficult yet beautiful ter

Whether or not you can name the constellations or planets, it is always fascinating to look up at a clear night sky and get lost among the stars.

Anyone can enjoy stargazing. The best places to go, of course, are where the sky is wide open and very dark, with no distracting city lights. Up in the mountains, or in the desert, or out on the open ocean; it is breathtaking to stare upwards at night at millions and millions of twinkling stars and planets in a blue black sky.

Costa Rica is one of the

If you are visiting the north Pacific region of Guanacaste, Costa Rica, the best day of adventure you can dream of is at Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin by the Rincon de la Vieja Volcano.

Put simply, you can have the best day of Costa Rica adventure tours that you can dream of all in one place. Matter of fact, there are so many fun adventures that most people have a hard time choosing what to do: zip-lines, canyoning, waterfall rappelling, river tubing, horseback riding, mountain biking, nature trails

For those looking to relax and detoxify their bodies, hot springs in Costa Rica are the “new, hot destination.”

Hot springs have been treasured for centuries by people all over the world for their therapeutic benefits. Luxuriant warm water rich in minerals like sulfur, silica, calcium, iron and magnesium are rejuvenating, detoxifying and relaxing. Not to mention great for stress reduction. Reported health benefits of hot springs include relief from arthritis, fibromyalgia, skin conditions, and hi

It’s 5:45 a.m. The sun is already shining, and I am gingerly making my way through the cow corral, being careful not to step in anything I shouldn’t nor get too close to the long-horned cows.

I’m headed to the cow barn at Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin at Rincon de la Vieja, Costa Rica, to see how the ranch hands handle the morning milking. Inside, several buckets of steaming, frothy white milk wait in the holding area until they are carried to the hotel restaurant kitchen for processing.

One of the r

Wouldn’t it be nice to dine in a restaurant that only served freshly-made meals made with locally-sourced ingredients, vegetables picked that same day, sauces that didn’t come from a jar or can, bread hot out of the oven, juices that only a moment ago were whole fruit, and desserts loving crafted by an on-site pastry chef?

In fact, you can. This is what is cooking at Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The renowned Costa Rica eco-adventure hotel at the base of the Rincon de la

The dry tropical forest covering the western side of Rincon de la Vieja Volcano in Guanacaste, Costa Rica creates an interesting ecosystem for many different animals and plants than you would see elsewhere in Costa Rica.

The award-winning eco-hotel Hacienda Guachipelin, located at the base of the massive volcano, offers fun and fascinating Costa Rica nature tours. You can visit waterfalls and natural volcanic hot springs, go hiking in the Rincon de la Vieja National Park, learn about ancient cul

If you like the thrill of riding rough and fast down the rugged terrain of an active volcano in Costa Rica, passing through rainforest, splashing through rivers and getting muddy, then this new mountain biking tour is for you.

In Guanacaste, Costa Rica – a major area for mountain biking – Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin has created the Iron-Horse Downhill Mountain Bike Tour for travelers who want to experience the unparalleled adventure of mountain biking in Costa Rica.

Over the years, Costa Rica has

After a big day of hiking, zip-lining, horseback riding or other adventure tours in Costa Rica, there is nearly nothing better than soaking in steamy thermal springs so hot they make you tingle all over. Your tired muscles are soon relaxed into spaghetti-like existence and the cares of the world melt away.

Mineral-rich hot springs have rejuvenating and therapeutic properties treasured for centuries by people all over the world. Travelers pay big bucks to visit famous spas with mineral springs. A

Just in time for Christmas, travelers to Rincon de la Vieja Volcano in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, can enjoy charming new guest rooms at award-winning eco-hotel Hacienda Guachipelin.

At the base of the Rincon de la Vieja Volcano, Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin is one of the best places to stay in Guanacaste. The eco-tourism hotel is a working horse and cattle ranch and has a fantastic adventure park. They were awarded the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for 2014.

The spacious new Superior rooms ha

Need to get from San Jose to the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica? Or from Guanacaste to the Monteverde cloud forest? How about from Arenal to the beach at Manuel Antonio?

Transportation in Costa Rica, unless you’ve booked a Costa Rica vacation package that includes transfers, can sometimes be complicated and expensive. Now there is a Costa Rica transportation solution that also makes your travel days fun.

Desafio Adventure Company offers Adventure Connections that take care of your transportation bet

Green season at Rincon de la Vieja Volcano in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, means more water flowing everywhere. Time for those exhilarating river tubing trips on the Negro River. And time for waterfalls.

Four major waterfalls flow at Rincon de la Vieja by Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin, and all of them have pools where you can swim in refreshing, pure water. Getting there is an adventure – either by hiking or horseback riding. Almost all waterfall tours from the Hacienda Guachipelin Adventure Center last

The impressive Arenal Volcano is at the top of everyone’s list of places to visit in Costa Rica. The spectacular rainforest around the live volcano, the area’s easy accessibility, and huge abundance of outdoor adventures make it a top place to visit in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica’s whitewater rafting fame includes the beautiful rivers of the Arenal area – the Balsa, Toro and Penas Blancas rivers. The best thing about whitewater rafting in Costa Rica is that you can do it all year long! In the dry sum

Every young child has a special place where they feel happiest. For Fernando Madrigal, as a young boy growing up in Costa Rica, that place was his grandparents’ farm – the Finca La Troya in the Orosi Valley of Cartago.

“I spent practically all of my childhood and youth on this farm until my grandparents sold it,” reflected Madrigal. “I remember that La Troya was a magical place. There was a place at the top of the farm where there was a mountain with primary forest. My uncle, Rodrigo Madrigal Mo

Almost the end of the year – are you looking for a quick getaway vacation?

Before the holiday season gets going, escape for a week to sunny Costa Rica on a seven-day Tropical Paradise Vacation. This really good travel deal from Costa Rica Special Deals is priced at only $365 USD per person (based on double occupancy). You get three nights in the rainforest at majestic Arenal Volcano and three nights on the beach at gorgeous Manuel Antonio.

Impressive, towering Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica is alway

I remember the first time I visited Volcano Irazu. It was my first year living in Costa Rica. A friend of mine and I rented a car to drive around and explore this magical country we now called home.

We set out in the morning from San Jose, a hot and bright sunny day. We drove through Costa Rica’s first historical capital city of Cartago, past the soaring and majestic Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels, on up through patchwork farm land ascending the flank of Irazu Volcano. Up and up we wound, pas