The Compass Report

Emerald View Properties Brings Dubai to Manhattan

Emerald View Properties, a real estate marketing, sales, and consulting firm linking U.S. investors to residential and commercial properties in the UAE, announces the launch of their new office in New York City. Already a highly regarded firm out of Washington, D.C., Emerald View is a team of experts in real estate sales, portfolio investment, REIT management, development, property management, and relocation services. After building a loyal American investor following for properties in the UAE, this expansion from the nation's capitol to the Big Apple highlights the growing demand for their services.

The Atlantis Resort opening was the most recent of many notable indicators signifying Dubai's stature as a magnet for the ambitious, discerning investor. The spectacular extravaganza on a pristine manmade palm shaped island drew celebrities like Denzel Washington, Robert DeNiro, Kylie Minogue, Charlize Theron, Priyanka Chopra, Star Jones, Rhys Ifans, Sir Richard Branson, Jade Jagger, Michael Jordan, Natalie Imbruglia, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, Mary Kate Olsen, and more. Star-studded events like this illustrate how the tax free investment-friendly hot spot is emerging as the cosmopolitan center of world commerce.
Emerald View Properties introduces individuals and investment groups in the U.S. to midmarket and luxury properties in Dubai and the surrounding emirates. With their vast experience in the UAE real estate market, Emerald View guides investors step-by-step in the purchase process, introduces buyers to the best practices in managing their property portfolio, and helps U.S. business owners take advantage of tax free havens in UAE free zones through business set-up consulting and relocation services.

- Wall Street Journal

As trade with Costa Rica grows, so does Beijing's influence in Latin America

For the first time in history, a Chinese president has visited Central America, a former bastion of Taiwanese support and a region that the United States has long considered its backyard.

During Hu Jintao's visit to Costa Rica on Monday, the two nations agreed to begin negotiations on a free-trade agreement and work together to expand Costa Rica's national oil refinery.

China will also open a center here to spread Chinese language and culture, and the China Development Bank will offer $40 million in credit to the cash-strapped Banco Nacional.

Hu's Your Daddy: Chinese expats enthusiastically greet President Hu Jintao at the Juan Santamaría International Airport this week.

Hu spent about 24 hours in Costa Rica with his wife, Liu Yongqing, and a delegation of about 110 people, including government officials, journalists and advisers. Separately, about 100 Chinese businessmen visited this week to meet with their Tico counterparts.

China is ready to intensify its contacts with Costa Rica's government, Congress and political parties, Hu said at a press conference Monday.

Hu's visit here, followed immediately by trips to Cuba and Peru, highlights China's growing influence in Latin America, where the U.S. has been largely politically absent.

In courting Latin America, China appears to be seeking raw materials, new export markets and diplomatic support from the region's 12 countries that still back Taiwan.

China's gifts to Costa Rica are a reward for President Oscar Arias' decision in June 2007 to recognize China and end a 63-year relationship with Taiwan, according to a secret memo that a Costa Rican high court recently made public.

During Hu's visit, China agreed to free up additional funds for a national soccer stadium in La Sabana Park, on the western edge of San José. China will invest $83 million in the stadium, to be built over the next two years by the Chinese firm Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Group.

Also this week, China National Petroleum Corporation agreed to help Costa Rica expand its national refinery in Moín on the Caribbean coast. The expansion, set to more than double the refinery's capacity, could take up to five years and cost $1 billion, to be divided between the two nations, said José León Desanti, president of Costa Rica's National Oil Refinery.

After the United States, China is Costa Rica's second most important trading partner, and commercial ties are set to strenghten over the next few years.

Testing the Waters: A Costa Rican port worker, left, leads potential Chinese investors on a tour of Caldera Port, on the central Pacific, earlier this year. China is Costa Rica's second most important trading partner after the United States.

Trade officials will hold the first round of talks on a free-trade agreement Jan. 19 in San José, and negotiations will likely finish by early 2010, said Foreign Trade Minister Marco Vinicio Ruiz.

