Costa Rica Whale-Watching-A New Idea for your next Vacation

Have you been considering taking a trip to Costa Rica for your next vacation? If the answer to this question is “yes”, then you might want to add whale watching to your list of activities. This new adventure may seem a little unusual compared to the typical beach trips and volcano tours, but it is rapidly becoming one of the top activities to do in Costa Rica.

The best time to see these majestic beasts is from August to October in the Southern Hemisphere, and December to April in the Northern Hemisphere. The most common whale that is seen in Costa Rica is the humpback whale. They are accustomed to spend the summer months in the colder waters and retreat to the tropical waters during their mating periods.

There are now over 50 Costa Rican tour companies that provide day trips to see the humpback whales. Some estimates say that Costa Rica received over 100,000 visitors in 2007, specifically to see these whales. Over the last 10 years Costa Rican whale-watching has increased over 70%, one of the largest growth spurts in all Latin America.

Costa Rica has recently invested money in the Ballena National Park, which has the task of protecting these creatures and providing them a safe area for reproducing. It is located on the southern Pacific Coast, near Punta Uvita in Puntarenas. This protected area includes areas of Costa Rican land and sea. The humpback whale has been a protected species since 1967, and there are an estimated 10,000 whales in the world.

North America’s economic troubles not affecting Costa Rica’s real estate

One might suspect with the economic crisis that the U.S. is experiencing recently, Costa Rica’s beach properties would be negatively affected. According to some knowledgeable real estate agents, this could be a misconception. During the past five years or so, the real estate market in Costa Rica has been booming. The majority of this is due in part to North Americans travelling to Costa Rica with lots of cash, ready to purchase anything on the market from lots to condos or even beach properties.

Lately, things seemed to have changed; due in part to decreasing stock markets and elevated interest rates from lending banks. The Costa Rican real estate circumstances, one might think, could be taking a turn for the worse. Not so, say some very knowledgeable real estate agents. One negative factor of the big real estate “boom” was the fact that many green agents were selling costly properties, now things are starting to level off. What will happen with an high priced property is, it will sit on the market for a long while, the seller will have to decrease the price, and then it will finally sell when the property owner becomes more realistic.

Another concern, potential property purchasers, are faced with is the growing cost of construction materials. The costs of raw materials are definitely climbing, but this is true in all countries not just in Costa Rica. Even with these growing costs, Costa Rican land continues to have a very inexpensive price-per-square foot to build and is a big draw for baby boomers and other people looking for a more laid-back lifestyle. Loads of real estate experts claim that the real estate market in Costa Rica will start to increase once again, when the price of construction materials reduces or stops rising. Potential real estate buyers, property owners, and real estate agents really have nothing to worry about. Things have just made a full circle and are back the way they used to be, before the big real estate “boom”.