Posts Tagged ‘costa rica vacations’
Wonderful Costa Rica Fishing: What Are You Waiting For?
November 12, 2011
Imagine yourself in an open boat a ship fishing in tropical, crystal waters, surrounded by bright sunshine and ocean breezes. Suddenly, a monster from deep below attacks your bait, your rod bends halfway to the water, your line races from your reel and your heart races even faster.
If this sounds fun to you, a Costa Rica fishing vacation might be something for you!
Along the country’s North Pacific coast, the areas off Flamingo and Tamarindo offer some of the hottest fishing spots. Here, sailfish can be caught throughout the entire year but the best fishing is typically from May to August. Schools of tuna are abundant here between August to October. It isn’t uncommon to see tuna schools with fishing weighing 40 to 60 pounds and, from time to time, huge fish weighing 200-400 pounds.
Papagayo Bay from November to March is a popular area an excellent place to catch roosterfish. They generally tend to like shorelines and are typically caught in around 60 feet of water. Good sized marlin, colorful dorado, and wahoo may also be caught here throughout the year.
Many anglers travel to Costa Rica specifically to try their skill with sailfish and these fighting beauties are often very common along the central Pacific coast. Go to Los Suenos Marina or Quepos for a charter out to offshore waters to catch sails and marlin.
Fortunately, some of the best fishing is at the height of the tourist season. December thru April is the ideal time to catch these fighters.
If you happen to travel to Costa Rica during the summer, the colourful dorado fish is often found here from May to October and caught while trolling. Closer to shore, you can land, snapper, roosters, barracudas, and wahoo.
The southern Pacific coast is home to the recreational centers of Drake Bay, Puerto Jiminez, and the Golfo Dulce. Marlin, sometime 400 pounds or more, and sailfish can be caught when the waters are warm. There are masses of amberjack, roosters, wahoo, and large snapper inshore.
Indeed, the areas off Golfo Dulce are considered by many fishermen to offer the best inshore fishing in Costa Rica. Grouper, sea bass, and barracuda are some examples of what you may expect to catch here.
In the Caribbean waters of Costa Rica, the prominent fishing centres are Barra del Colorado and Tortuguero, a world famous sea turtle sanctuary. These waters can often be very turbulent and for the best results should be normally avoided during wet season, January to March. Nevertheless, on flat days, this area can offer some of the finest angling around. Here is where you will find the large and impressive tarpon fish easily from May to November.
These waters are also one of the very few places a fortunate fisherman might catch the rare Atlantic sail. Snook (some extremely big) are abounding here. You could also land,in a Jack Crevalle, tripletail, giant grouper, or guapote.
Costa Rica offers a wobbling number of different of fish species. Sport fishing holiday packages can be discovered online, through travel agents , and any number of outfitters.
So get out of your cubicle, away from your personal computer, and into the tropical sun and surf on your Costa Rica holiday!
Whether for great medical care at an affordable price, rafting a tropical river, or diving in warm, azure waters, Costa Rica vacations are a great and affordable holiday.And, while you are there, take a few days to fish for the wonderful Silver King in your Costa Rica tarpon fishing adventure.
Costa Rica Ecotourism At RemoteCorcovado National Park – The Amazon Of Costa Rica
February 5, 2010
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Corcovado National Park (Parque Nacional Corcovado) is considered as the Amazon of Costa Rica. With great reason. This tiny park, merely 42,000 hectares (about 100,000 acres) in size, can be located on the Osa Peninsula, located along the southern Pacific shoreline of Costa Rica, in close proximity to the Panama border.
As Christopher Columbus explored the Americas in 1502 he sailed the Caribbean from Mexico south to a place he named ‘Costa Rica’, the ‘rich coast’. The name stuck. Tremendous tropical forests blanketed the area from the Atlantic to the Pacific and there used to be so many marine turtles that at times ships, lost in the fog, found land by means of following the sounds of thousands of animals paddling in to nesting beaches. Unfortunately, the passage of 500 years has not been generous to either the forests or animals and today most of the primary jungles from Mexico to South America can be found cut down or even burned. Happily, Costa Rica possessed the good sense to protect Corcovado.
About eight decades after Columbus dropped anchor on its Atlantic coast and named it Costa Rica, the English sea captain, Sir Frances Drake (the same one who destroyed the Spanish Armada in 1588, and saved England from Spain), sailed its Pacific coast and, in fact, stopped at a lovely bay on the north end of the Osa Peninsula which is now called Drake Bay in his honor. If you travel to Corcovado, you will probably do so from the very same bay Sir Frances did.
