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How Travel Can Change Your Life

Often times we take vacations to relax and unwind, forget about whatever has been causing us stress back home, and to simply enjoy a change of scenery. After the trip is over, we go back home and return to business as usual. But sometimes, a trip can be life changing and for one family of four, a trip to Costa Rica changed their lives forever.

The Letsingers, Nancy, her husband Eric, and their two daughters, 10 and 13 years old, decided to take a trip to Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic and get away from the hustle and bustle of life in D.C. area. Between 50-60 hour work weeks for Nancy and Eric, school for the girls, plus extracurricular activities, the Letsingers felt maxed out and decided that some time away would be good for everyone. Taking two months off of work and school is not an easy thing to do and many people will say that it simply isn’t possible. This is perhaps the first lesson learned through traveling: anything is possible if you decide it is.

Most often the hardest part of planning a trip is deciding to do it. The initial purchase of a plane ticket or sometimes the simple verbalization that you’re putting a trip together is often all it takes to get the ball rolling in the right direction. Once the Letsingers decided they were going to take the time to bond as a family in Costa Rica, the rest fell into place.

The family of four used their time aboard to work as a team, planning events and details together as the trip progressed. Nancy and Eric, who were interviewed by The Huffington Post about their time aboard said they wanted to make sure their trip involved some sort of community service and so the family volunteered at an orphanage and stayed with a host family, which both of the girls loved. The time aboard helped the girls, who had never been out of the country, become more willing to try new things upon returning home and Eric and Nancy both find themselves more able to enjoy simple pleasures, such as enjoying a peaceful morning.

While some vacations are nothing more than a brief break from the normal routine other trips have the potential to transform our lives. New experiences, new relationships, and exposure to different cultures can help us become more tolerant, more understanding, and bolder back home. Spending time aboard, such as in Costa Rica or the Dominican Republic, reminds us that the world is a very large place, filled with all different types of people, and that the life we are living is just one possibility out of billions of the life we could be living.

Upon returning home, Nancy, Eric, and their two daughters feel as though their two months traveling in Costa Rica and The Dominican Republic has truly changed their lives forever and the experiences they had while aboard will not be forgotten. Plan your trip to Costa Rica and start changing your life today.

Costa Rica: First Time Visiting

If you’re planning your first international trip and Costa Rica is your destination, you’re in luck. Costa Rica is a great place for first time international travelers and thanks to a well developed tourist economy it is easy to plan a trip and get around this small, friendly Central American country.

Elizabeth Donatelli, a broadcast journalist with stories featured on MSNBC, CNN, HLN, and The Weather Channel, recently put together a video for Costa Rica Star News highlighting Costa Rica as a great choice for first time international travelers and helping put to rest any concerns that first time visitors might have.

Having backpacked Europe, driven across the United States five times, and spent several weeks in Central America, Elizabeth Donatelli has used her sense of adventure to help first time visitors to Costa Rica understand just how easy it is to get around Costa Rica, even for those who don’t speak Spanish and have never been to a Central American country.

Chances are those visitors planning a trip to Costa Rica already have a friend, family member or co-worker who has visited this popular destination so asking for recommendations is a great way to start planning a trip. Getting advice from fellow travelers is one of the best ways to plan any vacation, whether domestic or international. Reading online reviews is also a good strategy if you don’t know of anyone who’s visited Costa Rica before. Once you narrow down which places in Costa Rica you’d like to check out, the next step is looking into accommodations and transport.

Costa Rica has a thriving tourism economy and as such many of the popular destinations are filled with a wide variety of accommodations to suit the budget of any traveler. From high end, 5 star resorts, to budget backpacker hostels to beach front vacation houses, it’s easy to find a place to stay in Costa Rica. Unless you’re traveling during the busiest times of the year, Christmas, New Year’s, or Easter week, it is not necessary to make reservations in advance, although you may still chose to do so. There are plenty of places to stay in all of the popular destinations that most travelers visit during their time aboard. There are also multiple ways to get from point A to point B.

Some visitors to Costa Rica rent cars for the duration of their stay, while others may chose to use the numerous private shuttles found throughout the country. And, as Elizabeth Donatelli points out in her video about visiting Costa Rica, taking the public buses is a fine option as well. Getting around Costa Rica is relatively easy although the roads are not always in the best condition and traffic can be unpredictable. Other than some minor delays and a few bumps here and there, transportation throughout Costa Rica is affordable, easy to understand, and reliable.