China is also donating 320 square meters of space to Costa Rica at the next World Expo, an international fair scheduled in Shanghai from May through October 2010.

Some companies are ahead of the game. Florida Bebidas, a subsidiary of Florida Ice & Farm, signed an agreement with the Chinese distributor Powersun on Monday to sell fruit juice and Imperial beer to Chinese consumers. Florida Bebidas will also distribute the Chinese beer Tsingtao here.

Trade with China has grown dramatically over the last five years. In 2002, just 0.64 percent of Costa Rica's exports went to China, compared to 9 percent in 2007. Ruiz said he expects exports to China to grow 11 percent under a free-trade agreement.

China is also seeking to strengthen cultural ties with Costa Rica through a new Confucius Institute, set to open soon at the University of Costa Rica (UCR). The center, funded jointly by the two nations, will offer Mandarin classes to students, teachers and the general public.

Costa Rica will be the eighth country in Latin America to have a Confucius Institute, joining Brazil, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Cuba and Mexico.

China's generosity has impressed Costa Ricans and filled some of a niche once occupied by the United States. When asked in July to name Costa Rica's best friend, 25 percent of Ticos said China, while 29 percent named the United States. Two decades ago, 58 percent of Ticos considered Uncle Same the best, said Carlos Denton, president of CID-Gallup.

The U.S. is disengaged, Denton said. That's why Costa Ricans aren't as conscious of the U.S. as a friend as they were 25 years ago.

In the early 1980s, the U.S. pumped millions of dollars into Costa Rica's Central Bank to prop up the country's teetering economy. But the USAID mission in Costa Rica closed in 1996, and last year the Washinton, D.C., gave Costa Rica just $7 million in direct aid.

The clasped hands have disappeared from Costa Rica, Denton said, referring to the USAID emblem.

The United States is still Costa Rica's No. 1 destination for exports and the top source of tourists. And next month, Costa Rica is expected to join the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA).

Still, as Costa Rica diversifies its exports, commercial ties with the North American giant have become less important. In 2002, half of Costa Rican exports went to the U.S., compared to 35.2 percent in 2007.

While China's ambitions in the region have raised eyebrows in Washington, U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica Peter Cianchette seems unfazed. Stronger ties to China, he said, do not detract from Costa Rica's relationship with the United States.

- Tico Times

Tourist Number for Costa Rica: 2 Million Expected in December

The first week in December is when tourist number 2.000.000 will arrive, marking an historic moment for the country. To mark the event, the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) is preparing a reception party worthy of a hero.

The announcement was made by Allan Flores, manager of the ICT, during the inauguration of a new Sansa service in Liberia.

"We are preparing an enormous reception, one filled with many surprises", said Flores.

Tourist 2 million will have, among other goodies, free hotel accommodations, free tours of the country and will always be welcome to Costa Rica, explained Flores.

The ICT official explained that, according to their calculations, the first week in December is when tourist 2.000.000 is expected to cross the immigration lines at the Juan Santamaría airport.

In 1999, Costa Rica broke the one million tourist barrier.

Flores added that the projection for increase visitors this season over last has been reduced to between 6% and 9% when only a couple of months ago the projection was 15%.

The financial crisis around the world is being blamed for the drop. The World Tourism Organization (WTO) has also revised its projections from 6% to 2%.

Flores said that Costa Rica will see, at minimum, three times more tourists than the rest of the world based on the WTO projections.

In 2007, Costa Rica received 1.9 million tourists, a growth of 11.7% over 2006.

Tourism in Costa Rica depends generally on the economic well being of the United States. In 2007, figures show that 40% of all tourists came from the U.S.

General Property Purchase Procedures in Panama

Purchasing real estate in Panama is relatively easy and quite familiar for many. For the retiree, this is actually a great place to buy, because the prices generally are low and there are benefits that the ordinary person doesn’t receive. The basic process of purchasing property in Panama is as follows:

1. Find a property - There are many properties for sale in Panama. If you first identify your personal needs and desires before attempting to talk with a broker you will improve your chance of finding quality real estate investments.

2. Negotiation - After you locate a property that you want to buy, your broker can assist you with the negotiating of the price and terms. After negotiating and agreeing to terms (purchase price, payment form, broker’s commission, legal service fees, etc.), your broker will transfer the details to a property transaction form.

3. Promise to Purchase / Sales Contract - This is your formal offer to purchase a particular property. Your broker will provide the necessary information to the attorney, who will draft a Promise to Purchase / Sales Contract. This agreement is signed both by you and the seller. Generally a down payment of approximately 10% (depending on the agreed terms) is made to the escrow company and is paid to the seller when the contract is signed.

4. Title Search - Your attorney will perform a title search on your new property to ensure that there are no liens or other claims that could stop the transfer of title.

5. Balance and Wire Instructions - Once the title search is complete, the escrow company will then send you a new balance that include all details of the complete breakdown of payments for your transaction. You will receive wire and check deposit instructions for the funds that need to be distributed to each party (seller, broker, attorneys, etc.) at the closing date.

6. Closing and Payments - Once the escrow company is notified, they will arrange a closing date for signing the documents and disbursing the money.

7. Payment Receipts - The escrow company will give the buyer a breakdown of the services provided, and a complete listing of all fees.

8. Payment Receipts - The escrow company will provide the buyer all the payment receipts & transaction documentation.

- by By ABpanama

Volunteering Overseas: Mapping Your Own World

Imagine yourself actually meeting the people living in these conditions:

1) More than one billion people live on less than $1 a day, and 238 million of them are young people.
2) There are 115 million children who do not attend primary school, and three-fifths of them are girls.
3) 15 million children have lost one or both of their parents to AIDS, and 860,000 children in Sub-Saharan Africa lost teachers who died from AIDS.

Becoming a volunteer overseas allows you to see for yourself. In recent years more young people in Taiwan are volunteering in Malawi, Ghana, Thailand, Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia, India, Panama, and many other countries around the world. They help teach Chinese, English, public health, and important ideas that empower the poor, women, and children. Some help out in clinics, and some assist in building up case studies of patients via computer systems.

This summer I volunteered in Myanmar for the second time. People know that Myanmar is a place where protesting monks are shot by the military government, and where massive foreign aid after a disastrous cyclone that killed more than 150,000 people was rejected. Pleople warn me that it must be very dangerous, so why take the risk? The Red Cross Society of Taiwan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have refused to support the volunteer group that I organized because they believe it is unsafe to visit Myanmar this year.

But why would they consider Myanmar a dangerous country for volunteers? They tell you that after the cyclone an epidemic will break out, and the entire country will be affected with disease. But is it true? My volunteer group has been preparing for three months and we want to know the real reasons for preventing us from visiting the country.

We consulted many experienced non-governmental organization workers as well as locals to ask what the situation was really like. And fortunately, we learned that the cities we planned to visit were far from the cyclone-hit areas.

Yet on a deeper level we don’t want to lose the chance to help the people in Myanmar. Last summer, we visited some very poor monastic schools in the rural areas of Yangon, and I cannot forget how the teachers and students welcomed us. Their willingness to share their stories with us made us feel how close we were, even when we didn't speak the same language.

Finding the human connection, as I call it, is the reason we should volunteer abroad. It’s about giving, and the giving is mutual. Most volunteers believe that it is impossible to change the lives of the poor. But I believe that volunteering is a chance to share, and that interaction is an inspiration that grows as we experience more. We will never know what it will become in the future.

We have also visited many overseas Chinese schools, whose aim was to pass on Chinese culture. We designed activities to tell students about emotion, relationships, basic health, and how to make plans for their careers. These Chinese communities are very much like Taiwan 20 or 30 years ago. We were treated with absolute sincerity and with great affection. I felt as if I was living in the world of Anne of Green Gables, in which Anne became a teacher in a beautiful place like Prince Edward Island!

Volunteering should be about understanding and sharing with the people you meet. It is only through contact that you can know what you can give to each other. Volunteering overseas gives you culture shock to re-examine your own life, and it gives you a chance to make changes. Aside from what the mass media tells us, you can see the world for yourself, and start to map the world in your own perspective.

