Costa Ballena Guide, Costa Rica Free Digital Magazine and Travel Guide

*Ballena Tales* is a digital and interactive guide highlighting the wonders of Costa Ballena, in Costa Rica's South Pacific. This magazine offers in-depth coverage of activities, services, natural attractions, wildlife, dining options, accommodations, and events in the region.

With an innovative approach, it combines print and digital publications within an ecosystem that includes a blog, business directory, and links to social media profiles and advertiser websites. The digital edition has a global reach, with thousands of readers, while the print version reaches over 8,000 readers in the region.

According to studies, each print copy is read by an average of 2.3 residents and 18 visitors, resulting in approximately 142,000 readers per year, with a print run of 7,000 copies.

In addition to its informative and engaging content, *Ballena Tales* supports community and environmental initiatives, contributing pro bono to positive projects for the sustainable and cultural development of the South Pacific. Its editorial mission is to satisfy readers while boosting the value of advertiser brands and promoting the overall growth of the region.

Bar & Restaurant Jolly Roger

The Jolly Roger Bar recently underwent a comprehensive reform: They added a 40m2 terrace and built a new bar of wood, metal and stainless steel.

There are more TV screens to watch sports events and more benches around the deck overlooking the forest and ocean. In Jolly Roger, where intentionally there is no WiFi, you can enjoy the conversations between friends and the stunning sunsets.

Apart from the list of delicious crunchy wings, the specialty of the place, they expanded the offer with draft beer and an exclusive line of Chilean wine.

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Las Rocas de Amancio

By Dagmar Reinhard Photos Isidro Obando Vargas Don Amancio Vargas Obando was born in Guápiles (Limón) and raised in Quepos. He worked with the Banana company, where he also met his future wife, Zaida. He was 26 […]

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The Sounds of Nature…

Our workshop for women is enhancing. WE are going to sing together to heal, enjoy, and harmonize our life with nature.

We will learn to listen to the earth, look at nature with new eyes, and discover how Mother Earth creates health and well-being through her sounds.

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Sibu Good Coffee and Kifli Bread Shop

As lovers of good coffee they saw the need for a cozy place in the area and when the fortunate opportunity of buying and renovating the Sibu coffee shop arose, they made their dream come true. Now in the heart of Uvita, Sibu & Kifli Pan Artesanal offers their specialties-organic coffees, teas and more.

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Surfing with the Big Fish

by Trevor Brown In Costa Rica, animals surround us during almost every activity we do. Sometimes they are obvious and sometimes they’re hidden. Surfing is not different. You may not see them, but I assure […]

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Mind The Gap!

By Perry Gladstone As the Costa Ballena grows, it attracts people from all walks of life, each of us with his or her own ideas and beliefs of how things work. This is both an opportunity […]

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Glass Frogs in Costa Ballena

By César Barrio Amorós A type of frog not very well known is the glass frog. Glass frogs are small and very beautiful; they are an important addition to my night tours, mainly because they […]

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Beautiful Products

 Simple Tools By Susie Atkinson Basic, crude, primitive – these are all words that may come to mind when one thinks of the humble backstrap loom – a description that obscures the fact that some […]

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Food Market

The Dominical Farmers’ Market

By Trevor Brown The availability of fresh fruits and vegetables is an important aspect of healthy living in Costa Ballena where we are very lucky to have such a wide variety of fresh food. Although […]

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Remembering Roger Watson

Roger Watson rode up to Escaleras on horseback 12 years ago, long before the Costanera highway existed, and landed his opportunistic eye on a plot of land. Shortly after, Watson became one of the first […]

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Pioneer of the jungle

In 1971, Don Walter Odio returns to Uvita after having studied Animal Science at Louisiana State University, and becomes part of the family enterprise of El Rancho La Merced. Due to his newly acquired know-how, […]

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John Tresemer – La Cusinga Ecolodge

At the beginning of the 70’s and just 21, John, a college dropout, sensitive and idealistic, left the States feeling unable to adjust to militarism, materialism and racism. He overcame the turbulent 60’s of Civil […]

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Sam Reidy Takes The Title

By Samuel Reidy /Dagmar Reinhard Photo ~ by Fabian Thousands of people watched as the best surfers in Costa Rica battled it out in Playa Hermosa Jaco’s extreme conditions for the National Surf Titles. Sixteen-foot towering waves […]

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The Fate of the Chonta Palm

By Jack Ewing “Look what I found,” beamed the tractor driver, “a palmito from a chonta palm.It’s the first one I’ve seen in a long time.” The cylindrical palm heart about a meter long rested […]

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Vida Auténtica

By Corey Walker Vida Auténtica would like to give a loud CONGRATULATIONS! to the graduates of the 2015 Pueblo Roots Initiative. We are very proud to announce that 56 residents in the communities of Platanillo […]

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Costa Ballena Raises Funds for the Lifeguards

The Costa Ballena Lifeguard committee reports that theLG7 lifeguards at Playa Hermosa have rescued 30 people in 2015, recently they started hosting monthly parties to raise the funds needed to continue the program at Hermosa and re-open the tower in Dominical.

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News from La Patrona at Patron’s

In Dominical great things are happening at Patron’s. By Dagmar Reinhard We talked to La Patrona, and this is what she told us: “We are expanding our Events Center with regular performances of national and international […]

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Experience in Costa Rica

by Dagmar ReinhardIndira Pintin and Patrice Racine are FrenchCanadians from Montreal; they decided to take a sabbatical from their jobs. Indira had been working as an IT business analyst and Patrice as a high school […]

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Forging Wings: Our mission

By Ericka Sibaja Our mission is to promote the integral development of the children and teenagers of Uvita and Bahía Ballena through educational, artistic, and recreational programs so that they can choose to be responsible, […]

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The Coyotes

  By Dagmar Reinhard The Recreational Motorcycle Association Los Coyotes, founded in 1994, traveled from Cartago to Bahía Uvita. For some of the club members, this is their third time. Bon voyage friends! Pura Vida!

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DISCOVER THE SOUTH PACIFIC

Costa Ballena, located in the Osa Canton, is a region where the tropical forest meets the South Pacific Ocean, offering a unique natural environment. This area stretches from the Barú River in Dominical to the mouth of the Térraba River in Coronado, encompassing communities such as Dominical, Dominicalito, Uvita, Bahía, Ojochal, and Coronado.

One of its main attractions is Uvita Beach, located within the Marino Ballena National Park. This park stands out for the impressive natural formation known as the "Whale's Tail," a sandbank that stretches 2,296 meters in length and 2,800 meters in width, making it the third-largest in the world. At low tide, visitors can walk to the edge of this formation, enjoying spectacular views and an unforgettable experience.

Costa Ballena combines natural beauty, biodiversity, and picturesque communities, establishing itself as a prominent tourist destination in Costa Rica.

UVITA

OJOCHAL

SAN ISIDRO

SIERPE

GOLFO DULCE

The Best Time to Travel to the South Pacific
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