All of Us
Travel Expertise, Insider Knowledge, Local Connections
We are:
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Trip Planners: helping clients design custom itineraries to our portfolio of iconic destinations
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Destination Managers: providing inbound destination management and tour operation services in Costa Rica
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Tourism Experts: consistently lending our experience to consulting projects focused on sustainable tourism development and marketing
Check out our bios below! To learn more about our experience and expertise, please contact jeremy@greenspottravel.org
Irene Edwards
Founder and Lead Trip Designer
Irene Edwards is a native of rural Costa Rica, who grew up eating rice and beans on coffee and cacao plantations. With nearly two decades of experience in the travel industry. Irene loves creating fun, eye-opening, and unique adventures for travelers who share her values and eco-sensibilities. She knows the communities, companies, and local business people she works with intimately, and she only recommends accommodations and activities that she can vouch for herself. Irene as well as her husband have been awarded by Conde Nast Traveler Magazine as the Top Travel Specialist for Costa Rica since 2006.
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Q: Describe your typical day at GreenSpot.
I’m always immersed in interesting new projects with my team. But most of my time is spent talking to our travelers and planning their trips, which is something I really love doing.
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Q: Favorite places to visit?
In Costa Rica, the lush and wild Osa Peninsula and Nosara Beach area.
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Q: What is your most memorable travel experience?
Rafting the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon while camping for 7 nights.
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Q: Insider travel tip?
Travel with an open mind, a warm and kind heart, and an adventurous spirit!
Doña Mara
All In the Family
This is where having local friends comes in handy, or family members in the case of Irene's mother Doña Mara. Costa Rica visitors are welcomed into her home to enjoy a delicious authentic lunch, learn how to make tortillas, tamales, and get an impromptu dancing lesson. It won’t take long to feel at home.
Explore Costa Rica ItinerariesSelena Solis
Managing Director, Costa Rica
Selena is a native Costa Rican born and raised in San Jose. She has worked in the travel industry for more than 25 years, focusing on trip operations and travel planning for upscale travelers and special interest guests. She has also managed an inbound tour operator, and spent time exploring Nicaragua while helping to manage Morgan's Rock Eco-Lodge. Selena trains for triathlons, and spends her free time enjoying nature and wildlife while hiking Costa Rican trails.
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Q: Describe your job at GreenSpot
As the Managing Director of our Costa Rica office,. I am in charge of operations for all of our trips here. In simple terms, I oversee all the little details that make clients' trips truly unforgettable, and make sure that our clients are well taken care of when they are here traveling around.
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Q: What inspires you about working at GreenSpot?
People are trusting us with their most valuable and precious time -- their vacation time. We do our best to ensure this time is memorable, and we help ensure that travel is done in a sustainable and responsible manner. I love that we provide guests with an opportunity to meet with locals and have a genuine authentic experience that represents the real Costa Rica.
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Q: Favorite destinations to visit?
Costa Rica, of course! Within Costa Rica, my favorite places are Corcovado National Park, for the variety of wildlife opportunities in the area, and Tortuguero for the calm ambience of an area surrounded by canals with no streets, and therefore no cars.
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Q: Most memorable travel experience?
Traveling with my kids to Lapa Rios and Corcovado Lodge when they were little. We were able to see a lot of wildlife and learned a lot together. I am sure these experiences influenced my daughter to become the conservationist and environmentalist she is today.
Mandy Haakenson
Trip Designer and Marketing Specialist
A Peruvian-born American with a Chilean mother and British father, Mandy has spent her entire life traveling. She has worked in the travel industry in various roles for over a decade, and after a 7-month around-the-world sabbatical, she earned a Master's Degree in sustainable tourism. Mandy brings an unrelenting passion for people, places, storytelling and photography to her GreenSpot work. She is currently based in London and continues to explore the world with her husband and two young kids.
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Q: What inspires you about working at GreenSpot?
It's important to me that travel is not one-dimensional. We all want to disconnect and escape on vacation, but I believe that both the traveler and the local community can benefit from the tourism experience when it's done correctly. I am proud to work for a company that honors this philosophy, and I admire our clients for wanting to go deep, get active, talk to locals and return from their trip having learned something new while broadening their world vision.
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Q: Favorite Destinations to Visit
My traveling heart is happy in South America. Everything about the culture, the language, the people, the music, makes me feel at home. And if you enjoy historical ruins as much as I do, nothing beats Machu Picchu, Peru. I also love the Mediterranean and try to vacation there as much as possible.
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Q: Most Memorable Travel Experience
Taking our children to the place where we were married in Tuscany. Waking up to coca tea on the Inca Trail. Endless waterfalls on a recent trek in Iceland. Snorkeling among playful sea lions in the Galapagos Islands.
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Q: Insider Travel Tip
Keep an open mind and seize the opportunity to try something new. Besides that, I always travel with a beach sarong. It doesn't take up a lot of room and has multiple uses - blanket, towel, scarf, shawl, cover-up, etc.
Marco Castro
GreenSpot Ecuador Guide
Marco has been guiding trips in Ecuador for 20-plus years and knows how to handle unique situations. When a cattle truck stood between his group and their itinerary, he did something not every guide would do: he stopped to help the farmers milk the cows.
Explore Ecuador ItinerariesRichard Edwards
Founder and Advisor
Richard Edwards is a travel industry expert, who has spent more than 25 years selling, thinking about, and enjoying ecotourism experiences. He lived and traveled in Costa Rica for nearly a decade, and maintains an active presence on the GreenSpot team as an Advisor. Richard is a long-time advocate for sustainable tourism represented by triple bottom line practices, which equates to travel experiences that benefit people, planet, and profit. Most importantly, he loves nothing more than an afternoon in a hammock with the sounds of nature humming in the background.