Costa Rica Travel Blog .com
Costa Rica Travel Blog is the current traveller, will-be traveller, has-been traveller, and should-be traveller's guide to everything costa rica. Information, stories, news, advice – written by the Pura Vida! eh? Incorporated team – costa rican insiders, outsiders, and everywhere-in-between-siders.
Goodbye 2012. Hello 2013! Where We’ve Been And Where We’re Going
And so ends another year at Pura Vida! eh? Incorporated. We are humbled by the number of travellers who have chosen us as their preferred Costa Rica trip-planning partners throughout 2012 and cannot wait to meet this new year’s visitors. As we reflect on the past 365 days, we are inspired to look ahead at where we are going. For those of you who have leaned on us for trip support in the past, who plan to do so once again during a return trip to Costa Rica this year, or who will reach out to us for the first time over the next 12 months, here’s to you for making the below annual update one worth sharing.
A REVIEW OF 2012
Last year we aimed to provide travellers with more Costa Rica vacation discounts, continually support our “Travellers For…” Donation Project, and further develop our online presence. One year later, we are happy to say that we have met these goals. Not only do we offer the largest online database for Costa Rica tour discounts, but we have extended our reach to include discounts for activities in less popular regions of the country so all travellers (regardless of where they plan to stay during their trip) can benefit from our savings. New discounts are being added as fast as we can verify the quality of each source, so our tour discounts website (www.costaricatourdiscounts.com) will continue to receive regular updates throughout 2013.
We have also gained an online following via Costa Rica Travel Blog (www.costaricatravelblog.com). We thoroughly enjoy answering our clients’ most common questions by way of our posts, and in order to keep our advice, helpful information, and recommendations as organized as possible, this year we created the Search Our Blog – Find What You Need resource in order to help readers quickly and easily access the post topics they are most interested in.
Our donation project is a force to be reckoned with. We continue to allow our clients to select the organization or initiative that they would like us to financially support on their behalf (a full list of the organizations and initiatives we support can be found here) so that we can be sure to donate a portion of their reservation proceeds to a cause near and dear to their heart. As we did in 2012, we will continue to donate $1.00 for each tour per person, transfer service per person, hotel per night, domestic flight per way, and vehicle rental per day that is reserved through Pura Vida! eh? Incorporated so we can continue to build a nexus between Costa Rica travel and online philanthropy throughout 2013.
This past year also saw the growth of Costa Rica Registry (www.costaricaregistry.com) – Pura Vida! eh? Incorporated’s online Costa Rica honeymoon and wedding registry website. Since Costa Rica is gaining popularity as an ideal choice for destination weddings and honeymoons, travellers can now register for their preferred vacation items allowing their wedding attendants and guests to help fund their trip of a lifetime! In true Pura Vida! eh? Incorporated style, creating an online registry (complete with your own personalized registry website) is 100% free and no membership or commitment is required.
Pura Vida! eh? Incorporated – Company Manual
So what other tricks did we have up our sleeve this past year? For one, we released our own company manual containing everything travellers need to know about Pura Vida! eh? Incorporated. A full copy of our manual can be viewed on the Pura Vida! eh? Incorporated website (www.puravidaeh.ca) or else via this blog post. We also added countless more client testimonials to our website’s testimonials page (which can be viewed on the READ REVIEWS ABOUT US page on Costa Rica Travel Blog) and partnered with VIP Wedding Saver, a wedding discount card operator working to help Canadians plan more financially affordable weddings and honeymoons.
OUR PLANS FOR THE NEW YEAR
Trial-testing the tours we love to recommend!
So what is left to accomplish in 2013? So much more than we could possibly imagine. We are not satisfied by success, we are inspired by it – inspired to do and see more so we can help and be more. We take pride in knowing that a large part of our clients’ vacation success is driven by our own knowledge fuelled by our personal experiences. For this reason, 2013 will see us maintain our tradition – to get out and visit the hotels we promote, participate in the tours we recommend, and learn firsthand what it is that we set out to teach. We are YOUR voice when you first discuss visiting Costa Rica, YOUR eyes before yet seeing the country for yourself, and YOUR guide to embarking on the journey before setting out on your own, and we take this responsibility seriously. We regularly travel around the country, so who knows, you may even run into us while on a tour, at a hotel, or being transported between destinations during your next trip!
Although we travel all over the country, our online presence is not going anywhere. We aim to continue contributing worthwhile and original information via Costa Rica Travel Blog in order to be one of the best blog resources available for travellers to turn to for assistance when planning a Costa Rica vacation. 2013 will also bring the further development of our other online discount databases (www.costaricahoteldiscounts.com and www.costaricatransferdiscounts.com) as well as the creation of new Costa Rica vacation packages (www.costaricapackagediscounts.com) optimally designed for the 2013 traveller.
CostaRicaWithKids.com helps identify child & student discounts!
For those in search of new content, travellers can keep an eye out for our newest project: Costa Rica With Kids (www.costaricawithkids.com). Since a large percentage of our clients are families travelling with young children, pre-teens, and teenagers, we are in the process of developing Costa Rica With Kids – an online Costa Rica trip planning resource (specifically designed for parents) that addresses a number of family-related travel questions. Parents can find answers to popular questions, learn where child and student discounts are available for various Costa Rica trip items, and identify specific age limits for popular activities and kid-friendly tours. Children can participate in a fun cultural passport challenge and obtain ideas for a Costa Rica scavenger hunt. Want more? We even have junior local experts and junior travel experts standing by to answer your questions if you’re in search of a younger point of view. After all, sometimes kids do know best!