Corcovado is a very tiny (not small, tiny) reserve, less than 160 square miles in size. That is about 20 miles long and 8 miles deep. Tiny. Even so, it is amazing. Described as ‘the most biologically intense place’ on earth by National Georgraphic, it remains largely unspoiled and is the single largest surviving rain forest located on the Pacific Coast from Mexico to South America. The mangroves and other biodiverse areas of Corcovado protect an immense array of plants and animals. Within its borders are 139 species of mammals, including the mighty jaguar, puma, ocelot, and three other kinds of wild cats. You will also find 400 different kinds of birds (the entire continent of Europe has a 1000 species and the United States has 900) living in an area less than half the size of New York City! The largest surviving Central America population of scarlet macasws live here, along with 116 kinds of amphibians and reptiles. ‘Intense” is exactly right: 10% of all the different kinds of mammals in the whole of North and South America combined are found here—in a park less than 1/20th the size of Yellowstone National Park.
If you like frogs (and who does not?) then visiting this national park will be a rare treat. There are poison arrow, glass, and red-eyed tree frogs which make this park their home. It is one of just a handful of places in Costa Rica to find squirrel monkeys, and visitors are able to watch fishing bats fish skimming the rivers for fish at night. At one time you could also find the seriously endangered harpy eagle in Corcovado. Unfortunately, it has not been seen for a number of years and is believed to be extinct in the area.
At Corcovado, you will discover mile after mile of apparently deserted seashores. I say apparently mainly because these beaches are nesting grounds for huge leatherback titlting the scales at more than half a ton), Pacific Ridley, green and hawksbill sea turtles. Tapirs are plentiful and provide food for endangered jaguars and crocodiles. The footprint of these great cats is regularly observed in the muddy trails around the Corcovado Lagoon and they are also sighted occasionally. Bring your camera and stay alert!
The forests of the tiny Amazon-like jewel are as impressive as the rainforests of the Amazon, Indonesia, and Malaysia. This region gets around 400 cm of precipitation yearly and torrential rains fall during the April to December months. It is best for visitors to plan a trip to Corcovado in the dry months which are January to April.
Vic Krumm writes from tropical Costa Rica in his popular Costa Rica Vacations website. Check out unique Corcovado Park here.
Teddy Roosevelt, The Matterhorn, And Costa Rica Eco Tourism: The Beginnings
January 31, 2010
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Like many of life’s greatest achievements, it began by accident. It started with one unique man on a desolate but beautiful mountain. The man was Teddy Roosevelt; the Matterhorn was the mountain where an idea that changed our world germinated. Today, we call it “eco tourism” and every year it leads thousands of people to a tiny gem that Christopher Columbus named ‘Costa Rica’ five centuries ago.
Two decades before he was to become one of America’s greatest presidents, Roosevelt traveled to Switzerland. He was one of the earth’s most famous adventurers who loved nature. So it was that he made the decision to ascend the renowned Mount Matterhorn. When he did so, however, he was distressed by what he found out on the mountain or, more precisely, what precisely he did not.
The mountain was almost silent. Where once there had been many, there were no bears, wolves, goats, mountain sheep, or other wilderness creatures. Only ghosts of the past richness. But only fading memories.
Even though “eco tourism” did not get into the language lexicon for practically 100 more years, Theodore Roosevelt was the world’s very first eco tourist and, I should point out, the man responsible for today’s ecotourism.
Roosevelt recognized that unless vast tracts of land were set aside, relentless exploitation would ultimately lead to calamity. So, when he was elected President, he did something no one before him had considered. He reserved an extraordinary 230 million as wilderness and parks over massive objections from vested interests, gold miners, timber companies, and robber barons.
Roosevelt’s vivid prescience led to an extraordinary discovery: the public would gladly pay money to enjoy nature. Continual use of land through eco tourism brought with it important economic consequences, often much more valuable in comparison with exploitation in many cases—in the United States.
However, that had been America’s experience. How about Costa Rica, a little place in Latin America that in 1519 its Spanish Governor referred to as “the poorest and most miserable Spanish colony in all Americas”? By the middle part of the 20th century, most of its forests were cut or lost to create farm land and the country was primarily reliant upon the foreign trade of bananas, coffee, and other agricultural products for its economic well being. Its future looked bleak, even more so when the world coffee market crashed in the early 1970s.
Certainly, nothing on earth is preordained and from the economic uncertainty arose Costa Rica eco tourism. Crisis always brings with it opportunity and, from a seemingly improbable alliance, conservationists and business interests argued that sustainable development should be given a chance in lieu of simply continuing to make use of the nation’s fast declining resources. The government joined forces with conservationists and businesses and embarked on an ambitious experiment, ultimately setting in reserve almost 25% of the land for parks and preserves over the following decades.
