Friday, October 19, 2012

Annual Meeting: Logistic Requirements I

 There are a few details that we need to cover with you before your arrival:

Traveling and visas

Since we are working with the UN office in Costa Rica in order to coordinate your entry into our country we need you to send us a color copy of the main page/pages of your passport. This will also be of great help for us when getting the travel taxes for you and for the team of drivers that will be picking you up at the airport.
We have written before on here the list of countries that require a visa in order to enter Costa Rica. You will find the list of exceptions to this requirement uploaded as well. In case you still need help from us, your local hosts, please let us know by replying this email.

Medical information

In order to be prepared for you we need to know if any of you might require any special assistance, for example: special conditioned room or vehicles.
Please take into consideration that if you come from a country where malaria and yellow fever are active, you must be able to present your medical card or proof that you've been dutifully vaccinated against them when entering the country. 

Dietary information and allergies

We want to assure you a pleasant stay and therefore need information about any dietary restriction or allergy you might have. Please reply this email with any relevant information we might need since we will work closely with the chefs before the event in order to make sure the food served is up to your needs and spiritual beliefs. 

This is the first update for logistics we will write with the hotel information soon enough.
We are looking forward to hosting you!

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Visa requirements for Costa Rica

 In order to attend the annual meeting you might have to fulfill some migratory requirements beforehand. We ask you to pay special attention to visa requirements both for entering Costa Rica as during your transit, there is little we can do to help once you are already travelling so please let's work together to take careof these details.

There are some exceptions to our national requirement, meaning that you DO NOT need a Costa Rican visa even if you are from one of the countries below when you have a valid visa for 3 months stamped in your passport from the following places:
  • USA
  • CANADA
  • SOUTH KOREA
  • JAPAN
  • EUROPEAN UNION or SCHENGEN
You will need a visa to enter Costa Rica if you are from any of the following countries:
  • ALBANIA     
  • ANGOLA     
  • SAUDI ARABIA     
  • ARGELIA     
  • ARMENIA     
  • AZERBAIJAN    
  • BAHRAIN     
  • BENIN     
  • BELARUS     
  • BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA     
  • BOTSWANA     
  • BRUNEI-DARUSSALAM     
  • BURKINA FASO     
  • BURUNDI     
  • BHUTAN     
  • CAPE VERDE     
  • CAMBODIA    
  • CAMEROON   
  • COLOMBIA
  • COMOROS
  • COSTA DE MARFIL
  • CHAD
  • ECUADOR
  • EGYPT
  • ARAB EMIRATES
  • RUSSIA
  • GABON
  • GAMBIA
  • GEORGIA
  • GHANA
  • GUINEA
  • GUINEA ECUATORIAL
  • INDIA
  • INDONESIA
  • JORDAN
  • KAZAJISTAN
  • KENYA
  • KAZAKHSTAN
  • KOSOVO
  • KUWAIT
  • LESOTHO
  • LIBERIA
  • LYBIA
  • LEBANON
  • MADAGASCAR
  • MALAYSIA
  • MALAWI
  • MALI
  • MAROCCO
  • MAURITANIA
  • MOLDAVIA
  • MONGOLIA
  • MOZAMBIQUE
  • NAMIBIA
  • NEPAL
  • NICARAGUA
  • NIGER
  • NIGERIA
  • OMAN
  • PAKISTAN
  • PAPUA NEW GUINEA
  • PERU
  • QATAR
  • SAHRAWI ARABIC REPUBLIC
  • CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
  • REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
  • REPUBLIC OF CONGO
  • DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
  • LAOS
  • DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
  • RWANDA
  • SENEGAL
  • SIERRA LEONE
  • SUDAN
  • SWAZILAND
  • THAILAND
  • TAIWAN(REGION)
  • TANZANIA
  • TAJIKISTAN
  • EAST TIMOR
  • TOGO
  • TUNISIA
  • UKRAINE
  • UGANDA
  • UZBEKISTAN
  • VIETNAM
  • YEMEN
  • DJIBOUTI
  • ZAMBIA
  • ZIMBABWE

Please contact us at redicamerica@gmail.com in case you need further assistance.

Laura
REDICA

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Annual Cap-Net Meeting and 10th year Anniversary Celebration

Republic of Costa Rica

President: Laura Chinchilla (2010)
Land area: 19,560 sq mi (50,660 sq km)
Population (2010 est.): 4,516,220 (growth rate: 1.3%)
Capital: San José
Monetary unit: Colón
Site: Los Sueños Marriott Hotel, Puntarenas.

Costa Rica is a Central American country neighboring to the north with Nicaragua and to the south with Panama. It represents around 0.25% of the planet's surface and holds 5% of the world's biodiversity. A quarter of the country's land is made up by protected areas or national parks. In recent years tourism has earned the top slot in it's economic activities, surpassing the combined exports of it's main crops.

Because of it's vicinity to the Equator the country's climate is tropical all year round. The seasons in Costa Rica are defined by the precipitation levels. The year is divided into two seasons, dry season or summer and rainy season or winter. You may come to feel that better suited names for the seasons would be rainy and rainier. Even though the meeting will take place in the warmer coastal area, you should expect and prepare for light rain during the afternoons.

Costa Rica abolished the army back in 1949 and redirected funds into education and development. It is the oldest democracy in Latin America and one of the most stable countries in the region. 

For more information you may view this video on Costa Rica: