IL Magazine: Discover the Greatest Retirement Town +6 More SUBSCRIBE NOW AND SAVE 35% about subscribing to International Living Magazine 
I’ve taken many taxis in my travels. And I’ve found them to be more than just a way to get from place to place. I consider every ride an opportunity to learn about where I am—history, culture, traditions, sports…even religion and politics...
Some of the first tourists to Costa Rica were intrepid surfers, attracted by an endless summer and consistent quality waves. To this day, whenever you see an ad promoting tourism in Costa Rica...
It’s about 75 F and sunny…a slight breeze rustles the potted palm next to me. I’m on my rooftop terrace. I spend a lot of time up here to take advantage of beautiful weather and the views. My home is on a hillside...
Jutting out into the Pacific on the country’s northwest corner, the Nicoya Peninsula is set apart geographically from mainland Costa Rica. It’s more than an hour’s drive to the nearest sizable city, Nicoya. And from the capital, San José, and the main international airport there, it will take the better part of a day and include a mix of rough dirt roads and pavement winding through forest, farmland, and mountains. One route, to the southern tip of the peninsula, even includes a ferry crossing.
With more than 350 days of sunshine a year the southern Baja California in Mexico is a favorite destination of vacationers and expats alike. Most head to the very tip, to Los Cabos—as the area in and around the towns of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo is called...
Medellín, which has become Colombia’s premier expat destination in recent years, is a city of neighborhoods. With top-notch medical care, entertainment, dining, shopping, and anything else you might need just down the street from your home...
In the U.S. or Canada, a road trip to the beach can be serious business. Depending on where you start, it can take several long days in the car to get to the water. With the cost of gas, hotel stays along the way, and a hotel once you get there…you have quite an expensive little trip.
With 763 miles of coastline on the Pacific and Caribbean, Costa Rica is blessed with its share of beautiful beaches…not to mention pristine waters. And inland lakes and rivers provide more outstanding scenery. But these waterways are more than just pretty to look at. They’re the playgrounds of watersports enthusiasts of many different disciplines. Below Read more...: Fun for All Ages: The Top Five Watersports in Costa Rica
Pedasí, on the eastern tip of Panama’s Azuero Peninsula, is about four-and-a-half hours’ drive from the capital, Panama City. It still has a bit of a “frontier” feel to it thanks to the location, as well as the vast cattle pastures in the area...
Many scuba divers are lucky to go on dive trips once or twice a year. With the expense of travel and limited vacation time, that's all they can afford. But Francesca Diaco wasn't satisfied with that... "Money doesn't motivate me," says Francesca. "What motivates me is making people happy and doing something I love." So, she designed a new income and life that allowed her to indulge her love of the water as much as she wanted—at world class dive spots.