Costa Rica is about to become one of the world’s newest frontiers for superyacht charter vacations. “Where else can you can explore lush rainforests, enjoy white-sand beaches, encounter colorful parrots, zip line with monkeys, swim with pods of dolphins, and spot humpback whales — possibly all in the same day?” asks Michael Busacca, the chief operating officer of Fraser, a yachting firm.
Substantial superyacht facilities are under construction in places like Golfito, on the southern Pacific coast. But outfitters, including Costa Rica–based Origen Escapes, have already started booking over-the-top itineraries.
“We send spotter skiffs out days in advance to locate dolphin pods so clients can actually swim or Seabob with thousands of them,” says Gemma Cope, Origen’s director of sales and marketing. Yacht guests can helicopter to jungle waterfalls, snorkel after dark in bioluminescent Golfo Dulce, and go scuba diving in Cocos Island National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Moran predicts that Costa Rica will become the top destination for charter vacations in the Americas within the next five years. “This isn’t a destination like the Mediterranean or elsewhere in the Caribbean, where the focus is on the yacht and the water toys,” he notes. “These trips are about getting off the yacht and exploring.”