- by Wendy Lin

Ending 4-year battle, Costa Rica approves CAFTA

After all these years, CAFTA is finally approved!!! Costa Rica is finally ready to join the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

The country signed the accord in 2004 along with the rest of Central America, the United States and the Dominican Republic.

But its implementation has been stalled for four years by opposition lawmakers who didn't want to open Costa Rica's powerful state-run telecommunications and insurance industries to competition. Others felt the required intellectual-property laws dictating jail time for violators were too strict.
Costa Ricans voted for the trade deal in a national referendum a year ago, moving it forward. But then it became stalled again as congress squabbled over the enabling legislation dealing with 13 different aspects of the deal.

On Tuesday, lawmakers overcame the final intellectual-property hurdle by allowing schools and universities to copy some materials and by reducing prison time for those guilty of selling pirated goods.

President Oscar Arias said his office will quickly finalize the paperwork needed for CAFTA to take effect in Costa Rica on Jan. 1.

"After more than four and a half years of debate, two extensions and one historic referendum in which the majority said they agreed with the free trade accord, we are finally closing this chapter," said the president's spokesman and brother, Rodrigo Arias.

Costa Rica's agriculture sector stands to benefit the most from the new agreement, particularly specialized fruits and vegetables such as pineapple and yucca. Costa Ricans are also hoping competition in the cellular phone industry will lower costs and offer more services.  Under the state-run monopoly, it was difficult to even get a new line.

While several telecommunications companies have expressed interest in starting up businesses in Costa Rica after Jan. 1, there hasn't been the same level of interest in the insurance industry, mostly because of the global financial crisis.  Chamber of Commerce President Manuel Rodriguez said the accord "opens a window of opportunities for small businesses."
The pending deal has mobilized large protests in Costa Rica in the past, but Tuesday's news came with no public opposition.

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has opposed CAFTA, arguing it "did not contain the sorts of labor provisions and environmental provisions that should have been embedded and should have been enforceable in those agreements."

BY MARIANELA JIMENEZ

Costa Rica lures new wave of retirees

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA -- Shielded from the equatorial sun beneath an umbrella, Jim and Carol Lynch reflect on their unusual decision to move from the small town of Fayetteville, Tenn., to a suburb of this Costa Rican capital.

"Look around you, man," Jim Lynch says. "This place is beautiful."

They are among a small but growing cadre of baby boomers for whom Latin American countries with communities catering to gringos are becoming the new Florida, or at least, what Florida meant to previous generations.

From the 1950s through the '90s, for many retirees, Florida was just a given -- the place you moved to at a certain age to enjoy a daily dose of sunshine, a cheap house with palm trees and a pool, low taxes, plentiful local food, and a light-hearted sense of adventure.

The Sunshine State is still the No. 1 destination for U.S. retirees, but an analysis of the latest U.S. Census Bureau data shows its market share of 60-plus movers has slid by a third in just eight years -- from 19.1 percent in 2000 to 12.5 percent in 2007. Likely leading the retreat to a very different kind of retirement are the 76 million Americans born from 1946 and 1964.

"Florida is still on the decline," says William Haas of the University of North Carolina, the researcher who is slicing and dicing the Census data. The Sunshine State's drop from a 16.6 percent share of retirees in 2005 to 13.2 percent in 2006 has been the most precipitous drop that Haas has seen so far. "After the hurricanes, the tax burden and the lack of insurance, etc. may explain the difference between 2005 and 2006," he said.

Real estate consultant Jack McCabe, who lives on Florida's busy southeast coast, said, "You can buy what might be an $800,000 condo on the water in Florida for $300,000 in Panama, and you can play golf for 10 bucks and eat for 5."

For people who want Central Florida with arguably better scenery and fewer bugs, the central plateau of Costa Rica that is home to most of that nation's 4 million people is filling the bill for the Lynches. Unlike Florida, it offers a more moderate year-round temperature, lower humidity and mountain views. It also is not far from the beaches and marinas of either coast, but has a life of its own. Known as the Switzerland of Latin America, Costa Rica has no standing army, a high literacy rate and a liberal approach to government.

Just as important to the Lynches, it is affordable.

Few people need air-conditioning or heat, rents are reasonable, the mass transit system is good and costs peanuts to use, fresh food is plentiful and prescription drugs are cheap compared with U.S. prices. For most, you do not need a prescription.

The Lynches say they could not afford to live in the U.S. anymore; the skyrocketing cost of health care was their prime motivation for leaving.

"We've got a retirement budget of a little more than thirty grand a year," Jim Lynch said. "It will work, if we don't have to spend half of it on meeting the monthly premiums and getting Carol's meds."

In the suburbs of San Jose, where the Lynches just moved, the yearly taxes on a $200,000 home might run $400 per year compared with hundreds per month in Florida. Outside the hurricane belt, the cost of insuring a home against disaster resembles that of yesteryear's Florida.

The cost of medical care is so much lower in Costa Rica that Americans without medical insurance have been heading there for elective surgery.

RETIREMENT MECCA

Jim Gale is from Minnesota. His partners, Evelyn Bernet and Mike Rosario, are Sarasota Realtors, co-founders of a company called Rose Bay International.

The trio are creating a retirement community aimed at middle-class Americans like the Lynches, but instead of building it in Florida, North Carolina or Arizona, they chose the most undeveloped part of Costa Rica's Pacific coast, near the village of Palmar Norte.

Getting to the 800-acre, mountain-to-ocean property now requires horses. The threesome are banking on a plan by the Costa Rican government to turn a nearby grass-strip airport into an international operation, which could take another two or three years. So will building their resort community, carved out of an old cattle ranch.

Gale is not a newcomer to Costa Rican development. He is now selling lots and hotel-condos units at another development 15 miles away.

"We have 100 sales already -- 15 from France, 12 from Canada, 10 from England, and then one from Spain," he said. "The rest, which is like 60 percent, from the United States."

The typical stateside customer "might get a $2,500- or $3,000-a-month pension, and there are a lot of people who are retiring on that much money," Gale said. "In the States, they can't live that well on that kind of money. At our resort, they can live incredibly well."

A home at San Buenas, the nearby community, can be had for under $200,000, with yearly taxes of $400 to $500. Or a buyer could start with a $190,000 condo-hotel suite with granite countertops and hardwood floors, and let Gale's team rent it out nightly or weekly for a 40 percent cut.

"When you take all those people with 401(k)s and IRAs who are retiring, a lot of people are betting that this will be a better return than traditional investments," he said.

China's growing interest in Latin America

Chinese President Hu Jintao begins a Latin America tour on Monday, taking in Costa Rica, Cuba and Peru, as China tightens economic ties and the region hopes for help in tougher times.
The Asian giant has increased diplomacy and investment in Latin America in recent years, with an eye on its natural resources and developing markets for manufactured goods and even arms.
Many in Latin America hope for an investment boost to help ride out the economic crisis.
Exports from the continent to China include soya and iron ore from Brazil, soya from Argentina, copper from Chile, tin from Bolivia, and oil from Venezuela.

The trade is still only a small percent of the continent's total, but it is growing.
China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported this month that exports to Latin America grew 52 percent in the first nine months of 2008 to 111.5 billion dollars.
Hu will visit San Jose and Havana between a G-20 meeting on the global crisis in Washington on November 15 and an Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Peru on November 22.
China and Cuba have remained all-weather friends for decades, their Marxist Socialist past a driving force in relations.

The Chinese leader visited Cuba four years ago to sign bilateral deals, and China was Cuba's second business partner, after Venezuela, in 2007.
Hu's visit to Costa Rica, meanwhile, is the highest-level visit by a Chinese official to the first Central American country to break off Taiwan ties in favor of China, in June last year.
Taiwan is now left with only a small circle of 23 international supporters, most of them tiny, poor nations, while Beijing commands the support of 171 nations.
"It's more than just symbolic that Hu Jintao has decided to come, because it is clearly making the point that it is no longer a Taiwanese stronghold," said Costa Rican analyst Luis Guillermo Solis.
Both Taiwan and China have been accused of using so-called "dollar diplomacy" to get nations to ally with them.

