Next Vacation: A Cruise or Costa Rica Eco-Tourism?

Image via WikipediaIm going to lay this one out there nice and simple. A cruise ship is a large floating piece of junk. One cruise ship generates EACH DAY:

•  25,000 gallons of sewage from toilets each day
• 143,000 gallons of sewage from sinks, galleys, and showers
• 7 tons of garbage and solid waste
• 15 gallons of toxic chemicals
• 7,000 gallons of oily bildewater

Not to mention the amount of over-eating, glutnous fest, artery clogging, health-care bill rising cost, (should I go on...?).

Just go with Eco-Tourism its a No-Brainer

Design Your Own Eco-Tourism Adventure

Source: NatGeo: GreenGuide

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Turrialba Volcano Might Re-Open?

Image by Costa Rican Resource via FlickrSince I personally declared it volcano week since it seems to be the topic of this blog for the last couple of days it seems the local newspaper is lending itself to help me out. La Nacion the main news paper in Costa Rica which I consider the most formal and proffesional came out with the most unproffesional and informal article I could imagine. It was about the idea of re-opening the Turrialbal Volcano, you can read the article in Spanish here.

If it is time to reopen the Turrialba volcano than fine lets do it but if its not than lets wait. I find it interesting that the only way to get to the crater in the rainy season would be for the US not to send warships down but to send some tanks down. The roads are horrible and with these rains I can imagine not much better. The roads in the article were not so much an issue in the article in arriving but during an emergency evacuation. The article then talks about how the volcano is letting out a lot of gas and that it could be dangerous to the tourist, uh? Does this mean like going to Poas and you should only stay at the crater for 30 minutes because of the gases being released or does this mean dangerous from the moment you arrive.

The suggestion from La Nacion is that you would have to hire a tourism proffesional company to take you to the top of the crater to be safe. I've got news for you I run a tourism proffesional company and I dont have a clue when the Turrialba volcano is safe or when it is not safe I just go by what the experts tell me. Well I hope they dont open the park today but if it is open for the next high season I will be looking forward to it it would be quite the site with the activity it is displaying and quite the free back massage with the road to get there.

Costa Rica: The Greatest Show On Earth

When I was a kid it was all about Disney World. Then Dinsey World was met with some competition of other theme parks. Well it looks as if Mother Nature had enough and decided to show off what she's got as far as fun for all ages.

Costa Rica is not only the home to the surfer of the extreme biologist. It is now the ultimate theme park for all ages and makes for the perfect family vacation. We have been doing family vacation for 10 years now and we have had from 2 yrs old to 85 yrs old and it seems that there is always an activity for everyone. I still remember Costa Rica's Board of Tourism had their slogan that was 100% Natural Ingredients as compared to theme parks which might be 1% natural ingredients.

The Eco-Tourism is a beautiful thing to see and I feel eco-tourism for the kids today when available is a great  opportunity that can not be given with a yearly pass to any theme park on the planet. If you interested in traveling to Costa Rica for free just organize a group of students and we will cover your trip. For more information click here.

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The Roth Family Vacation with CRR

This was a great trip. We had the Roth family down from CT and mom was not a big fan of heights but that did not stop the kids from enjoying the rappel. The best part about this trip is that they were quite the adventurous family and they wanted to go all out. We did our cavern trip where we hike 2 hours into the jungle and then rappel down a waterfall and sleep behind the waterfall. It is one of the most majestic places on Earth and absolutely amazing. When we arrive we have a 5-star lunch prepared for everyone because that is what you deserve after such a hike. Some say a Costa Rica vacation should be spent on the beach relaxing well the Roth's thought otherwise.

The little one's name was Jordan and she weighed about as much as my backpack so we put some rice and beans in her diet and beefed her up for the week. When it was time to rappel we had a guide go down with her but she did amazing.

It was a wonderful week for wonderful people from CT and we plan on seeing them back next year and maybe we will get mom on the rappel next year you never know!

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A Homestay Option on Costa Rica Vacation

All of the traditional vacations have you staying in nice fancy hotels. Which I have to say we agree in and have no problem setting that up. But if you are coming to for a Costa Rica vacation of 8 - 10 days maybe you would want to do the option of one or two nights in our homestay program we have set up in a village in the mountains very close to the famous Pacuare River.

This is a program that is not for everyone but I can honestly say we have had 100% success rate. Basically what we do is we do a family vacation including all the normal hotels and activities. For one or two nights we stop into a village where live the local life for a day or so. We get a chance to eat their food, hang out with the locals, and even watch as they perform local song and dance for us. It is a very humble setting and part of the beauty of being in the area is to see how simple the families live but how they are full of smiles.

If your are looking that your kids to learn something on a Costa Rican family vacation then we can take them and talk for hours to them about all parts of the rainforest. If you really want them to be aware of how families live in and around the rainforest then this is a once and a lifetime opportunity with so little to be said and so much to learn.
If you think you might be interested in including in this idea remember that this is a large economic boost to the families of the village and all profits stay in the village as part of this project. So for your next Costa Rica vacation you just might want to take a deeper look into Costa Rica and you can check it out with Costa Rican Resource.

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Your Guide on a Family Vacation

Along with many other factors such as hotels, adventures, food, transportation, I personally think the guide has to be one of the most important parts of a trip. I think this is more so if you are visiting historical sites or in the case of a Costa Rica vacation places that are filled with bio-diversity, volcanos, and jungles.

There are many types of guides. There is the funny guide who what half of he says is true (but atleast he tells you he is kidding). There is also the military guide who is flawless with information and makes sure everyone is on time. This is a tough guide but soft on the inside and all groups end up liking hime at the end. There are many more types of guides and it would take a book to describe them all. For the most part the Costa Rican people are amazing and for that matter if you get a Costa Rican guide on your family vacation you probably are off to a good start.

Our company of Costa Rican Resource has a group of guides that we have referred to as the dream team. Not only do they know what they are talking about, but they have years of experience, and most importantly they love their job. Many people think guiding is the best job in the world but if you just keep doing the same things it is like anything else it can get boring. That is why a guide has to continue learning always. Fortunately the bio-diversity of Costa Rica is a subject we will no learn everything about in our lifetime. Not only the knowledge but the logisitics of a tour and how things can and should be operated are most often seen best from the guides point of view. When traveling on a family vacation with us be sure to know that you will be with what we consider some of the best guides in the country.

Some more repeat Clients with us

To have a family back for a Costa Rica vacation we would like to treat it as a real compliment to ourselves. We do understand though that the glory must be shared with the amazing natural beauties Costa Rica has to offer.

This is a family called the Travis's who happen to be Bruce Springston's managers for any of you that are Bruce fans. To say the least they know the world having being with Bruce for years. They are a family of 5 with two sons who have graduated college and a daughter who has also finished her studies. The family picked two consecutive years to do their Costa Rica vacation and it was great because we organized two completely different trips.

The first year we stayed in the Dominical area which is located south pacific. This an area where the mountain meets the sea and there is plenty to do in the area. We stayed in the area and went rafting, surfing, horseback riding, and even ziplining. It was a small zipline so we could even talk the mom into going along for the ride.

When it comes to just good people the Travis family has to be at the top of the list. They even invited myself and one of our river guides to visit their Boston home in the winter where we had the chance to chop some fire wood and buy some Harvard gear which makes for a good conversation starter when your river guide in Costa Rica is wearing a Harvard hat.

With so much to do in the country it was great to have the Travis family back for their second Costa Rica vacation with Costa Rican Resource.

A Costa Rica Vacation

The Eddy family decided to take their Costa Rica family vacation and spend four days in the Arenal area. This is a risky move because sometimes the volcano can hide in a cloud for four days. Well they got very lucky and had a clear volcano all four days at the Arenal Volcano.

Family Vacation Costa Rica

This was a family vacation that was made up of mom, dad, son, and daughter but they also included the in-laws making this a total group number of 10. They were all from the Florida area and just out looking for a good time and that was what we gave them. We gave them their private spacious modern transportation which all Costa Rica vacations should have because there can often be long rides in the bus. We also arranged for the group to celebrate a birthday party at one of Costa Rica's finest restaurants called Don Rufino's.

Manuel Antonio Costa Rica

The trip will end at the Manuel Antonio beach where the families will enjoy beautiful views of the Pacific and their private naturalist guide Jheudy who has been with them the wwhole week will walk them through the national park of Manuel Antonio. Another successful Costa Rica family vacation for Jheudy!!! Thanks for your hardwork Jheudy!!

Costa Rica Family Adventure Specialist
The Costa Rican Resource
http://www.crrtravel.com/
info@crrtravel.com

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Thanks Grandma for the Costa Rica Vacation

Being a grandma is not always sitting around and knitting sweaters for your grandkids. Joyce Lemek is a different type of grandma who had a different idea for a gift for her grandkids. Grandma Joyce decided she was going to take them on a Costa Rica Vacation. This was a vacation filled with adventure from start to finish.

The kids were around the ages of 8 - 12 and grandma decided on this family vacation they were going to do it all. They did zipline, rafting, and rappeling. The best part was that grandma took part in all the adventures also.

The Costa Rica vacation is not always up to mom and dad sometimes it takes an adventurous grandma to get the adventure started. We will always remember Grandma Joyce as being one of the coolest grandmas ever!!!

