Offset your Carbon Emissions for your flight to Costa Rica and we will greet you with a free Tropical Cocktail!

We would like to offer you an easy way to travel even more responsibly by offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions from your international flight. You can find the tools to help you on our website.

Did you know that climate change has the possibility to change the landscape of the earth and negatively impact magical places like rainforests?  That is why we at Playa Nicuesa are in the process to become a carbon neutral company – we constructed a solar drying room to dry all of our laundry, we use solar panels and a back-up generator that runs on used vegetable oil for all of our electricity and we buy carbon credits for all greenhouse gasses emitted by our operations that we cannot currently eliminate.

You have already made a conscientious choice to vacation at a sustainable eco-lodge and know you can help the planet more. Your international flight will create between 314 and 1,374 Kg of carbon emissions per person depending on where you are flying from. Carbon emissions contribute to climate change which may cause sea level rise, loss of forests and other animal habitat, and a rise in extreme weather events. 

Through our program you can easily offset this impact by helping local reforestation programs and you will be reminded of your contribution with one of our bartender Jonathon's famous tropical cocktails at the lodge as our gift of appreciation! (Wine Enthusiast touted our Caipirum as "Cocktail of the Month"!)

Don’t forget bring or e-mail your receipt that you have offset your flight emissions to Nicuesa! 

Bottled Nose Dolphins

It was 6:15am and we were all in the boat on our way to Río Esquinas and a group of eight Bottled Nosed Dolphins were playing and jumping off the water.
These dolphins are the most common ones in the Golfo Dulce and they are very smart mammals, they hunt in groups surrounding their prey from the bottom to the surface and leaving them no option but jump off the water.

These dolphins can swim as fast as 35 km/h (21 knots) and they need to come out to the surface so they can breathe.

Conservation & Outreach Activities-Certification in Sustainable Tourism (CST)

Certifications are one of the international strategies to prevent green washing or false or misleading marketing of a product as ecologically sound. The Costa Rican government was the first government to create a certification for sustainable tourism to provide travelers with the peace of mind that their vacation dollars are being spent responsibly. The ICT (The Costa Rican Institute for Tourism), the government agency in charge of the certification, requires compelling proof of everything the hotel or travel agent claims to be doing including pictures, signed letters and an on-site inspection that lasts for 2-3 days. Nicuesa made a large commitment of both time and personell to successfully complete the process. A full time Sustainability Coordinator was hired and steps have been taken to become more sustainable every year.

Nicuesa’s final document was 82 pages long with 113 appendices attached and is complete in both English and Spanish. The onsite inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors from December 10th to the 11th and the final documentation was reviewed and handed in March. Nicuesa is now awaiting the final rating which is determined by the inspectors and then approved by a governmental council within the ICT. Each question has a rating and each section out of 4 is weighted the same. Thus, if a hotel receives a 90% compliance with 3 sections and a 60% compliance with 1 section, their overall rating in 60%. This is in an effort to encourage real sustainability that incorporates all of these elements and not just parts.