But China's economic might is hard to compete with, especially in tough economic times.
Part of China's incentives to Costa Rica came from China's enormous foreign exchange reserves with an offer to buy 300 million dollars in bonds.

Many wonder if Costa Rica's neighbors will be tempted to follow its move.
"I can't see any changes in recognition back from China to Taiwan. Basically it's been bit by bit, countries going from Taiwan to China," said Kerry Brown, a senior fellow at Chatham House thinktank in London.

Costa Rica, a major exporter of computer components, is now prepared to negotiate a free trade deal with China, the foreign trade minister said here this week, dismissing fears of an invasion of Chinese products into the tiny Costa Rican market.

China has expanded its high level missions to the whole continent in recent years, making investments and agreements with such oil producers as Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
"The fact is that China has been locked out of a lot of countries for energy deals" in the past, Brown said. "It's going to be going into these areas more and more."
China has also advanced to economic assistance and direct investment, sometimes taking over from the region's main commercial partner and neighbor, the United States.
The teaching of Chinese in schools and universities and scholarships to China, as in Costa Rica's deal, add to a charm offensive.

And although Latin American economies are in a stronger position to withstand financial setbacks than in the past, a strong economic partner such as China is more attractive than ever.

Scuba Diving in Central America: Top Dive Destinations

Belize: Blue Hole

Scuba divers, strap on your gear! From Costa Rica's Pacific coast to Belize's Caribbean cayes, Central America is an underwater extravaganza. Central America Scuba diving can be challenging enough for experienced Scuba divers; yet beginning Scuba divers are drawn to the inexpensive PADI Scuba diving courses in Central America, and the chance to behold National Geographic-worthy sights on one's very first dive.

Explore the top destinations for Scuba diving in Central America!

1. The Bay Islands, Honduras

Each of Honduras's Caribbean Bay Islands (Roatan, Utila, and Guanaja) is a world class Scuba diving destination in its own right. The Bay Islands run alongside the second-largest barrier reef in the world, and the diversity of the islands' undersea species is staggering. Besides dolphins, sea turtles, nurse sharks and manta rays, whale sharks are frequent visitors. While Bay Islands Scuba diving is some of the world's best, the prices are some of the world's cheapest: an open water certification at Utila Dive Centeris just $229, and includes accommodations at the Mango Inn.

2. Isla del Coco, Costa Rica

Costa Rica's Coco Island, the largest uninhabited island in the world, is not for day-trip Scuba divers. Because the Coco National Park is over 300 miles offshore, it takes a day and a half on a live-aboard dive boat just to reach it. But for hardcore divers, the voyage is worth it - Central America scuba diving truly doesn't get any better than this. Undisputed dive expert Jacques Cousteau famously called diving at Isla del Coco the best in the world. As added attraction, Jurassic Park was set in Coco National Park (though it was filmed in Hawaii). Venture inland for a truly wild experience - minus the dinosaurs, of course.

3. The Corn Islands, Nicaragua

Nicaragua's Little Corn Island is largely unspoiled, absent of cars or high-rise resorts. As a result, Scuba diving at Little Corn Island remains sensational - rated a 9 out of 10 by National Geographic. According to Dive Little Corn, "the island's reef offers a variety of unique diving adventures, from caves and caverns to un-chummed shark encounters … and virtually every reef fish classified as Tropical Caribbean." But don't overlook Scuba diving at Big Corn Island. The Nautilus Dive Center offers Scuba, snorkel, and glass bottom boat trips, in which you can "enjoy the tropical splendor of the Caribbean as it was 30 years ago." 

