Beyond Eco-Friendly Labels: The Costa Rican Women Actually Healing the Land — And How to Travel With Them

Let's be honest for a second. If you've done any research on sustainable travel in Costa Rica, you've seen the buzzwords. Eco-lodge. Carbon-neutral. Nature-immersive. They're everywhere — on booking platforms, in glossy travel magazines, plastered across resort websites with stock photos of toucans and zip lines.

But there's a difference between tourism that doesn't harm and tourism that actively heals. The first is a floor. The second is a movement. And in Costa Rica right now, that movement has a face — actually, several faces — and most of them belong to women.

Regenative travel is the next evolution beyond sustainability. Where eco-tourism aims to minimize damage, regenerative tourism works to restore ecosystems, strengthen communities, and create feedback loops where travelers leave a place genuinely better than they found it. It's ambitious. It's complicated. And it turns out, the women doing it in Costa Rica are building a blueprint the rest of the world should be paying attention to.

What Makes Regenerative Tourism Different — And Why It's Harder to Fake

Here's a quick gut-check: if a lodge's sustainability claim begins and ends with solar panels and a recycling bin, that's not regenerative. Regenerative tourism requires deep integration with local ecology and economy. It means the community isn't just benefiting from tourism — it's directing it.

For travelers, especially those of us coming from the US where greenwashing is practically an art form, it can be hard to know who's doing the real work. That's exactly why the women leading this charge in Costa Rica matter so much. Their models are transparent, community-rooted, and measurable. And booking with them is one of the most powerful things you can do with your travel dollars.

Marta Arias, Osa Peninsula: Reforesting One Guided Hike at a Time

Marta grew up near the edges of Corcovado National Park, watching her family navigate the complicated relationship between conservation and survival. Today, she runs Raíces Vivas, a small-group ecotourism operation that funnels a portion of every tour fee directly into a local reforestation fund managed by community members — not an outside NGO.

"The park is protected, but the land around it is not," she explains. "We are creating corridors. Every tourist who walks with us is paying for a tree. But more than that, they are learning why the tree matters."

Marta trains local women as naturalist guides, prioritizing single mothers and women from farming families who have been economically sidelined by conservation restrictions on land use. Her tours are intentionally slow — no rushing from lookout to lookout — because, as she puts it, "You cannot love what you do not understand."

How to book: Contact Raíces Vivas directly through local ecotourism networks in the Osa Peninsula. Avoid booking through third-party platforms that take significant commission cuts.

Daniela Solís, Nicoya Peninsula: Turning the Blue Zone Into a Living Classroom

The Nicoya Peninsula is one of the world's five Blue Zones — regions where people regularly live past 100 — and Daniela Solís is determined that tourists experience it as more than a wellness trend.

Her project, Vivir Despacio ("Living Slowly"), connects travelers with multigenerational Tico families for immersive homestay experiences focused on traditional food systems, oral history, and community agriculture. Guests don't just observe — they participate in harvesting, cooking, and in some cases, helping restore traditional huertos (home gardens) that have been lost to monoculture farming.

"People come here wanting the secret to longevity," Daniela says with a laugh. "But the secret is not a supplement. It is community. Purpose. Food grown by your own hands. We want visitors to feel that — and then take it home with them."

The economic model is direct: families are paid fairly, guests are charged honestly, and there are no middlemen. Daniela also runs a scholarship program for young Nicoya women interested in sustainable agriculture and tourism management.

How to book: Vivir Despacio accepts small groups (maximum six guests) and requires a minimum two-night stay. Inquire at least six weeks in advance through their community website.

Adriana Quesada, Caribbean Coast: Weaving Indigenous Knowledge Into the Tourist Experience

On the Caribbean side of Costa Rica — a region that often gets overlooked in favor of the Pacific — Adriana Quesada is doing something quietly radical. A member of the Bribri Indigenous community, she co-founded Yula Ecotours to share her culture with outside visitors on Bribri terms.

This distinction matters enormously. Too often, Indigenous tourism becomes extractive — outsiders consuming culture as entertainment without accountability. Adriana's model flips the dynamic. Visitors are guests in a living culture, not spectators of a preserved one. Protocols are explained and respected. Photography requires consent. Revenue stays within the community and is allocated through a collective decision-making process that Adriana helped design.

"We are not a museum," she says firmly. "We are a people. When you visit us, you are visiting a community that is alive, that is changing, that has its own dreams for the future."

Yula Ecotours also partners with a Bribri women's cooperative that produces ceremonial cacao products — and yes, you can bring some home. Buying directly from the cooperative means 100% of that purchase supports Indigenous women's economic independence.

How to book: Yula Ecotours books through the Bribri community tourism collective. Tours are available in English and Spanish, with advance notice required for groups larger than four.

Carolina Jiménez, Central Valley: Making Urban Tourism Regenerative

Regenative travel isn't only for jungles and coastlines. Carolina Jiménez is proving it can work in San José, Costa Rica's underestimated capital city.

Her social enterprise, Ciudad Viva, runs neighborhood walking tours through communities that don't typically appear on tourist itineraries — places where street art tells political stories, where women-owned sodas (casual local restaurants) serve the best casado you'll ever eat, and where urban gardens are reclaiming abandoned lots. A percentage of every tour funds micro-grants for women-led small businesses in those same neighborhoods.

"San José is always the city people fly through," Carolina says. "We want to make it the city they stay for. And when they stay, they spend money with people who actually live here."

For US travelers who land in San José and immediately rent a car to head elsewhere, a half-day with Ciudad Viva might genuinely change your relationship to the city — and to urban travel in general.

How to book: Ciudad Viva offers public tours on weekends and private tours by appointment. Book directly through their website to ensure your fee goes to the community fund.

How to Be the Traveler These Women Are Building For

Supporting regenerative tourism isn't just about who you book with. It's about how you show up. A few principles worth carrying with you:

• Book direct whenever possible. Third-party platforms take cuts that can significantly reduce what reaches local operators. A quick email or WhatsApp message goes a long way.
• Ask questions before you book. Who owns this business? Who does it employ? Where does the money go? Legitimate operators will welcome the curiosity.
• Slow down. Regenerative experiences are designed for depth, not efficiency. If your itinerary has you bouncing between three regions in four days, you're not giving any of them — or yourself — enough time.
• Buy from the source. Whether it's cacao, coffee, or handwoven textiles, buying directly from women producers at fair prices is one of the most tangible things you can do.
• Leave a real review. For small, women-owned operations, a detailed, honest review on Google or travel platforms is genuinely valuable. Describe what made the experience meaningful, not just whether it was fun.

Costa Rica has long been a leader in conservation. But the women profiled here are pushing the country toward something even more ambitious — a tourism economy that doesn't just protect what exists, but actively regenerates what's been lost. That's a vision worth spending your vacation dollars on.