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Public Institutions Pull Out of Costa Rica’s Festival de la Luz

Several major public institutions will not bring their traditional illuminated floats to San José’s Festival de la Luz this year, forcing organizers to rethink one of Costa Rica’s best-known Christmas celebrations. The Festival de la Luz 2026 remains scheduled for Saturday, December 12. However, the Municipality of San José has not released the final parade format or a complete list of participating floats. Five public institutions have been identified as not participating: Banco de Costa Rica, Banco Nacional, Banco Popular, Grupo INS and Kölbi. The Junta de Protección Social has not confirmed whether it will take part. The Municipality said some public institutions had initially agreed to participate about two months ago but later backed out. According to Mayor Diego Miranda, some of those decisions were communicated informally. The institutions that have spoken publicly have offered practical rather than political explanations. Banco Popular said it decided not to participat...
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Costa Rica Plans to Move Domestic Flights Out of Juan Santamaría

If you fly into Costa Rica and connect onward to Drake Bay, Tortuguero, Nosara or Puerto Jiménez, the government wants to move that second leg to a different airport. Under a plan announced yesterdat, domestic flights would shift out of Juan Santamaría International in Alajuela and over to Tobías Bolaños International in Pavas, on the western side of San José. The stated purpose is to clear space at Juan Santamaría for international traffic, which has grown faster than the terminal was built to handle. For you, the change means a ground transfer between two airports on the day you arrive. Right now, an international arrival and a domestic departure happen under one roof. Under the plan, they would not. The government has not said when the shift would take effect, and no transition date has been published. Nothing changes for flights booked this season. To make Pavas ready for that traffic, the government said it will spend close to $30 million modernizing the airport. Tobías B...
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Costa Rica Plants a Tiny Urban Forest in Curridabat

A piece of land about the size of two tennis courts is being turned into a densely planted urban forest in Curridabat.The project, called Bosque Tacaco, will place approximately 1,540 native plants in a 515-square-meter area, or about 5,540 square feet, next to the Aleste commercial development in Guayabos. Around 200 volunteers were expected to take part in the planting this morning. Unlike a traditional park, where trees are normally planted several meters apart, the plants in Bosque Tacaco will be placed close together. The idea is to create competition for light and encourage the vegetation to grow upward quickly. The project will include 74 native species. These will not all be large trees. The planting will also include shrubs, palms, heliconias, vines and plants that spread across the ground. Organizers say Bosque Tacaco will be the first pocket forest in Central America connected to SUGi Pocket Forest, an international organization that supports small urban forests. S...
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Costa Rica Documentary Reveals Why Whales From Two Hemispheres Choose Golfo Dulce

There is one stretch of water on the planet where humpback whales from the far north and the far south both come to give birth, and it sits at the southern tip of Costa Rica. Golfo Dulce, the deep inlet that separates the Osa Peninsula from the mainland, receives mothers that have swum up from the freezing waters off Antarctica and mothers that have come down the Pacific coast of North America. Nowhere else do the two populations overlap. Researchers who worked on a new Costa Rican documentary about the gulf call it the womb of the Pacific. That documentary, Costa Rica, Cradle of Whales , premiered Wednesday night on Canal 7 as the first episode of a revived nature strand called El Planeta Azul , or The Blue Planet. The full film went online free after broadcast. The production took three years. Camera teams worked in Golfo Dulce and in Bahía Ballena, the bay farther north where the whale watching industry is concentrated, filming in high definition and 4K with drones, underwater ...
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Costa Rica President Sends Eight Major Proposals to Congress

President Laura Fernández has presented eight new bills that could change how Costa Rica handles pensions, loans, government contracts, internet funding and several other public programs. The proposals were announced as Fernández marked her first 100 days in office. However, none of the changes has taken effect. Each bill must first be discussed and approved by the Legislative Assembly. Here is what the eight bills would do in simple terms: Provide more pensions for people in need The first bill would move part of an employer-paid payroll contribution into the fund that provides basic pensions to older adults and people with disabilities who did not pay enough into the regular pension system. The government estimates that the change could provide pensions to around 31,000 additional people. The proposal would not take money from workers’ individual retirement accounts. Instead, it would redirect money currently sent to Banco Popular. Limit some powers of the Com...
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Paulo Wanchope expected back at Herediano for a third spell in charge

Paulo César Wanchope, the striker who spent a decade in English football before becoming one of Costa Rica’s best-known coaches, is expected to take charge of Club Sport Herediano for the third time in his career. It was reported today that an agreement with the 50-year-old would be closed within hours. Herediano had not announced the appointment by midday, and the club has made no public statement naming its choice. The job came open on August 10, when Herediano dismissed José Giacone following a 0-3 home defeat to Alajuelense at the Estadio Carlos Alvarado in Santa Bárbara. Club president Jafet Soto then took the team himself on an interim basis, seven months after saying in a January radio interview that he would never put himself in the dugout again. That spell lasted two matches. Herediano lost to San Carlos in Ciudad Quesada on August 14, and Soto said afterward that he would not continue, explaining that the club lacked a structure experienced enough to handle the ...
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Costa Rica Highway Project Faces Questions Over Removal of Wildlife Routes

An internal audit at Costa Rica’s National Roadway Council ( Conavi ) has warned that construction work on the Barranca-Limonal highway disrupted natural overhead routes used by wildlife, potentially leaving animals more exposed to traffic. Conavi’s executive director, Mauricio Sojo, disputed the audit’s description of what happened. He said the natural crossings were not deliberately removed but fell during earthmoving work and were later restored. The warning appears in preventive services report signed on April 14, 2026. It followed a March 5 inspection involving Conavi auditors and the project’s environmental manager. During the visit, the group found that natural overhead wildlife crossings connecting vegetation on opposite sides of the highway had been removed, according to the report. The affected area was between the Aranjuez River and the main entrance to Judas de Chomes, where crews were cutting trees and clearing the highway right-of-way. The environmental manager t...
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