Exploring places off the beaten path is one of my favorite things about traveling. But planning a family vacation with a tour operator makes that a little difficult. It’s hard for a destination to have that undiscovered, almost exotic allure when you’re walking in a group of 30 or more. Hard, but not impossible.

When we went on our family trip to China, Guilin amazed us all. It was the part of the tour that lead us to the Li River, in other words, tourist central …

I was in my front yard catching up on everything I didn’t do while I was on vacation when my neighbor asked me about my trip to Costa Rica and if I would go back again. I didn’t even hesitate to answer, “In a heartbeat,” I said. Her next question was of course, why?

And I have to admit I hadn’t really thought about it until she asked. On our trip, there were two parents, one grandparent and two borderline tween girls.

Kids and kritters go hand in hand and can often guarantee a family trip’s success. Lucky for parents, animals are pretty much everywhere. And when I say animals, I’m not talking about just big wow factor animals. My girls have been mesmerized by pandas in China, charmed by “sweaters on legs” (also known as sheep) in Northern Ireland and enthralled by snails in France. Yes, snails. Nothing surprises me anymore.

So along comes a trip that is all animals all the time. I expected Costa Rica …

Beginning in the 1970’s, Central America gained a big following among surfers and hard-core eco-explorers; especially Costa Rica, because over a quarter of its land is set aside as protected nature preserves. Even so, most families did not consider a trip to Costa Rica, Panama, or Central America in general as a viable option for traveling with kids—until recently.

I’ve been traveling to Central America since the early 1990’s and twice in the last four years, I’ve taken my wife and kids on guided tours to Costa Rica and Panama.

Costa Rica has a lot going for it as a family vacation destination. This tiny Central American country between Nicaragua and Panama is different enough to feel exotic, but safe enough that you won’t worry about bringing your kids there. Since it’s due south of Florida, you won’t have to worry too much about jetlag either.

My husband and I took our kids to Costa Rica for a whirlwind week last March. It was a great trip, but we didn’t relax much.