Costa Rica’s brimming biodiversity is a driving force behind its thriving ecotourism. One of Costa Rica’s most popular ecotourism activities is witnessing the ancient species of sea turtles participate in the annual nesting ritual. For visitors planning a trip to see sea turtle nesting, the Guanacaste province in particular serves as a hub for their activity. Giant leatherbacks, Olive Ridleys, Loggerheads and Hawksbills are among the different types of sea turtles that shuffle along the Guanacaste shores to lay their eggs each year.

The sea turtles lay their eggs at nighttime throughout the nesting season, which runs from July through November. The best place for tourists traveling to Costa Rica to witness the magical ritual of sea turtle nesting is at one of two popular National Parks, Tortuguero National Park and the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge located just a short walk from Kalia’s own Black Beauty Village. The sea turtles’ popular nesting months coincide with Costa Rica’s rainy season, during which hundreds of thousands of leatherbacks, loggerheads and olive ridleys climb ashore to nest while being watched by tourists, locals and conservationists.

For Kalia residents, witnessing this spectacular scene is another tempting benefit of owning a little slice of heaven, your own piece of Costa Rica real estate.

Ecotourism is defined as visiting a country to explore the untouched natural surroundings while leaving little to no environmental impact. While ecotourism is known for its environmental protection efforts, it also provides a larger benefit to Costa Rica by providing government funding that keeps the country’s national parks beautiful, pristine and well-managed. Costa Rica is a country that encourages sustainability and thrives on ecotourism, providing tax benefits to people who open eco-friendly businesses. Costa Rican ecotourism helps sustain local communities, funds the continued preservation of the national parks, and enables the country to continue its healthy economic development.

Some of the more popular forms of Costa Rica ecotourism travel include stunning nature hikes, rare bird watching and athletic adventures such as kayaking and biking. Costa Rica’s ecotourism also includes unique conservation vacations, a growing trend in Costa Rica thanks to increasing foreign awareness of the troubles faced by the country’s beautiful indigenous wildlife. One species receiving a lot of attention lately is Costa Rica’s leatherback sea turtles, majestic gentle giants who are hovering on the brink of extinction. Since the rich Costa Rican coast offers a safe nesting habitat for the sea turtles, many ecotourism groups have created conservation vacations where eco-minded tourists can play an important role in aiding the preservation of the sea turtle population.

Tourists planning to partake in Costa Rica ecotourism should keep a few rules in mind while traveling. Most importantly, remember that the goal of ecotourism is to avoid impacting the country’s natural beauty and biodiversity. This means avoiding the introduction of any non-native plants, fruits, or food, properly disposing of all trash, and not taking anything with you from your travels (save for your memories and gorgeous pictures to wow your friends and family with back home). Preserving the beauty of Costa Rica through green ecotourism will go a long ways toward maintaining its majestic appearance for future generations.

We recently came across a fascinating article about purchasing real estate in Costa Rica, and wanted to share the exciting information for those interested in owning a gorgeous property there. The article discusses Costa Rica’s rating as the #2 most attractive country in Latin America by Foreign Direct Investment Magazine.

Visitors and expatriates now have another compelling reason to visit Costa Rica: The blissful country ranks #1 on the Happy Planet Index, created by the New Economics Foundation. The Happy Planet Index measures how well a country uses its natural resources to create long and happy lives for its citizens. Costa Rica’s abundant natural resources enable its people to live happily and healthily to the average ripe old age of 79 (National Geographic). Read all about why Costa Rica is such a great place to live in the original article on the Happy Planet Index website.

This model home, known as the Lush, features a green landscaped roof and special water features to cool the home, solar energy to regulate the pool’s temperature and a gray water recycling system to water the landscaping.

Rooftop gardens overflowing with lush local vegetation, sprawling modern pied-a-terres and oversized lots are just some of the features in the sexy new wave of luxury green living. What was once considered a frivolous, hippie driven movement has become the preferential way to live – eco-friendly and fabulous; minimal impact on the natural environment paired with maximum comfort and luxury for the home owner.

Green living may have had Spartan beginnings, but the sustainable trend has since reached the upper echelons of society. Luxury green living is a status symbol embraced by eco-conscious celebrities, aristocrats and business moguls who spare no expense or luxury while living a green lifestyle. Celebs with major star power are building and buying green homes including: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Rachel McAdams and Daryl Hannah, to name a few. The luxury green living movement is also spreading like wildfire beyond the borders of North America and Europe, taking countries like Costa Rica by storm.

This home is currently under construction in Kalia's Emerald Woods Village in the area of Marbella in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

Renowned for its unspoiled biodiversity, abundant national parks and stunning vistas, the effort to keep Costa Rica’s natural beauty intact has resulted in a number of luxury green living options for natives and foreigners alike. Gorgeous new socially responsible housing developments are popping up across Costa Rica, promising eco-friendly luxury homes, condos and apartments. Many of these Costa Rican luxury green living communities are catering specifically to a discriminating foreign clientele with rich on-site amenities, exclusive gated communities and stunningly modern home designs. Included in these luxury amenities are sprawling golf courses, tennis courts, spas, restaurants and fitness centers that are designed using sustainable, local materials, native plants and built in low density to maintain the natural surroundings. Kalia is lucky to be a green luxury living community  located on Costa Rica’s Pacific Northwest coast. For more info on Kalia’s eco-luxury lifestyle, please visit our main website, kalialiving.com.

A model home under construction in Kalia's Black Beauty Village in the area of Playa Ostional in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

Imagine waking up every day to the sound of ocean waves laced with distant calls of the macaw in the rustling of the rainforest. In this beautiful land, your schedule for the day might include a dip in the ocean, hiking beneath majestic canopies of flora and catching a nap beneath a banana tree. If this scenario sounds too good to be true, you haven’t lived in Costa Rica.

After visiting Costa Rica, the pristine beaches, rainforests and happy locals are like a siren song calling you back again and again. A growing economy, political stability, and the tourist-friendly people are a few more reasons Costa Rica is becoming an increasingly popular place for foreigners to own a home. Owning a home in Costa Rica offers a welcome refuge from the daily rat race of working a 9-5 job in the United States or Europe. Whereas Americans and Europeans tend to focus on getting ahead and acquiring physical possessions, the people of Costa Rica place an emphasis on enjoying life’s simple pleasures and the beauty of being immersed in nature. University of Washington studies have shown that being in natural greenery for just twenty minutes at a time substantially lowers stress levels, which perhaps accounts for why Costa Rica residents are ranked among the happiest in the world. (Source: www.happyplanetindex.org)

Surprisingly, owning a home in Costa Rica is easier than one might think. A whopping 20% of Costa Rica’s population is currently comprised of foreigners living abroad, of which one third is American. Financing a home is similar to the mortgage structure in the United States, although financing rates are typically a few percentage points higher. However, land taxes are substantially lower, enabling Costa Rican home owners to save a lot more on taxes than they would through buying a home in the U.S. Another allure to becoming a home owner in Costa Rica is the ease with which a foreigner can do business. Travel visas allow people to conduct business for three months at a time, and once they are ready to establish a full time business they can file for a temporary residency permit. (Source: www.costarica.com) Many popular eco-tourism companies, hotels and restaurants are run by expatriates who have joined the leisurely, enjoyable pace of life that Costa Rica has to offer.

One of the best and easiest ways to buy and own a home in Costa Rica is to find a housing development built by an American-based company. This gives foreigners the hands-on guidance and help they might need to navigate through local laws, financing and regulations, ensuring that they have a smooth, positive experience purchasing their Costa Rican dream home.