Celebrate World Environment Day 2015 by living & traveling sustainably

Living, working and traveling sustainably have become big topics of conversation it seems everywhere. This week on June 5, the United Nations Environment Program celebrates World Environment Day 2015 (WED) and focuses this year on how we live and how it impacts the planet.

This year’s theme is “Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care” focusing on the main things people consume and waste: water, food, energy, and all natural resources like forests and animal products.

The theme is a powerful one, because it is an opportunity for everyone to evaluate our consumer habits: how we shop, eat, live and travel. The United Nations urges that every person is responsible in his or her own way to care for the Earth. We can combine “individual actions into a collective power that generates an exponential positive impact on the planet,” states the UN.

“The well-being of humanity, the environment, and the functioning of the economy, ultimately depend upon the responsible management of the planet’s natural resources,” states the UN on the WED website. “By 2050, if current consumption and production patterns remain the same and with a rising population expected to reach 9.6 billion, we will need three planets to sustain our way of life.”
“Consuming with care means living within planetary boundaries to ensure a healthy future where our dreams can be realized,” says the UN. “Living sustainably is about doing more and better with less. It is about knowing that rising rates of natural resource use and the environmental impacts that occur are not a necessary by-product of economic growth.”



A travel company that really cares about sustainable tourism and employs sustainable travel practices is Horizontes Nature Tours in Costa Rica. Eco-tourism in Costa Rica is a big deal all over the country, and Horizontes Nature Tours does their best to design low-impact travel programs that positively impact the communities they visit. They promote Costa Rica’s national parks and natural areas and maintain small travel groups to minimize impact in natural areas.


Horizontes Nature Tours has been honored with the highest level of certification in the Sustainable Tourism Program of the Costa Rican Tourism Board. In addition, they participate in the Rainforest Alliance Verified Program and the Blue Flag Ecological Program.
Design your Costa Rica vacation with Horizontes Nature Tours today, and care for our planet with how you travel.
Article by Shannon Farley

 

What you need to know about visiting Costa Rica in rainy season

Costa Rica welcomes rainy season (also called the “green season”) like a parched traveler reaching an oasis after a long, dry desert-crossing. Dry season dust is gone and Costa Rica’s landscape springs back to life with lush green vegetation, carpets of blooming flowers, and new animal life.

Costa Rica in general has two major seasons – “summer,” or the dry season from December to April, and rainy season from May to November. Mornings during rainy season are almost always sunny, with showers in the afternoons or evenings, which thankfully cool the temperature. And there may be many days when it does not rain at all. The exception is that the Costa Rica Caribbean Coast is rainy most of the year and has its Caribbean Summer from about mid-September to mid-November – when the rest of the country is soaked.

Those “in the know” about traveling to Costa Rica know that rainy season means good deals, lower rates in hotels, and fewer crowds. Besides, if you are going to visit a rainforest or a cloud forest, you should expect rain and clouds some of the time!

12 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT VISITING COSTA RICA IN RAINY SEASON:

• Rainy season paints the landscape lush, verdant and colorful – a real jungle!

• Mornings are almost always hot and sunny. Rain usually falls for a few hours in the afternoon or at night.

• Rain helps bring the temperature down.

• Sea turtles come to nest on both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts during this period, making it “turtle season”.

• Discover the two-week “mini-summer” that happens in July.

• Rain fills the rivers making it the best time for whitewater rafting.

• Remember to carry an umbrella when you go out for the day or in the afternoon. Invest in one of those huge golf umbrellas while you are here; you will understand why.

• Plan your day to do all activities – tours, sightseeing, errands, shopping – in the morning and leave the afternoon for indoor pastimes like museum visits, visiting with friends, reading, emails, naps, etc.

• You may not want to get up early on your vacation, but think again. You want to do all tours in the morning during rainy season, when it is dry and sunny and pleasant. The earlier in the morning, the cooler the temperature and the more wildlife you see. Hiking or ziplining through a rainforest in a torrential downpour is definitely a memorable experience, but is not very comfortable.

• Be sure to rent a 4x4 vehicle in rainy season, when unpaved roads turn to muddy bogs.