In reflecting on this past year, I am reminded of Soren Kierkegaard’s advice,
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
Although it is easy for us to account for the work that we have completed over the past year, our biggest challenge remains advancing our knowledge, improving our service, and growing our business by learning Costa Rica through experience. For this reason, we welcome 2013 and the opportunities it brings with it, to not only continue our own travels throughout the country but also to learn from the journeys of our clients who keep living forward and inspire us to do the same.
QUESTION TO COMMENT ON: What would you like to see us offer in 2013?
Pura vida!discount
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” super like! Thank’s for visiting me, greetings
very interesting… becoming a fan ^^
morgansherrah –
Thanks so much! All the best to you at “About The Woman” throughout 2013!
Pura vida!
I love this! I went to Costa Rica last Christmas for a couple of weeks, and I’m definitely missing the Pura Vida-ness : )
Thanks for following my blog; from one traveler to another, I hope that our paths cross somewhere in the world!
Good luck with everything~
25canvases -
Same to you! We love the entire concept behind your blog (your 25 canvases project). Art is a second love of mine (after Costa Rica), so I thoroughly enjoyed reading/viewing your site. Canvas #9 is my favorite.
Pura vida!
: )
Anything with art or travel is right up my alley (combine the two, and I’m the happiest girl in the world).
I’m thinking that after a while of Italy, Italy, Italy, it’ll be time to do an international series though… heh.
25canvases –
That would be AMAZING! If you ever came to Costa Rica it would be such a pleasure to view your artwork and see the country from your perspective on canvas. Please, please, please do let us know if you ever make the visit.
Pura vida!
Hello there. Thanks for checking out and following my blog!
almahera2012 –
Thanks to you too! We enjoyed following your Barcelona series.
Pura vida!
What a great, informative blog! I look forward to learning more about Costa Rica. Thank you so much for stopping by and following Travel Oops! Cheers, Steph
stephglaser -
Your blog is so entertaining! Thanks for the comment and for making all of us travellers laugh.
Pura vida!
Thanks for cheking out my blog!
I love ur blog i have to say
My time spent living in Costa Rica was thus far the best time of my life! I can’t wait to go back to visit again, and this had inspired me to make it happen 
cakeinacrockpot –
We love meeting current/former Costa Rica residents! Whereabouts did you live in CR? Should you ever decide to return, just let us know if you have any questions as we’re here and happy to help you however you need. Also, happy belated 3-year anniversary to you! Our 3-year is coming up next week.
Pura vida!
Hey guys! I would like to start by thanking you for foloowing our blog. I just started surfing yours and love it. You guys helped us so much with our Costa Rica trip a few years ago. We still talk about Puravidaeh every time we talk about our trip. We recommend you to everyone we meet who is interested in CR! I hope we have stirred some customers your way. You guys helped us ease into our first overseas journey and now are seeing six countries this year and working in Korea. All the best to you Niki and Ricky and we will ring you up next time we’re in CR!
tara30aren07 –
I am so thrilled that we were able to re-connect! Thank you so much for your feedback re: Pura Vida! eh? Inc. – of course we remember you both, your travels down the pacuare river, and the rest of your adventures on to Arenal, Monteverde, and Manuel Antonio from there. It is hard to believe that trip was 2.5 years ago! Time flies, and it seems to have taken you on many other journeys since you were our clients. How amazing that you are teaching in South Korea now! We both look forward to following your travels and should you ever decide to re-visit to Costa Rica you know where to find us!
Pura vida!
Hello! Wanted to let you know I’ll be adding SJO as a reference post (physical address, weather) on 1/12/13. Just FYI! I’ve also added a link to your blog, in case readers have questions about Costa Rica. Plan to do the other airport you requested very soon. Cheers, Deb
AirportsMadeSimple (Deb) –
Thank you so much for your kind offer to refer us and for adding the Costa Rica airport (San Jose for now, possibly Liberia later) to your database! We will gladly do the same and will refer our Costa Rica vacation clients to your blog for valuable airport info. We will also update our blog post (Comparing Costa Rica’s San Jose and Liberia Airports) once you have a chance to add the airport(s) to your site so we can link back to your listings. AirportsMadeSimple is a great reference!
Pura vida!
Same to you! Cheers, Deb
Your set up looks amazing! I will definitely keep this in mind!
Jake Bonsignore –
Thank you for the visit and the comment!
Pura vida!
Hi CRTB, Thanks so much for recently following my blog- your support means a lot! Looks like you’ve got a great set-up here, and big goals for 2013. Best wishes for the year ahead…
dakota85 –
Thanks for the 2013 well-wishes, and of course, the same to you! We happened to stumble across your blog and we’re so glad we did. It has a bit of everything that interests us – travel playlists, stories, and photos. We’d love to see “Costa Rica” added to your blog’s “Visit” section – if you ever make it to CR do not hesitate to contact us for assistance or advice!
Pura vida!
I most certainly will! x
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