Erin Van Rheenen

With so many things to do in Costa Rica, here’s what you need to know about when to visit.

Standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon, most people peer, awestruck, into this mile-deep chasm. But I was here to see the 70ft-high tower clinging to the canyon's rim. Built in 1932 and inspired by ancient Native American structures, the Desert View Watchtower is the work of Mary Colter (1869-1958). One of the few female architects of her architects of her time, Colter rejected European design in favour of buildings rooted in the Native American and Spanish heritage of the US Southwest.

What a treat to write about my favorite beach town in Costa Rica, Punta Islita, focusing on local women who are artists, organizers, and environmental activists. The town is like an open-air art museum and the site of a long-standing macaw rescue center.

When the editor started reading submissions for Volume 12 of The Best Women’s Travel Writing (BWTW), she couldn’t know that a pandemic was on its way, one that would claim hundreds of thousands of lives and make travel problematic, if not impossible. She also couldn’t anticipate the cultural upheaval and worldwide protests sparked by George Floyd’s death. Travel isn’t exempt from this moment of reckoning. It is inherently political...

Mugging with a monkey, hugging a sloth, or riding a giant sea turtle: what won’t people do for a memorable selfie with a wild animal? A new campaign in Costa Rica hopes to educate visitors into thinking twice about such shots.

In Costa Rica, international volunteers and locals work together to reverse the decline of this magnificent bird.

Best-selling guide book to making the move to Costa Rica, now in its 5th edition.

The international travel habits of leatherback sea turtles make conservation efforts challenging.

Lonely highways, dizzying overlooks, and towering red sandstone landscapes.

In southern Utah, there's a rock formation so beautiful you have to enter a lottery to be able to visit it.

From simple hand stencils to hunt scenes to shamanic figures, these ancient pictographs and petroglyphs let us commune with the past.

Signs and symbols on the sides of ships tell stories about an industry few outsiders understand.

The plan was to skirt the edges of the Lost Coast, known in backpacking circles for knee-destroying downhills and long stretches of sand impassable at high tide.

He was a muse, a good luck charm, and the center of a controversy over invasive species.

Canals are vital conduits for the global shipping industry. They’re also so contentious that they’re often stalled or cancelled.