Still Affordable: The Best Views in Costa Rica
When you live in Costa Rica’s Southern Zone, the beach and the blue Pacific become a focal point.
Costa Rica Insider Archives
A Beach to Yourself on Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast
I'm from Florida, where a day at the beach means fighting for parking—often for an outrageous fee—struggling to find a bare patch of sand, and spending the day listening to loud music and shouting kids.
Caribbean and Pacific Coast Fishing in Costa Rica
Fancy a few hours battling a half-ton striped marlin Hemingway style? The fish can get so big off the coast of Costa Rica that the skipper straps you into a chair to fight them. The waters of both coasts, the Pacific and Caribbean teem with legendary fish like marlin, dorado, and tarpon that, for decades, have drawn serious sport fishermen (and women) from around the world eager for record-setting catches.
A Perfect Climate in Costa Rica’s Central Valley
After a lifetime of cold weather in Alberta, Canada, retired couple Rick and Peggy Stewart were ready for a change. And they found a perfect climate—and many more benefits—in the rural community of Santa Eulalia about 20 minutes outside of the small town of Atenas, in Costa Rica's Central Valley. From their new home in the tropics, they can't help but rub it in with friends and family back home.
Your Own B&B in Costa Rica
Scott Dinsmore, 47, and David Russell, 52, keep busy running their Spanish colonial-style boutique hotel, El Castillo, on Costa Rica's southern Pacific coast. It sits 600 feet above the beach in the jungle-clad mountains that rise sharply from the deep blue waters.
“We Drove 6,000 Miles to Find Paradise in Costa Rica…”
My husband Mike and I loaded up the van with luggage and our two dogs, Dino and Sprite, and set off on our long road trip. One month and 6,000 miles later, we arrived in paradise. Yanina, the owner of the resort, has been our main guide and comforter as we trudge through the red tape of dealing with customs regarding our shipment of personal goods, setting up bank accounts...
Volunteering in Costa Rica
For prospective expats in search of a more active overseas life, there is plenty of opportunity, especially in the field of volunteering in Costa Rica. There are several organizations that facilitate many different types of community work throughout the country. You can teach English, rescue wildlife, champion environmental or social causes, preserve habitat, help needy families, and much more.
Buying a Car in Costa Rica: 8 Tips
When moving to Costa Rica, many expats wonder whether they should bring their car from home or buy something when they get down there. Well… it depends. As covered in this article, “Bringing a Car to Costa Rica,” importing a car from the U.S., while relatively easy, can be quite expensive. In fact, you could pay close to the value of the car in import duties and fees.
Bringing Your Car to Costa Rica
Before you leave, work with the shipping company to make sure your car meets emissions standards. The test is done in the U.S. You should also consider whether your car will make a good match for Costa Rica. Although auto shops are common and labor inexpensive, the most common parts available are for Asian vehicles and every mechanic can fix them. It can be more difficult to repair an American or European vehicle.
Reclaim the Joy of Weekends in Costa Rica
Here in our home on Costa Rica's northern Pacific coast, we've taken back the weekends. We sleep in a bit. A small breakfast of fresh fruit and rich Costa Rican coffee follows—just something to hold us over. We pack up and drive from our condo in Tamarindo north along the coast about a half-hour to Brasilito, a tiny fishing village.