Costa Rica is a great launching place for international travel as there are many tourists who visit this county each year and Costa Ricans are incredibly friendly and helpful people who want to make sure that all visitors enjoy their stay. After visiting Costa Rica, you’ll be ready to take on your next international adventure. But you may find that you loved Costa Rica so much, you just end up coming back for a second visit!

Every year various publications produce lists of the top 10 travel destinations for the current year and while these lists offer up untouched and more remote or off the wall suggestions, these lists also included the tried and tested favorite travel destinations throughout the years. Among one of the most popular travel destinations and common feature on numerous top 10 travel destination publications is the small Central American country of Costa Rica.

Year after year, Costa Rica finds itself listed as one of the best travel destinations in the world thanks to the wealth of natural beauty that the county has to offer. Volcanoes, white and black sand beaches, rivers and mangroves, lush rainforests, cloud forests, and tropical dry forests are just some of the natural attractions that draw millions of international visitors every year. Combine these magical environmental settings with a strong economy, a stable government, a high standard of living, and a strong tourism sector and it’s no wonder Costa Rica is among one of the favorite top 10 travel destinations.

With over one fourth of the land protected by as national parks, Costa Rica is home to some of the most biodiverse terrain on the planet and visitors have a chance to see many wild animals such as monkeys, sloths, crocodiles, iguanas, dolphins, and manatees, not to mention over 800 different species of birds. The wildlife alone is reason enough to visit Costa Rica. In addition there is the unique Costa Rican culture that spans from the rancheros of Guanacaste to the Rastafarians of the Caribbean coast. This unique country with a population of just over 4 million people is one of the most interesting and stable countries in the Americas.

In addition to finding on several top 10 travel destination lists this year, some new comers are hitting the scene and offering up some interesting alternatives to the standards. Featured on Lonely Planet’s Top 10 Travel Destination for 2015 is The Republic of Congo which will host the 2015 All-Africa Games. Other alternative countries on the Lonely Planet list include Namibia, Lithuania, The Philippines, Serbia, and Morocco. International tourism is on the rise with the World Tourism Organization reporting 517 million tourists traveling internationally in the first six months of this year compared to 494 million in the same period for 2013. As more and more tourists plan international trips, the list of top destinations will continue to shift. While new countries become popular and gain more attention as top destinations, favorite locations such as Costa Rica may receive less attention although the attraction and reasons for visiting will remain the same.

For years Costa Rica has been a favorite travel destination for all types of travelers, from backpackers to honeymooners, family get-aways to yoga retreats. And while new destinations may begin to appear on different top 10 travel destination lists one thing is certain, Costa Rica will continue to delight. All of the reasons that visitors have loved coming to Costa Rica over the years remain the same and Costa Rica remains one of the top 10 travel destinations in the world.

With over 8,000 miles of coastline, finding the 10 best beaches of Costa Rica can be a daunting task. Luckily, USA Today has spent the time doing just that to help visitors to Costa Rica spend their vacations at the very best beach destinations that this tropical country has to offer. From popular surf beaches teaming with tourists and water sports, to secluded stretches of sand where the only sound is that of the waves breaking on the shore, Costa Rica has a variety of beaches to suit the wants and needs of any vacation.

Several of the beaches featured on this year’s 10 Best Beaches of Costa Rica list are well known beaches that have been hot on the travel scene for years and continue to draw visitors from all over the world. Also on the list this year are several lesser known beaches that are just starting to draw international attention. Thanks to Costa Rica’s strict laws on environmental protection, beaches that become popular are not at risk of over development meaning that more and more people can come enjoy the best beaches of Costa Rica without damaging the country’s rich natural beauty.

Playa Portrero makes the list this year as one of the best beaches in Costa Rica and in particular Guanacaste, the province known as the Gold Coast for having so many beautiful beaches to chose from. Playa Portrero is spread out along a bay located in the northern Pacific corner of the country. This area is home to several national parks as well, such as the Santa Rosa National Park and the Palo Verde Natural Reserve, both located a days’ trip from Playa Portrero. Playa Portrero is home to a great variety of accommodation options from resorts and hotels to beautiful vacation rentals houses and condos. The area is great for those seeking water activities such as snorkeling, scuba diving, and sea kayaking. Not far from Playa Portrero visitors will discover several of the other beaches to make the 10 Best Beaches of Costa Rica list this year.

Playa Grande and Playa Avellanas, popular beaches found in the area known as Tamarindo are both nearby to Playa Portrero and also among Costa Rica’s best beaches. For years the town of Tamarindo and the surrounding beaches have been attracting backpackers, surfers, and international visitors looking for the idyllic tropical beach town and surf spot. Here, visitors will find both. Playa Avellanas, also known as “Little Hawaii” offers surfers an awesome surf location in a serene setting just outside of the hustle and bustle of Tamarindo. Playa Grande also attracts surfers to its waves along with turtle lovers. Playa Grande is located within the Marino Las Baulas National Park and is a protected turtle nesting site. Both Playa Grande and Playa Avellanas are close enough visitors to enjoy the amenities of Tamarindo while still experiencing the secluded reprieve of these less developed beaches.

