Written by Nikki Solano

Nikki is the CEO of Pura Vida! eh? Inc. (Costa Rica Discounts), and the author of the guidebooks Moon Costa Rica (2019, 2021, 2023, and 2025 editions) and Moon Best of Costa Rica (2022 edition) from Moon Travel Guides. Together with her Costa Rican husband, Ricky, she operates the Costa Rica Travel Blog, created the online community DIY Costa Rica, built the Costa Rica Destination Tool, oversees the brand-new (summer 2023) Costa Rica Travel Shop, and designed the Costa Rica Trip Planning 101 E-Course. Also, Nikki wrote the Costa Rica cover feature for Wanderlust Magazine's sustainability-focused Travel Green List issue, showcased Costa Rica destinations and experiences on Rick Steves' Monday Night Travel show and podcast/radio show, and served as the Costa Rica Destination Editor for Essentialist, a luxury travel brand. Want to show your appreciation for her free article below? Thank Nikki here. ❤️️

Our statement about how (and if) we should continue to talk about Costa Rica travel during these uncertain times

As the world grapples with the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, our global community is facing uncertain times. We are all struggling to come to terms with what’s happening in our own home, neighborhood, city, country, and around the world, and such uncertainty is bound to raise plenty of questions. Ricky and I have talked at length about whether, during these trying times, we should continue our work that promotes Costa Rica as a vacation destination. Not only are most people not able to travel internationally for tourism or recreational purposes these days (for great reason), but given the inevitable effect that the virus will have on the global economy, the new reality is it may be months or years before people will be able to afford the time and money needed to vacation again.

The only conclusion we’ve drawn thus far is that there is no clear right or wrong path to follow amid this unprecedented situation. On one hand, talk of something as trivial as travel to sunny, tropical destinations feels irrelevant and tone-deaf during times of crisis, especially when lives are being lost. On the other hand, as we watch the virus move throughout Costa Rica, we’re seeing it debilitate individuals and businesses, especially those with ties to the country’s halted tourism industry. We feel we should do what’s in our power to help. As Ricky and I navigate our way through a sea of uncertainty, no doubt alongside you and our neighbors around the world, we don’t want to offend or upset anyone with our movements. We also want to do what we can to keep Costa Rica’s tourism industry afloat, especially sector employees and business owners who are struggling to keep their head above water.

From our perspective, the consensus seems to be that, although our lives may be falling into disarray, we should all try to maintain as much normalcy as possible while complying with the changes our country’s government and health officials recommend. To that end, Ricky and I plan to make ourselves available online to future Costa Rica travelers who wish to talk about Costa Rica during the pandemic. In addition to the assistance we’ve been providing to travelers this week and last, which includes a) helping travelers cancel trip reservations following the imposition of international travel bans, and b) keeping travelers informed of changes to Costa Rica travel and tourism operations as a result of the pandemic (see our related blog post Coronavirus In Costa Rica: COVID-19’s Impact On Tourism And Travelers for updates), we’re opening an additional line of communication in the form of free Twitter chats (see below for details).

If you’re self-isolating or are in quarantine, and especially if you’re looking for ways to occupy your time while social distancing, consider chatting with us about Costa Rica. Regardless of whether you’re looking to fine tune a vacation you already planned (but had to cancel) or you’re daydreaming about a potential future trip and want help getting started, we’ll do our best to answer your questions several times each week for as long as necessary. Our hope is that, by helping you today, tomorrow, and over the coming weeks, we can continue to virtually support Costa Rica’s tourism industry throughout the pandemic. We also hope that, once international travel bans are lifted and you’re willing and able to vacation again, you’ll help strengthen Costa Rica’s tourism industry by visiting the country and experiencing an event-filled trip. Please note that we realize our contribution pales in comparison to the countless individuals (heroes) who are on the front lines of the pandemic, including health care providers and providers of other essential services. It’s merely one way we can put our knowledge of Costa Rica tourism to good use right now and that’s the least we can do to help keep us all connected.

Follow us @puravidaeh on Twitter and tweet using the hashtag #DIYCostaRica to connect with us!

Twitter chat schedule

We’ll post new Twitter chat dates each week. Here’s the current schedule for the coming week:

Sunday, March 22nd, 2020 / 12:00pm-1:00pm EST
Tuesday, March 24th, 2020 / 7:00pm-8:00pm EST
Thursday, March 26th, 2020 / 3:00pm-4:00pm EST

No RSVP is required to participate in the chat. Simply hop on Twitter at any/all of the times noted above and join the discussion by tweeting us (@puravidaeh) your Costa Rica question(s) using the hashtag #DIYCostaRica. Please note that if you don’t include the hashtag #DIYCostaRica in your tweet, unfortunately we won’t see your question and therefore won’t be able to answer it.

How to chat with us for free on Twitter

Connecting with us during one of our Twitter chats is easy. Here’s how.

If you already have a Twitter account

Familiarize yourself with our Twitter chat schedule (posted above) to learn which day(s) and time(s) would work best for you to connect with us. A few minutes before the scheduled chat time, log-in to your Twitter account and monitor our chat by searching for the hashtag #DIYCostaRica (alternatively, click here to monitor the chat). When you send us a question, be sure to include the hashtag #DIYCostaRica in your tweet, otherwise we won’t see it.

If you do not already have a Twitter account:

Please follow these steps to create a free Twitter account.

If you don’t want to create a Twitter account:

Though you won’t be able to ask a question during our Twitter chat if you don’t have a Twitter account, you can still view the chat in real time by clicking here. This page will display the content of the discussion, including what travelers are asking and how we’re responding.

Must-know info about our Twitter chats

Twitter is public

Twitter is an online social networking service. What you ask us (as well as our response) is available for public viewing. Please do not include personal, confidential information in your questions.

Our chats pertain to travel and tourism in Costa Rica

We aim to help travelers plan awesome trips to Costa Rica. As such, our chats focus on travel and tourism. Please do not ask us questions that pertain to the national politics, healthcare, education, the environment, crime, or other general Costa Rica topics including the presence/spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Costa Rica. Please also refrain from asking questions about the processes associated with moving to Costa Rica, retiring to Costa Rica, buying property in Costa Rica, starting a business in Costa Rica, or getting married in Costa Rica. Our goal is to keep chat conversations short, light, positive, and on topic.

Questions and answers must be short

As per Twitter’s guidelines, tweets (i.e., questions and answers) are restricted to a maximum of 140 characters. This means that each question you ask cannot consist of more than 140 characters (Twitter displays a character count with each tweet so it’s easy to keep track). Please understand that, although we have plenty of information, advice, and recommendations to offer, each response will be limited to 140 characters or less. You’re welcome to ask multiple questions.

To avoid wasting characters, feel free to use the following acronyms in your questions. We may use the same acronyms in our responses from time to time.

• b/c – because
• btw – by the way
• fmi – for more info
• cc – cannot confirm
• wfu – will follow-up
• fav – favorite
• icymi – in case you missed it

Wishing you and your family, friends, and coworkers great health while we continue to battle the virus together.

Pura vida!

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