COLORADO SOLO TRAVEL GUIDE
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO! COLORADO TRAVEL GUIDE 2024
PLAN AND BOOK YOUR COLORADO SOLO TRAVEL
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WELCOME TO COLORADO!
Hi! I’m Gwen, and my passion is using my 28 years of solo global travel and sustainability knowledge and experience to help the solo over 50’s be and stay adventurous through solo travel with their eco-friendly, responsible travel foot forward. Here is my guide to Colorado solo travel, from my travel in Colorado, so you plan and book your solo trip to Colorado with ease. What are you waiting for?
COLORADO: DID YOU KNOW?
About Colorado
Colorado, “The Centennial State”, is the 8th largest state in the USA and home to one UNESCO World Heritage site, Mesa Verde National Park, as well as popular destinations like Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Aspen, Durango, Red Rocks Ampitheater, the Great Sand Dunes National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, being part of Four Corners, umpteen ski towns, and much more. Entered into the USA as the 38th state in 1876, Colorado’s capital and largest city is Denver, the Mile High city.
Colorado is truly diverse with landscape ranging from the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains, to mesas and sand dunes. It is known for its outdoor sporting and wildlife viewing adventures, being weed-friendly, hot sporting and music events and festivals, large-scale beer production to microbrews, and people with a free-and-easy spirit mixed with conservatism.
Popular Colorado Activities
Colorado’s mountains, lakes, rivers, sporting events, museums and music venues offer some of the best hiking, skiing, snowboarding, biking, camping, kayaking, fishing, wildlife watching, sporting and entertainment events in the USA year-round.
Beer and Dispensary Tours in Colorado
COLORADO TRAVEL PLANNING
Colorado Holidays
In addition to U.S. holidays, Colorado may observe additional state or local holidays. It may be a good idea to check what state or local holidays they celebrate to see if there are any public service, school, or other closures as this may impact your tourist itinerary, ability to obtain travel or other services, or it could mean more tourists and/or higher prices in your Colorado destination.
Take a few moments to see if there are Colorado holidays to better help you plan Colorado travel.
Tipping in Colorado
See tipping guidelines in my USA Travel Guide for tipping in Colorado.
Travel Requirements
U.S. states do not impose additional travel requirements, such as documentation and vaccinations, other than those imposed at the national level. See the USA Travel Guide for all USA travel requirements.
Electronic Requirements
All U.S. state electric outlets require a Type A (two prong) and/or Type B (three prong) adapter. See the USA Travel Guide for electrical requirements in the USA.
Cyber Security While Traveling
Having a virtual private network (VPN) service and portable WiFi is always a good idea to not just stay connected, but stay connected securely in your hotel and all public spaces, like airports, train stations, and restaurants.
- Portable WiFi Hotspot for Travel: Experience seamless connectivity with the Solis Lite, your pocket-friendly companion that offers secure and reliable mobile WiFi hotspot coverage in over 135...
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CITY GUIDES & ITINERARIES
Use my solo travel guides, itineraries, travel tips, day trip ideas, and recommended things to do in these top Colorado destinations, all from my travel in Colorado, to plan your best Colorado solo travel.
The more I travel in Colorado, the more that gets added to this Colorado Travel Guide. Keep checking back.
I traveled Colorado in 2022 with which I will provide travel information on the following Colorado destinations. Until I write about these, here are my recommended things to do in each Colorado destination.
Boulder
Things to Do in Boulder
Denver
Things to Do in Denver
Day Trips from Denver
HOW TO BOOK COLORADO TRAVEL
It’s important to book the top three travel necessities early: flights, accommodations and ground transportation.
No Colorado guide would be complete without the booking tools below. These, along with fun Colorado things to do and ecotourism ideas, will allow you to realize your solo trip to Colorado.
Cheap Flights to Colorado
With the ever-growing demand for airline tickets to Colorado, flights book quicker these days. Find cheap flights to Colorado now.
Don’t Wait to Book Your Flight to Colorado
Colorado Places to Stay
Second in importance to buying airline tickets to Colorado is finding the best place to stay in Colorado for your Colorado solo travel. Develop your Colorado travel itinerary now and find the best Colorado travel accommodations to knock one more travel planning item off your solo travel list.
Find the Best Solo Travel Accommodations in Colorado
Getting Around Colorado
Colorado has all forms of transportation, including Carpoolworld, Uber, Lyft, and other possible regional ridesharing services and apps (research in advance if they are in your destination area).
Of course, you can easily get a taxi or find a rental a car in Colorado if it better suits your Colorado travel itinerary.
Find the Best Deals on Colorado Rental Cars
Oregon also has regional buses and is part of the Amtrak train system.
Things to Do in Colorado
Here are some of the top things to do in Colorado to book for your Colorado solo travel.
Best Colorado Food Tours and Activities
COLORADO ECO-TRAVEL IDEAS
There are ways to reduce your eco and carbon footprint through air travel, accommodations, tours, and activities in Colorado. To help avoid greenwashing businesses, here are some eco-friendly or sustainable travel (also called responsible travel) tips and resources, you can use to book your travel.
Air Travel Tips
Skyscanner provides a ‘Greener flights’ filter highlighting flights that emit less CO2.
