Carrie Haverfield, of Boulder, took her first trip to Costa Rica a decade ago after researching destinations that were safe for solo travelers and that fit her budget.
She swam in hot springs bordered by the jungle in the Arenal Volcano area and took hikes — one around the base of a volcano, another to the La Fortuna waterfall, which cascades down 230 feet into a refreshing pool. She went canyoning, then whitewater rafting in Puerto Viejo, embarked on an eco tour boat ride with binoculars, spotting colorful birds and monkeys, and enjoyed beach time along the country’s Caribbean Coast in Cahuita National Park.
“I’m a little more adventurous when I travel,” Haverfield said.
Coloradans love Costa Rica, and that’s not just an anecdotal assumption.
Ahead of the busy summer travel season, Google analyzed every state’s favorite international vacation destination with data collected for a month between March 30 and April 29. Italy, according to Google Trends, emerged as the most popular international destination for U.S. travelers, with 20 states searching for vacations along the Amalfi and Cinque Terre coastlines, in the vineyards of Tuscany, through Rome’s historic landmarks, and so on.
But Coloradans take a flight path less traveled: According to Google’s summer travel report, Costa Rica is the most searched vacation destination for the Centennial State.
“Both Costa Rica and Colorado offer rich outdoor activities, making Costa Rica’s rainforests, volcanoes, and beaches equally appealing to Coloradans who love hiking, mountain biking, and nature adventures,” said Carolina Trejos, director of marketing for the Costa Rica Tourism Board.
The country’s commitment to sustainability and ecotourism, she said, also aligns with Coloradoans’ strong environmental values and the active lifestyles of its residents.
The Colorado-Costa Rica connection
Again and again, Haverfield found herself returning to Costa Rica to explore more of the small country (it’s about the size of West Virginia) that, she said, is big on biodiversity, culture and adventure. Then, a couple of years ago, after seeing a flier in a real estate office window in a beach town, she made a leap and bought a property. Her vacation condo is near a beach in Playas del Coco, which is in Guanacaste on the northern Pacific Coast.
Haverfield’s hypothesis as to one of the reasons why Costa Rica is so popular with Coloradans: It’s chock full of adventure, but with wildly different scenery than the Rocky Mountains offer.
“You get to have these outdoor adventures in lush green environments — and the rainforest is a novelty,” she said.
The appeal of a Costa Rican getaway is aplenty. Twenty-eight percent of the country is protected land, with national parks and reserves, and it beckons with its hissing volcanoes, surfable waves and majestic waterfalls.
One of the best ways to experience the broad offerings and the untamed beauty of Costa Rica is to hike a portion of El Camino de Costa Rica, a 170-mile hiking trail that runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean across Costa Rica, Trejos said.
The trail passes through more than 100 communities, reserves, national parks and indigenous territories, including the Barbilla National Park, the Turrialba and Irazu volcanoes, as well as the Los Santos coffee region, she pointed out.
Costa Rica is also one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, which means visitors can see sloths, howler and squirrel monkeys, as well as whales that migrate just off the Pacific Coast. It’s a birder’s paradise, too: Scarlet macaws with feathers in bold primary colors are Costa Rica’s most iconic birds, but the Resplendent Quetzal-wearing metallic blue and green coats are a special sight and considered sacred by several Mesoamerican civilizations.
On one of her dozen or so trips, Haverfield recalled taking a taxi after a visit to the Místico Arenal Hanging Bridges, a lush nature preserve where you can walk among the trees.
The taxi cab driver pulled over his car, grabbed binoculars and passed them around so everyone could see the toucan he noticed in the trees.
“Wildlife spotting is a national pastime,” Haverfield said.
Pura vida a direct flight away
The nonstop flights from Denver also make Costa Rica an accessible destination for Colorado residents.
Both Southwest Airlines and United Airlines provide nonstop flights from Denver (DEN) to San José (SJO) and Liberia (LIR).
In terms of demand, San José ranks as Denver’s top destination in Central America, followed closely by Liberia, which ranks second, according to Michael Konopasek, external communications manager at Denver International Airport.
Overall, Costa Rica is the No. 5 most popular international destination (by country) for travel to and from Denver after Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany, he said.
For years, Costa Rican vacations have filled my own social media feed and the recommendations continued to grow over the years — from my home inspector who surfed in Nosara to friends who have visited stayed at Tabacón Thermal Resort and Spa, which is set in a rainforest with a network of naturally flowing thermal hot springs heated by the Arenal Volcano.
I’ve visited Costa Rica a couple of times for destination weddings, traveling most recently to Ojochal on the southwest coast of the country, with highlights on my vacation that included a Sierpe Wildlife Mangrove Tour to spot Capuchin monkeys and an excursion to the Nauyaca Waterfalls. Striped with streams of water, ropes attached to the rocks tempt should you want to climb the falls and then jump from a ledge.
On my last morning in Ojochal, I was having breakfast at Hotel Three Sixty, a boutique 12-villa retreat that feels like you’re staying amid the clouds and that has an infinity pool that you can spot the Pacific coastline from.
I grabbed the binoculars set on my table next to my iced coffee to see the birds flitting about in the canopy of trees and hoping for one more Capuchin sighting. At the table next to me, I had another sighting, this one quite common: A couple in University of Colorado Buffs gear. We didn’t need Google to tell us the obvious: At any given time should you strike up a conversation with fellow travelers, you’ll quickly learn there’s a Colorado contingent in Costa Rica, eager to compare travel notes.
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