Write for The Tico Times

The Tico Times has covered Costa Rica in English since 1956. We publish work from outside writers who know the country well and can tell our readers something they won’t find anywhere else, whether that’s a reported story, a practical guide or a sharp piece of analysis.

Our readers are expats, retirees, travelers, investors and people thinking about moving here. If you can write for them clearly, honestly and from real experience, we want to hear from you.

Two ways to contribute

Guest contributor (unpaid). Send us a pitch or a finished draft. If we publish it, you get a byline and a short bio at the end of the article with one link to your website, business or social media. Bio links are nofollow.

Freelance assignment (paid). Pitch us a reported story or a piece that needs real legwork. If we commission it, we agree on the rate, length and deadline before you start. Freelance articles carry a byline and a short bio, but no promotional link. We don’t pay for unsolicited finished drafts.

Tell us which track you’re pitching for. We make the final call on which one fits. If you work in the field you’re writing about, such as real estate, law, tourism, hospitality or finance, your piece goes on the guest contributor track and you must disclose that connection.

What we’re looking for

Everything we publish is about Costa Rica. We’re especially interested in:

• Practical guides. Driving, healthcare, residency and bureaucracy, renting or buying property, cost of living, working remotely and schools. Useful, specific and current.
• Travel beyond the obvious. Lesser-known destinations, national parks, small towns, hikes and wildlife. Honest advice, not promotion.
• Life in Costa Rica. Personal essays, profiles of Ticos and foreigners doing interesting things here, and spotlights on what a community is really like to live in.
• Analysis and opinion. Informed takes on Costa Rican news, policy, the environment and the economy, and what they mean for the people affected. We don’t need rewritten news.
• Food and drink. Coffee, sodas, markets, regional dishes and the people behind them.
• Business and work. Starting or running a business here, taxes, permits and what others should know to avoid costly mistakes.

If your idea doesn’t fit these but is original, well written and about Costa Rica, pitch it anyway.

Our standards

To be considered, your work must:

• Be original and not published anywhere else, including your own blog or social media.
• Be written by you. We don’t accept AI-generated text. If you used AI tools for research or grammar, tell us on the form.
• Be accurate. Facts, figures and quotes must be verifiable, and you should be ready to show us your sources.
• Disclose any professional or financial interest in the subject.
• Read as journalism or honest commentary, not advertising.

Articles usually run 800 to 1,500 words. We edit everything we publish for clarity, length, accuracy and style, and we may send your piece back for revisions first. We keep your voice wherever we can. Opinion pieces are labeled as opinion.

Rights

We ask for first publication rights. Thirty days after your article runs on The Tico Times, you’re free to republish it on your own site, as long as you credit The Tico Times and link to the original.

How to pitch

Use the form below or email editor@ticotimes.net with the subject line “Contributor pitch: [your topic].” Send either:

• A pitch of two or three paragraphs covering your idea, your angle, why it matters to our readers and how you plan to report it, or
• A finished draft (guest contributor track only).

Include a short bio of up to 75 words, written in the third person, and links to two or three pieces you’ve published before if you have them.

If we want to move forward, we’ll reply within 10 business days. If you haven’t heard from us by then, you’re free to pitch the idea elsewhere.