By just about any measure, and in the course of just three decades (about as long as The Simpsons have been on television!), the gains have been dazzling. At the same time so many other countries were slashing, clearing, and burning their forests, Costa Rica chose to bring back its forests. Today, you will find 20% more forested acres than only 25 years ago. Jaguars, peccaries, and other wildlife are going back to places where they have not been spotted for more than a generation. The populace has enthusiastically embraced sustained development, refusing to approve off shore drilling for oil and, in lieu, have chosen to concentrate their efforts on renewable power resources. Impressively, 99% of the nation’s electrical power today comes from hydro-electric plants—and it is starting to install wind turbines ,too. Columbia and Yale researchers now categorize Costa Rica within the top five of all environmentally sensitive countries on earth.
It has ended up a stunning reversal in fortune. The country has vaulted into the top position on the Happiest Place in the World Index even as Costa Rica tourism has soared. Sustainable tourism has lifted the economy even while conserving its wonders. As it turns out, Columbus was exactly right when he named this place “the rich coast” or “Costa Rica.” The Spanish governor was dead wrong when he labeled Costa Rica as “the poorest and most miserable Spanish colony in Americas.” Perhaps that is why no one remembers the his name.
To close, we must end with the Swiss Matterhorn, the impetus behind Roosevelt’s imaginative and prescient vision that parks and preserves were essential to protecting God’s gifts to earth and Costa Rica’s courageous extension of that concept leading to today’s extremely successful Costa Rica eco tourism. Consider the irony here. Costa Rica has been described as the “Switzerland” of the tropics but it learned from Swiss failures. Ironically, Switzerland has much to learn from Costa Rica. Costa Rica’s mountains are today replete with wild life and eco tourism helps fuel the nation’s economy. One of every twenty species of plants and animals on earth are found in this little country the size of West Virginia. Theodore Roosevelt, the world’s first ecotourist, would certainly smile in delight if he were still with us. Unfortunately, the magnificent Matterhorn remains silent because its life was exploited and destroyed, not valued and maintained.
Author Victor Krumm posts from his home in Costa Rica. Visit his authoritative, lovely website about Costa Rica Vacations and be sure to check out the spectacular Seven Wonders of Costa Rica
Vacation On The Cheap: Great Budget Travel Tips For A Wise Costa Rica Vacation
December 30, 2009
For nearly two decades, tropical Costa Rica has been a popular get away for North Americans and, increasingly, Europeans. Only about the size of West Virginia, its many attractions are world-famous: more than 780 miles of uncrowded coastlines on two oceans; parks and reserves covering 25 percent of its land area; and an incredible diversity of fauna and flora.
Volcanoes, terrific angling, some of the best surfing anywhere, whitewater river rafting or family rafting adventures, ziplining 80 feet in the top of tropical canopies, and, of course, Costa Rica’s famous adult nightlife. What happens here stays here, unless you want to brag about your exploits in Twitter.
This little Latin American country offers a vacation for every budget. Certainly, there are luxurious hotels and resorts. For example, the Real Intercontinental Hotel outside of San Jose is where heads of state stay. There are world famous resorts like the Papagayo Four Seasons Resort, La Gaia Hotel, and Los Suenos Resorts. But, they are not for everybody. If you fall in the latter category or simply do not want to spend your time or money in such fancy digs, Costa Rica can be enjoyed very well on a much littler budget. Good news! Prudent budget travel is available.
1. Observe travel seasons and save 20 percent or more at resorts and hotels
a. Avoid Peak Season. The week before Christmas through New Years week (December 15-January 5) and Easter Week are Peak Season not only for overseas visitors but for Costa Rica residents, too. Costa Rica schools are out, many governmental agencies and private businesses close, and thousands of local families migrate to the most popular beaches. They will find the best bargains; you will pay the highest premium prices.
b. After Christmas comes High Season which equates with winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Many tourists visit Costa Rica between January to the end of April because of the sunny tropical weather, a fact not lost on hotels and resorts. If you are a Snowbird, expect to be plucked a bit more during High Season, just like you would in sunny Florida.
c. The best travel and hotel bargains are found during the Green (Low) Season. Do not be concerned about the weather. Showers are not every day and when it rains it is normally for an hour or two in the late afternoon. For the very best budget travel deals travel Costa Rica between September and mid-November when (if you ask) there are often discounts of 20 percent or more waiting. Finally, June through mid-August finds students and families from the States and elsewhere on vacation, too, but prices and availability of hotel and resort rooms are good virtually everywhere.
2. Save $25 a day when renting a car by planning ahead
Many Costa Rica tourists rent a vehicle on the web and are shocked to learn when they arrive that the rental agency wants an additional $25 or more per day for liability insurance! Rule 1: If your home automobile policy includes liability coverage, that insurance is good in Costa Rica. Recommendation: bring a copy of the policy along with the fax and email of your insurance agent and save that money for your vacation. Rule 2: Many credit cards offer a little known benefit: liability insurance coverage for rentals when the card is used. Contact your credit card company before you travel for best results. Rule 3: Be polite but informed. After all, it is your money.