While Costa Rica has literally thousands of miles of beaches to explore, visitors will be delighted to skip the hours of exploration and head straight to some of the best beaches with a trip to Playa Avellanas, Playa Grande, and especially Playa Portrero.

There isn’t much you need to know about this blissful paradise of sun, sea and sand – except that you’ll be doing a lot of smiling! The beautiful tropical homes of Playa Flamingo, Playa Potrero, Playa Grande, and Brasilito have just about everything you need for your perfect tropical escape, but it’s useful to know a little bit about one of Central America’s most spectacular gems. Costa Rica is a diverse, magnificent, and breathtaking country, renowned for its natural splendor and for an open and progressive society which makes living here – as well as visiting – so fulfilling.

How to Get Ready for Costa Rica: Food and Culture

As with any vacation, the key is to prepare ahead of time. When staying in a tropical rental home, life will be different from staying at a resort, hotel, bed and breakfast and hostel. You can bring a little bit extra to your home away from home and enjoy the comforts of your own self-catering tropical paradise. When visiting Costa Rica you can enjoy a multitude of farmers’ markets, known as ferias, throughout the region which opens all day on Saturdays and Sundays offering some of the most delicious organic produce, locally baked goods and unique crafts around, so filling up your shopping list will be easy. Warm and welcoming, residents are more than happy to help give advice and offer bargains on some delicious dishes and fruits and vegetables which are exclusive to Latin America. And of course, there are plenty of restaurants ranging from seaside restos to elegant dining. Costa Rican cuisine is by nature very healthy, based largely on fruit and vegetables (particularly beans) and is mild and flavorful, and there are other options available as well for cosmopolitan eaters.

Costa Rican culture is equally enticing, combining Mesoamerican and South American cultures with Native American, Spanish, and African influences. Festival calendars are packed with every kind of party, from religious holidays and carnivals to jazz and arts festivals. One of the most socially progressive countries in the world, Costa Rica invests conscientiously in the arts as well as the environment. This arts haven is a great place for the high-spirited heart and visitors and locals alike can find plenty to delight in at concert venues and bars, restaurants and clubs.

Health & Environment

Home to protected sites like Corcovado National Park, Tortuguero National Park, the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, and beautiful coastal sanctuaries, Costa Rica has preserved its ecosystem (containing 5% of the world’s biodiversity). It is known for iconic fauna and flora like the squirrel monkey, the scarlet macaw, and thousands of orchids among several other plants and animals. It is a national ethos to respect the environment and visitors are encouraged to do the same. The climate is idyllic, but of course its geographical location means that the weather is tropical year-round (with micro-climates providing some variation where elevation and rainfall differ). Visitors will find it easy to acclimatize to the hot and humid days and afternoons, but always be vigilant about rehydrating, and applying sun lotion.

This terrific climate, combined with an excellent health care system and happy, laid-back lifestyle (which is reflected in saying “Pura Vida” meaning “Pure Life” as a common greeting) makes Costa Rica one of the world’s leading countries where life expectancy as well as quality of life is concerned, with the average Costa Rican expected to reach 79 years of age and beyond. It has a social health care service which is ranked even higher than the US and is run by mostly government hospitals and charities, earning it great international acclaim.

Travel Info

Costa Rica does not require a visiting visa for Canadian or American citizens, though it does require passports and/or other documentation. Before travelling, check with your government’s Costa Rican Embassy or website to check what you need to bring. Visitors with medical conditions should check with a comprehensive travel insurance policy but they can use emergency services for free. Documentation for any prescription medications is a good idea to carry as well. Many holiday companies offer discount deals on airplane tickets as well as airline operators’ websites which vary based on time of year (off-season is always a good time to look for deals) and how many days or weeks in advance of departure as well as time of day. It’s also easy to find good bargains on travel money as well by comparing online. Some travelers prefer to exchange smaller amounts at a time while monitoring the currency market, and can purchase traveler’s checks and bank cards. Costa Rica uses the colon, which averages to about 500 to 550 per US dollar.

Common sense prevails when it comes to safety, but Costa Rica has a low crime rate and is very safe, especially for families and couples. More information on Visiting Costa Rica can be found on the government’s official website as well as popular travel sites.

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