• Skip off to the Caribbean Coast in October for Costa Rica Caribbean Summer.

• You can find better values in rainy season on vacation packages, hotels, tours and transport.

See why rainy season is a great time to travel to Costa Rica on vacation. Design your Costa Rica holiday with Horizontes Nature Tours. The travel agency in Costa Rica has 31 years of experience creating Costa Rica nature holidays, Costa Rica family trips and Costa Rica beach vacations.

Article by Shannon Farley

In honor of Earth Day, 4 Costa Rica National Parks you should visit

In celebration of Earth Day 2015 – celebrating its 45^th anniversary on April 22, 2015 – Horizontes Nature Tours in Costa Rica asked one of their long-time naturalist guides what was his favorite element of Costa Rica nature. Costa Rica’s national parks were his answer.

From a country that was nearly devastated by deforestation by the early 1980s, today over 52 percent of Costa Rica’s territory is protected between national parks, private reserves and wildlife refuges. Costa Rica’s progressive reforestation and environmental protection have earned not only world respect for the nation’s green policies, but also attracted more than 2 million visitors last year to experience Costa Rica’s nature.

“We created our national parks from our past leaders’ convictions to protect the richness of our amazing ecosystems,” noted Gustavo Abarca, who has been a naturalist guide for 22 years – 20 with Horizontes Nature Tours.



Gustavo says he has visited nearly all 25 Costa Rica national parks. He enjoys them all; and he has his favorites. Here are Gustavo’s top picks for Costa Rica national parks you should visit:
Tortuguero National Park

“I have had people who have traveled to the Amazon and they are amazed with the amount of wildlife that can be seen in a couple of hour’s boat trip in Tortuguero,” said Gustavo. “You can see three species of monkeys in less than two hours on a tour.”



Corcovado National Park

“Corcovado is such a sensation. In Manuel Antonio you can see all of the cute animals – the sloths, the monkeys – but in Corcovado you see pristine nature. You can get lucky and see a tapir, an ocelot, or a puma. You can be walking along and run into a big troop of spider monkeys,” Gustavo explained. “Corcovado is for people with a passion for nature, interested in seeing the best well-kept rainforests on the Pacific Coast of Central America. It is for people who want to be the most off the beaten path, isolated and in contact with nature.”



Piedras Blancas National Park “The Piedras Blancas National Park and the buffer zones of the Golfito Reserve and the other private reserves are very unique and are always a favorite with my clients,” Gustavo commented.



Rincon de la Vieja National Park

“I really enjoy Rincon de la Vieja. The contrasts between the fumaroles, boiling mud pits and waterfalls on one side, and then the light blue rivers and forest on the other side of the Continental Divide are completely different. This is one of the parks that are visually really unique,” Gustavo noted.


Isn’t it time you visited Costa Rica? Design your Costa Rica vacation with Horizontes Nature Tours. The Costa Rica travel experts offer four fantastic Costa Rica national park vacations, Costa Rica nature holidays, Costa Rica family trips and Costa Rica beach vacations. Let’s take care of our planet on Earth Day and every day.

Article by Shannon Farley

3 Days in Sarapiqui blend adventure & nature of Costa Rica

Sarapiquí is one of my favorite places in Costa Rica.

Rust red-orange earth meets up with jade green water of the Sarapiqui River, next to fluorescent green grass and darker emerald-green, thick rainforest. Jewel-toned birds and butterflies swoop here and there, and this time of year, the cicadas bring a tumultuous cacophony to the sunshine. Colors seem more vibrant here. Maybe it’s the moisture in the sun-soaked air. Maybe it’s the abundance of nature.



Sarapiquí is considered one of the world’s most important research areas for tropical rainforest. Just 2 hours from Costa Rica’s capital city of San Jose, Sarapiquí lies in the country’s northeast between vast protected areas such as the Central Volcanic Range Protected Area, the Barra del Colorado National Wildlife Reserve, Braulio Carrillo National Park and La Selva Biological Reserve. Tortuguero National Park also is close by.