3. Save another 5 percent or more: Remember that Cash Is King
Many Costa Rica merchants welcome dollars over credit cards and when asked for a cash discount will offer 5 percent or more. You need to ask :”Que (pronounced “K”) es discuento por efectivo?” which means “What is the discount for cash?” Be sure the bills are new and not defaced with even a tiny tear. And, bring $20 and $50 bills. Many restaurants, merchants, and hostels cannot break a $100 bill.
4. Save 10 percent while dining: Do not pay two tips in a restaurant
Suppose you could often save 10 percent when you eat in a restaurant. Most tourists do not know that a large number of restaurants and bars, particularly those popular with foreign travelers who cannot read in Spanish, automatically include a 10 percent tip (called “servicio”) on a bill. They are aware that many tourists unsuspectingly then leave another gratuity. However, the savvy budget travel patron looks for the word “servicio” (or another word that involves an extra ten percent charge).
Victor Krumm lives in Costa Rica. His popular website about Costa Rica Vacations. Ever imagined learning how to surf? Check out www.costarica-discCosta Rica Surfing for world-famous beaches and incredible waves This and other unique content ” articles are available with free reprint rights.
Medical Care In Costa Rica: World Class Accredited Hospitals And Care
December 5, 2009
With more and more health insurance companies denying coverage and folks being uninsured, more than 25,000 people, mostly Americans, hop a jet or ocean cruise ship and travel south for medical care in Costa Rica annually. And, more and more travelers are taking vacations to this little Latin American country that include medical tourism. Why? Because they are onto the fact that medical care in Costa Rica is now on par with the best hospitals in the States but at a fraction of the cost. It is shameful that the richest country in the world treats its citizens so shabbily but at least there is now a viable option.
There are probably tens of thousands of hospitals on earth but only the best hospitals are certified and have Joint Commission International Accreditation, meaning that that they meet the highest international benchmarks for patient care and hospital standards.
JCI hospital accreditation is the exception, not the rule in the world. Few hospitals in the world can meet the rigorous requirements and standards to become accredited. But, three Costa Rica hospitals are certified and have Joint Commission International Accreditation. They are , Cima, and Clinica Biblica, all in or very near to San Jose. Each has a wide range of surgical services and Board Certified doctors.
It is no secret that American medical care is the costliest in the world—by a huge margin. And, for the nearly fifty million Americans without health insurance, there is insult added to injury because hospitals charge uninsured patients much more for services than their neighbors having good insurance. This is where Costa Rica medical care comes in for thousands of suffering American tourists. Why? Because they can find savings of up to 65% in Costa Rica for the identical services they would receive in the United States-if they could afford it.
Not convinced? Here is one example. For patients without health insurance, total knee replacement surgery in the U.S. can cost $25,000-$35,000 or more. Clinica Biblica charges about $12,000.
The three San Jose accredited medical hospitals and board certified doctors—many of whom have studied and trained in the United States and at other world renowned medical schools-typically charge about $3,200 for breast augmentation. Lasik eye surgery that can cost up to $5,000 in the States is often under $2,000 in the little Latin America country. Increasingly, women wanting plastic surgery are medical tourists. Instead of getting a facelift for $10,000, they pack their bikini, shorts and sun tan lotion and board a plane for Costa Rica where for about $3,000 or so, they can have the same procedure as back home while recuperating in a tropical paradise on a Costa Rica vacation. Then, as an added bonus, they go home with money in their pocket.
In addition to the three Joint Commission accredited hospitals, there are three Costa Rica clinics accredited by the American Association for the Accreditation of Ambulatory Facilities. They are the University of Iberoamerica(UNIBE) which offers ambulatory and surgical care; a dental clinic called Sonrise Por Todo (Smiles for Everybody providing dental care; and Pino Plastic Surgery Clinic.
Thousands of Costa Rica medical tourists come for dental surgery or implants. They, too, find great savings. Dental implants that sometimes cost more than $2,500 in America are between $500-$750 in Costa Rica. Periodontal surgery that is at least $2,500 in the U.S. is about $400.
Prices, of course, vary by provider so get a quote. And, finally, consider this. Many medical and dental insurance companies cover dental or medical care in Costa Rica so, check with your carrier and Costa Rica service provider before getting a procedure.
Victor Krumm writes about sunny Costa Rica in his very popular Costa Rica Vacations site. Before traveling, visit Costa Rica Nightlife Click here to get your own unique version of this article with free reprint rights.