Purchase carbon offsets through your airline or through a third party, like MyClimate.org, Carbonfund.org, or terrapass. Carbon offsetting allows you to buy a certificate to reduce carbon emissions, a major contributor to climate change, which in turn contribute community projects across countries to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Ground Transportation
Try to avoid flying within Colorado by taking a regional bus or the Amtrak train.
When booking a rideshare in Colorado, select the Uber Green option, instead of a traditional rideshare, to support the use of electric cars and carpooling for cleaner transportation in Colorado.
The best eco-friendly forms of ground transportation in Colorado are public transportation, walking, or renting a bicycle or electric scooter.
Explore Colorado Bike and Electric Scooter Rentals
Lime also has electric scooters to rent in Colorado for fast and clean commuting in select cities.
Accommodation Tips
Look for accommodations with the following self and third-party assessed certifications when you book:
Green Globe – Green Globe certifies hotels, resorts, conference centers, transportation, attractions, tour operators, and other tourism businesses globally on sustainable operations and management. Look for USA Green Global members.
Green Key Global is an internationally recognized environmental certification for the lodging and meetings industries, including hotels and hostels, campsites and holiday parks, restaurants and attractions in 65 countries. Search for Green Key awarded sites.
Living Building Challenge – if you want to stay in a true, sustainable building, find one certified by the Living Building Challenge. LBC’s certification directory shows all project types globally. Hopefully they will put in a filter soon to allow searching by hotels or hospitality type.
LEED Certified – the USGBC’s LEED Certified label on buildings, like many of the Marriott’s hotels, are those that have verifiably employed multiple and varying green building strategies to improve human and environmental health. Search the LEED directory for USA certifications.
Green Lodging Program – Audubon International has an environmental stewardship certification through third-party verification. Search its certified members directory.
GSTC Certified – the Global Sustainable Tourism Council provides global standards for sustainable travel and tourism, as well as international accreditation for sustainable tourism Certification Bodies. Booking sites that offer GSTC certified sustainable are bookdifferent, EcoHotels, and Transat.
Another way to find accommodations in Colorado implementing eco-friendly or sustainable practices, certified or not, is to reserve a Booking.com Travel Sustainable accommodation. Booking.com started the Travel Sustainable program in 2022.
Find Your Travel Sustainable Stay in Colorado
Eco-Friendly Things To Do
Colorado has ecotourism ideas available to explore for your next vacation.
Search Green Global and Green Key awarded members for eco-friendly activity providers in Colorado. Some may also have the GSTC Certified logo.
Top Eco Friendly Activities in Colorado
Eco-Travel Products
There are more ways to do your part for the planet in your responsible travel, like bringing sustainable and eco-friendly products to protect Colorado’s environment.
For more ideas on how to travel with the planet in mind, read my 10 Easy Eco-Travel Tips and view my suggested Eco Travel Resources to learn more.
COLORADO TRAVEL SAFETY
Before You Go
Buy USA travel insurance and international medical insurance for your Colorado solo travel to protect yourself and cover for emergencies.
Safety in Colorado
In addition to the solo travel safety tips in the USA Travel Guide, if you are planning on going hiking, backpacking, skiing, camping, river rafting or doing any other activity that will take you into remote places, please ensure you research the local travel and weather advisories in advance and respect warnings not to travel.
Let people know where are you going, provide them your itinerary, and ensure you have safety and emergency measures provided for in your travel belongings.
Fire Season Travel Tips
COLORADO BUDGET TRAVEL TIPS
Colorado Sales Tax
Colorado levies a statewide sales tax and cities levy an additional, local sales tax. Where you vacation in Colorado could increase your holiday budget. Reviewing Colorado cities’ sales tax rates may help you prepare your Colorado travel budget.
Best Time to Visit Colorado
Colorado’s high tourist season and most expensive times to visit is in the summer (June to August) and winter (November to March). The least expensive time to go to Colorado is in the shoulder season months (September to October and April to May).
Summer can be very hot in Colorado, and the winters cold and snowy, so recommended times to visit for nice weather and avoiding the high prices and tourists are the shoulder season months.
Budget Accommodations
Staying in Colorado hostels could save you a lot of money on accommodations in Colorado, especially if you stay in a dorm-style room. Save more money by booking well in advance.
Many hostels also offer private rooms, which I choose from time to time. Private rooms in hostels could possibly be cheaper than hotels in Colorado – it depends on where you stay and how far in advance you reserve.
Don’t overlook exploring hostels in Colorado if you’re on a budget.
Reserve Your Colorado Hostel
Best Time to Book Travel
Colorado can be pricey depending on your Colorado destination and time of travel. The sooner you book your reservations, the more you’re likely to save money and get the best flight, accommodation, and rental car choices and deals.
Ready to book Colorado solo travel? Don’t miss out and find the best Colorado travel deals. The best time to book travel is now. Bundling flight, hotel and/or transportation reservations may even save you more money when traveling Colorado.
Book Colorado Travel Early to Save Money
PERSONAL STORY
I used to live in Boulder, Colorado (back in the day) and had some of the most fun I’ve had in my entire life in Colorado. Colorado’s climate and natural beauty truly does offer some of the best outdoor activities. The music venues, food and local breweries also lend to Colorado’s charm. Colorado is one of my favorite states in the U.S. Put it on your solo travel list.