Known for its amazing and rich biodiversity, there is so much to do and see that Sarapiquí is becoming a popular tourism destination for both families and nature and adventure seekers.

Surrounded by lush rainforest, Sarapiquí is a major producing area for bananas, pineapple, cacao, and dwarf fan palm (for hearts of palm). Coffee, cardamom, corn, and many other fruits also are grown here. Located at the junction of the Puerto Viejo and Sarapiquí rivers, the land is very fertile because of the rivers’ irrigation. The climate here stays mild and moderate throughout the year, with average temperatures of 24º-30º C (75 º-85º F) cooled off with frequent rainfall.



At one time, Puerto Viejo in Sarapiquí was a small port community that exported goods down the Sarapiquí River to the San Juan River that borders with Nicaragua, and out to the sea, eventually docking in Limón on the Caribbean coast. Today, the Sarapiquí River draws adventure and nature lovers for exciting whitewater rafting or nature-viewing float trips. If you are an avid bird watcher, Sarapiquí is the place to see many of Costa Rica’s many bird species, such as hummingbirds, Quetzals, toucans, Aracaris, guans and Great Green Macaws.

Costa Rica travel experts Team CRT offers a quick taste of Sarapiquí in a 3-day, 2 night trip that lets you experience some of the best things to do and see in Sarapiquí.


Where to Stay in Sarapiquí


Team CRT’s featured hotel in the Sarapiquí area is the Sarapiquí Rainforest Lodge at the Sarapiquí Neotropical Center. The eco-lodge is designed to resemble a 15th century indigenous village. On the grounds is a museum of indigenous Pre-Columbian culture, an archaeological site, botanical gardens, and a scientific research and modern education center.

What to Do in Sarapiquí
Pineapple Tour at Finca Corsicana. Visit the world's largest organic and fair-trade pineapple farm.

They harvest over 38 million pineapples a year – special sweet organic Golden Pineapple. The 3,000-acre plantation is a partnership between Collin Street Bakery, based in Corsicana, Texas, and Industrias El Angel in Costa Rica to produce pineapple in a sustainable way for the Texas bakery’s desserts and for export to the United States. The tour will take you out into the pineapple fields in specially designed trailers, and then back to the facility to see the processing and packing process. Of course you’ll get to sample the juicy, delicious pineapple during the tour.



Chocolate Tour at the Tirimbina Rainforest Center and Biological Reserve. Who doesn’t love chocolate! On this tour you will learn all about the secrets of the cacao plant’s extraordinary history in Central America. Food and drink of kings in the Mayan, Aztec and Inca cultures, the discovery of chocolate in Meso-America led to its introduction in Europe and transformation into the products we all know and love today. You will journey into the Tirimbina Rainforest and Biological Reserve, crossing a suspension bridge, to a former cacao-growing plot. Your naturalist guide will explain the natural and cultural history of the cacao tree, then the process by which cacao fruit is transformed into chocolate. Of course you’ll get to taste different kinds of chocolate, which are prepared on the spot in traditional methods.



Museum for Indigenous Cultures. The Museum at the Sarapiqui Neotropical Center is one of the country’s most concise and complete studies of Costa Rica’s indigenous Pre-Columbian tribes. The Archaeological Park showcases 12 of the 70 Pre-Columbian tombs identified by archaeologists on the property.

For all of your Costa Rica travel and Costa Rica vacation plans, Team CRT is your Costa Rica vacation expert. With more than 20 years of experience on the ground in Costa Rica travel, Team CRT gives you expert guidance and personalized service while they help craft your tailor-made Costa Rica vacation, and also vacation packages to neighboring Panama and Nicaragua.

Team CRT knows the best of the country, what to do and see, and they personalize it for you. Vacation packages, beach destinations, nature tours, adventure tours, relaxation vacations, family vacations, honeymoons, Fly & Drive packages, sport fishing trips, golf vacations – they handle it all. Whether you just want a travel agent to help you choose where to stay, where to go, and things to do, or if you want a full tour operator to take care of complete details, Team CRT is your best choice for Costa Rica travel.

By Shannon Farley