Costa Rica – Most kids do not need much to keep them happy. I know the twins could spend all week in the swimming pool and they would call it a good vacation. But this is Costa Rica. This is Adventure…
Chilamate Rainforest Retreat
Originally posted November 2013. Chilamate, Costa Rica – Our first stop in Costa Rica is Chilamate, located on the Sarapiqui River in the country’s Northern Lowlands, a rainforest-covered region that was in danger of being completely converted to banana and pineapple plantations. With the growth…
Caño Negro
Caño Negro, Costa Rica – Daddio and I made our way to Costa Rica’s remote northern reaches to unleash our inner bird nerds, and the twins came along for the ride. (Bird nerds in training.) Caño Negro is a 10,000-hectare…
Monteverde
Monteverde, Costa Rica – Our week in Monteverde just flew by, and we barely scratched the surface on the cool things to do here. When I’m doing these gigs, we often rent a house, so we have a little room…
Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve
Santa Elena, Costa Rica – We made our way from the tropical dry forests and beaches of Guanacaste to the mystical cloud forest around Santa Elena and Monteverde. We climbed some 4,662 feet, most of that on bumpy, windy, narrow…
Playa Samara
Playa Samara, Costa Rica – We keep coming back to this low-key town and its picturesque, palm-fringed beach (one of my Best Beaches for Kids in Costa Rica). This year, we changed it up by staying in Playa Samara, instead…
Turtle Tour 2: Arribada
Ostional, Costa Rica – Exactly two years ago, we took a turtle tour to Playa Camaronal, where we witnessed one brave olive ridley turtle, as she diligently, laboriously, dug her hole, deposited her eggs and returned to the sea. Last…
Snorkeling the Nicoya Peninsula
Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica – Costa Rica is not much of a snorkeling and diving destination. I mean, there’s no reef here. For a tropical country with two coastlines, there is little to see–at least compared to Belize, which is…
Rincon de la Vieja
Liberia, Costa Rica – The twins were really excited about coming to Costa Rica. What were they most excited about? When I posed this question, Twin S answered unequivocally, unhesitatingly, that he couldn’t wait to go hiking. In fact, he’s…
Ultimate Travel
Somerville, Mass – For those of you who like to make lists and check them twice, here’s a handy reference: Lonely Planet’s list of the 500 best places to see. In the world. And they are ranked. When you get this…