You wont believe this Romantic Getaway

Woody Sudbrink a pioneer of FM radio and his girlfriend a former cover girl of Southern Living (both happen to be in their 80's) decided to have a getaway on a Costa Rica vacation.

I talked to Woody before the trip and he said he really wanted to impress his soon to be wife so he wanted to show her that he might be 80 but he still got what it takes to have fun. So we geared up the vacation with all the adventures you can imagine. It was just the two of them and myself and we absolutely had a blast. When we went rafting we had four guides adn the two of them and they actually did very well for being in their 80's.

When we went on a waterfall hike Woody hiked up to the top leaving his girlfriend and myself in the back. I told Woody "that is not how to impress her" he responded I just wanted her to know that I still got what it takes. Well Im not going to argue and it seemed it worked because two months after they got home they were married. This is another couple that has traveled to almost every country on Earth and they both said that our operation is right up there at the top and that their Costa Rica vacation was one of the best they have had.

Second Family Vacation to Costa Rica

It is always a good sign when a family returns for a second family vacation with us. This particular family came down for its second year in a row to get some more adventure. This year for their family vacation they decided to go full throttle. On a trip that lasted more than two weeks they did just about everything.

This is an amazing family that when traveling for the second time you develop a friendship and it does not even feel like you have clients but friends to hang out with. They have two daughters and 1 boy which are all under 15 years old. They are quite the characters and the trip was full of laughs from start to finish. We actually made and edited a video for this trip and sent it to the family about a month later which made for an amazing souvenir.

After a trip like this it makes for an emotional good-bye and this family vacation will forever be one of the great itineraries we have made. The family left being Costa Rica experts themselves and the kids fell inlove with adventure. The dad told me he was worried about his son trying to rappel off the roof of the house when they got home.

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A Costa Rica trip for the Perfect Child

I never thought living in Costa Rica I would have the chance to learn Mandarin. Well the fact is I never learned Mandarin but due to a family vacation I guided I did pick up a few words.

We did a Costa Rica family vacation for a Chinese family who now resides in New York City. They were a couple with a 5 year old daughter. The 5 year old was one of the cutest and nicest kids you could imagine. Not to mention she was also brilliant as it seemed she picked up Spanish in one week, spoke fluent English and Mandarin. We did all the normal adventures we do but on a much smaller level.

All though this was a family vacation of only 3 people we still operated it privately and when you are the only child on the trip you sort of get the royal treatment. It was an amazing trip and a chance to inspire me to one day learn some more Mandarin. For a family of 3 they said a Costa Rica family vacation was the perfect fit for what they were looking for and having the trip privately run gave the extra attention to the little one that was needed.

A First Class Private Costa Rica Family Vacation

When it comes to service many of our clients have traveled around the world and know what a expect on a family vacation when it comes to first class service. We always try and meet the needs of our clients and we look to go over the top in service and let the natural wonders of Costa Rica do the rest.

This was family of four that had kids ages 20 and 18 which means they were ready for an adventure. They have traveled all over the world and with some of the top tour operators there are. We felt ready for the chance to show off our skills as a top service adventure comopany. They found out about our company through a blog post and said they wanted to give the "little guys" a chance. You can call us what you want and although we are a small company we like to think we can hang with the bigger companies when it comes to customer satisfaction.

Just to give you an idea of the service we gave this family and all other families who travel with us on a Costa Rica vacation you can see at the river we hired a chef and even had sushi for the river lunch (it was the mom's favorite we had found out) and from that point on we spoiled them in every aspect of the trip.

There final comments were 100% satisfaction and said it was one of their best family vacations ever and we felt very proud to be listed in the category with some of the best in the industry. When planning your Costa Rica family vacation be sure to know that we will offer first class service from start to finish.

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A Family Vacation to the Max

This was a Costa Rica family vacation where we took the little guy to the max. This is a family of four and the kids were 7 and 12 years old. When it comes to a lot of the adventure we the 7 year olds usually just hang out with the guide and look for butterflies. Well the 7 year old of this families name was Max and he really earned that name on this vacation to Costa Rica.

We started the trip by doing the zipline and rafting. We took them rafting on a river that is called Pejibaye river in the Turrialba area. Running our family vacation trips privately allows us to give the extra attention to bringing a little one on the river. Everything went great and Max had some awesome stories to take back to school the next year.

The real suprise came when we got to the rappel adventure. This was a rappel on a waterfall that measured 150ft tucked away in the jungle. Not your average family vacation event for a 7 year old. We asked Max if he was up for it and having a guide go down tandom with him Max conquered the adventure. This was an amazing end to an amazing trip for a family that stood up to every adventure we had for them. I promise you the kids of this family will have some great stories about their Costa Rica family vacation.