4. Ambergris Caye, Belize

Ambergris Caye in Belize shares the same Caribbean coral reef as the Bay Islands in Honduras. The most popular dive site is Hol Chan Marine Reserve, occupying three square miles off Ambergris Caye's southern tip. Intrepid Central America Scuba divers shouldn't miss the experience to visit the Great Blue Hole, a circular sinkhole 1000 feet across and nearly 500 feet deep. Hol Chan, the Blue Hole and beyond can also be accessed through dive operators on nearby Caye Caulker.

5. Playas del Coco, Costa Rica

Not to be confused with Isla del Coco, Playas del Coco is a popular beach in the Guanacaste region of northern Costa Rica. Playas del Coco is a great launch pad to explore the nearby Catalina Islands (manta ray territory) and the Bat Islands (bull sharks galore), while the curvy Coco Bay offers low-key Costa Rica Scuba diving. Because of Playas del Coco's popularity with all types of travelers, accommodations are available for every budget.

6. Turneffe Atoll, Belize

The largest atoll in the Caribbean, Belize's Turneffe Atoll is comprised of over 200 islands, sheltering innumerable tropical species from rough waves. The atoll is ringed by sixty Belize dive sites, boasting an extraordinary variety of underwater landscapes. According to one of the atoll's top on-site Scuba diving operators, Turneffe Flats, the atoll is home to "all of the Caribbean tropicals, eagle rays, sharks, turtles, dolphins, moray eels, and occasionally whale sharks in addition to large schools of permit, horse eye jacks and dog snapper." In addition, the Lighthouse Atoll and the Great Blue Hole are about an hour away.

7. Bocas del Toro, Panama

For excellent Central America Scuba diving year-round, many divers head to Central America's southernmost nation, Panama. The Bocas del Toro islands in Panama offer some of the country's best diving, from popular dive sites Hospital Point and Coral Cay to the nearby Zapatillas Cays. According to Starfleet Scuba, a PADI Gold Palm 5-Star Resort on Isla Colon, Bocas del Toro boasts some the best-preserved hard and soft coral in the world. For more information on Bocas del Toro Scuba diving, visit Scuba Diving Magazine's detailed dive account.

8. Isla del Caño, Costa Rica

Just 12 miles offshore, Isla del Caño is like Isla del Coco's closer - and cheaper - little sister. Says Caño Divers: "You can see many of the same species at Caño Island [as you would at Coco Island]. You will encounter both pelagic (open ocean) and reef fish … large schools of jacks and barracudas, sting rays and manta rays, and sharks." Caño Divers ventures to Caño every morning from Drake Bay, on the northern side of the Osa Peninsula in southern Costa Rica.

By Kirsten Hubbard, About.com

Costa Rica’s Hot Springs

Tabacon Resort, Costa Rica

First of all, this page is not to recommend one hot springs resort over the others, but to inform the savvy tourist of the differences between these three great hot springs paradises. So, let me just say right off the bat—I've been to all three and recommend them all. However, I understand that most tourists have neither the time nor the cash to patronize all three hot springs establishments. So, if you must partake in a process of elimination, read our comparisons to make it an informed one. A hot springs resort that excels in a category over the other two has its description marked in bold.

The Hot Springs Bottom Line

Tabacón Hot Springs

If you're looking for the best, this is it. Just remember that you have to pay for it. Since the entrance fee is a whopping $45 (2007), you might as well do the tour that includes transportation, a guided tropical forest hike, and transportation. With my hotel in La Fortuna, Posada Roca Virgen, I got the tour for a cheap $64 in February of 2007.

Baldí Hot Springs

Baldí could only be considered second-best when compared to a place like Tabacón. The place really is a high quality establishment with impressive construction and even more impressive views. It is also a little easier on your pocket book than Tabacón, so with Baldí you really can't go wrong.

Eco Termales Hot Springs

This place is purposely a little out-of-the-mainstream, thus offering something that the other places do not: privacy. Privacy from what, you ask? Privacy from the noisy cruise-ship feeling of Tabacón and Baldí. The hot spring baths are equally relaxing here, so you really don't sacrifice much of the experience. Also, since a visit here is relatively economical, you will feel good about your time invested at Eco Termales.